14 JULY IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE BASTILLE!
We celebrate
the Fête de la Fédération
Which took place on July 14th 1790 on the Champ de Mars.
And celebrated the storming of the Bastille...
The deputies of the National Assembly, Les Fédérés,
decide to form a large procession which crosses the Saine at the Champ de Mars.
Accompanied by more than
260,000 Parisians.
On the spot, the deputies and the king take the oath,
to the new laws, for a new era
Oil on wood Fêtes incroyables et merveilleuses by Prudent Louis LERAY
Size : 54 x 45 cm
What a discovery!
ONLY 7 PRISONERS AT THE BASTILLE
on July 14, 1789
When the revolutionaries took the Bastille, they thought they were freeing hundreds of prisoners made by the monarchy!
What was their surprise to discover only
4 swindlers, 1 libertine and 2 madmen!
So they invented one,
allowing them to feed the revolutionary legend
We present to you
The Count of LORGES
32 years in prison!
Discovered in chains, almost naked,
with a beard reaching down to his waist, in a dark and damp dungeon.
He was carried in triumph by the crowd. For 15 days, all Paris came to visit the cell...
BUT THE GAZETTE INVESTIGATED!
THE PRISONER OF LORGES NEVER EXISTED!
The revolutionaries invented the character and went so far as to publish false portraits.
DIARAMAS :
Reconstitution of a scene in volume, with a modelled environment and characters, identical to reality
Pair of diaramas, City Hall, 19th century, frame Luis XVI period
Dimensions: 40.5 x 28.5 cm
WHEN DID WE START MARCHING?
It was in 1880 that the 14th of July officially became the bank holidays
Ten years after the defeat against Prussia in 1870, France wanted to show its military power.
The first big military parade is organised
at the Longchamp racecourse.
In 1886, the first woman
The first woman on parade.
A canteen girl from the 131st infantry regiment who had just received the military medal
In 1919, at the end of the First World War
the parade honoured France's victory
and its children who died
for the fatherland
It will now take place on the Champs-Elysées
In 1971,
women will participate in the 14 July parade!
Watercolour,Horsemen by Orlando NORIO
Dimensions: 41.5 x 50 cm
LOUIS XIII, CHINA AND FIREWORKS!
From the roofs of Notre-Dame, the gargoyles,
the statues of the Place de la Concorde,
watch the 14th of July fireworks every year,
but where does this tradition come from?
The technique of fireworks was imported from Asia.
Marco Polo returned with the know-how of the Chinese in the 18th century.
The first pyrotechnic show took place in 1612, for the wedding of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria.
It was considered at the time to be one of the most beautiful of the century.
Fireworks are part of all celebrations (weddings, christenings...)
With the Revolution, the people gained access to this elite form of entertainment, which became a recurring festive symbol
from the Fête de Fédération in 1790
However, it is an expensive spectacle,
reminiscent of the monarchy.
It disappeared during the revolution
before coming back for good
in 1880!
A grease pencil drawing Gargoyle of Notre-Dame by Charles Jouas Dimensions : 31.5 x 39.5 cm
A watercolour, View of Paris, Place de la Concorde by Paul LECOMTE
Size : 41 x 46 cm
FROM THE TUILERIES TO THE CONCIERGERIE
AFTER JULY 14TH...
After their escape attempt, Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and their children are locked up in the Tuileries Palace, west of the Louvre
The family is a "prisoner of the people".
It was on 10 August 1792, during a bloody day
that the revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace.
More than 25,000 people came to get the king and the "schemer".
The king will quickly order the Swiss Guards to lay down their arms... but the Tuileries are already invaded. The queen and the children have taken refuge in the Assembly.
Oil on panel, View of the Tuileries in winter 19th century Dimensions : 45 x 58 cm
After a night of misfortune,
the royal family is locked up in the temple tower
Louis XVI was guillotined on 16 January 1793.
On 2 August 1793, Marie-Antoinette
was awakened in the middle of the night with her children to be taken to the Conciergerie.
Former seat of power of the Capetians in the 5th century
The Conciergerie became a state prison in 1310.
Marie-Antoinette was separated from her children, under the constant surveillance of two gendarmes day and night, with a small screen for privacy.
She would only leave her cell for the trial
and to be guillotined on 16 October 1796
Oil on canvas, View of the place du châtelet, of the conciergerie by night by H. ROYET
Size: 42.3 x 34.5 cm