Artwork Page for Le Dévouement des Citoyennes de Paris (The Dedication of the Citizens of Paris)

Details / Information for Le Dévouement des Citoyennes de Paris (The Dedication of the Citizens of Paris)

Le Dévouement des Citoyennes de Paris (The Dedication of the Citizens of Paris)

1794

Joseph-Benoît Suvée

(French, 1743–1807)
Culture
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
Overall: 49.9 x 61.3 cm (19 5/8 x 24 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2022.40
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Shortly after submitting this sketch, the artist was imprisoned for not being sufficiently loyal to the republic.

Description

Painted during the French Revolution’s treacherous Reign of Terror, the artist took inspiration from an actual event. In 1789, wives and daughters of several prominent artists donated their jewelry to the service of the young French republic. Joseph-Benoit Suvée recasts the event in classical Roman style, underscoring the connection between the ancient republic and France’s revolutionary ambitions.
A horizontally oriented oil painting depicts women with light skin tones gathering at the base of a dark-brown statue of a seated woman holding out a circular band. One woman kneels with her back to us, looking up at the statue and holding her nude baby against a pedestal in front of the statue. Other women stand, removing jewelry and placing it on the pedestal. Left, a woman holds an object away from a reaching man. They all wear white tunics overlaid with red, yellow-green, or blue.

Le Dévouement des Citoyennes de Paris (The Dedication of the Citizens of Paris)

1794

Joseph-Benoît Suvée

(French, 1743–1807)

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