Tea at Trianon: Louis at the Plow

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, April 8, 2011

Louis at the Plow

Here is a print of the painting originally sent to the Archduchess Marie-Antoinette depicting her future husband helping the peasants at their work, entitled Monseigneur le Dauphin labourant. Share

4 comments:

lara77 said...: I remember reading years ago of this painting and how historians sneered at this painting ; attesting to the Dauphin's ungainly appearance and lowbrow interests like being a locksmith. I saw it as love of his people and wanting to identify with the average Frenchman. Did not his famous trip to Cherbourg only increase the love of his subjects and his love for the French People? Of course critics would say it was an inappropriate painting to send to the Archduchess Marie Antoinette.Yet, it said more of the man and the King he would try to be for his people.; April 11, 2011 at 1:23:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I totally agree with you, Lara. I think it was a great portrait to send to Antoinette since it showed him to be a prince willing to work for his people. I am tired of a negative interpretation being put on every single thing that Louis did.; April 11, 2011 at 1:35:00 PM EDT
lara77 said...: Elena Maria, you are so right! Everything the King did is viewed as negative while Bonaparte is treated like a god! Just look at Bonaparte's tomb; total pretentiousness! I will always see the King as the better man, the Christian man who loved his wife and children, who loved his people and wanted no bloodshed to be spilled for his sake. If we all hopefully get to heaven some day; King Louis XVI is one man I would be most honored to meet.; April 11, 2011 at 2:16:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I can't wait to meet him and Marie-Antoinette.; April 11, 2011 at 2:29:00 PM EDT