alb3664497

ANONYMOUS, FRENCH, 18TH CENTURY. The Two Are But One (Les deux ne font qu'un)

The Two Are But One (Les deux ne font qu'un). Artist: Anonymous, French, 18th century. Dimensions: sheet: 5 7/8 x 8 3/8 in. (15 x 21.3 cm). Date: late 18th century.
During the first years of the French REvolution, King Louis XVI was rarely ridiculed in prints. It was only after the night of June 20, 1791 - when he and his family attempted to flee Paris for a Royalist stronghold, where he hoped to begin a counterrevolution - that popular opinion turned more decidedly against him. Louis and Queen Marie-Antoinette then became frequent targets of French caricaturists, who often depicted them in a sort of reverse anthropomorphism, as animals with human heads. Here, the royal couple is portrayed as a two-headed creature that pulls in opposite directions. The king is given the body of a pig and the horns of a cuckold, a reference to his wife's many rumored affairs; the queen, with the body of a hyena, sports a fancy headdress of serpents and ostrich feathers, the latter a pun on her Austrian heritage (autruche and Autriche).

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Author: ANONYMOUS, FRENCH, 18TH CENTURY

Title: The Two Are But One (Les deux ne font qu'un)

Caption: The Two Are But One (Les deux ne font qu'un). Artist: Anonymous, French, 18th century. Dimensions: sheet: 5 7/8 x 8 3/8 in. (15 x 21.3 cm). Date: late 18th century. During the first years of the French REvolution, King Louis XVI was rarely ridiculed in prints. It was only after the night of June 20, 1791 - when he and his family attempted to flee Paris for a Royalist stronghold, where he hoped to begin a counterrevolution - that popular opinion turned more decidedly against him. Louis and Queen Marie-Antoinette then became frequent targets of French caricaturists, who often depicted them in a sort of reverse anthropomorphism, as animals with human heads. Here, the royal couple is portrayed as a two-headed creature that pulls in opposite directions. The king is given the body of a pig and the horns of a cuckold, a reference to his wife's many rumored affairs; the queen, with the body of a hyena, sports a fancy headdress of serpents and ostrich feathers, the latter a pun on her Austrian heritage (autruche and Autriche).

Technique/material: Hand-colored etching

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit: Album

Releases: ? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
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Image size: 3983 × 2814 px | 32.1 MB

Print size: 33.7 × 23.8 cm | 1568.1 × 1107.9 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: ANONYMOUS, FRENCH, 18TH CENTURY • DRAWINGS AND PRINTS • ETCHING • HAND-COLORED ETCHING • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PRINTS