Painter Baron François-Pascal-Simon Gerard used his connection as Jacques-Louis David's understudy to evade conscription in 1793 and avoid proclaiming political allegiances. During a tumultuous period in France, he spent his career aligning himself with the parties in power, serving as the official portrait painter for Napoleon and then working for the reinstated Bourbon monarchs.

Here, Gerard sketched a microcosmic drama depicting the people’s triumph on the 10th of August, a key event in the French Revolution: the people stand powerful, armed with their pointed fingers and aggressive postures, while the king and queen lurk helplessly behind bars. The composition of the work adds to this drama by relegating the royal duo to the background. In a similar spirit, the works of the playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799), which gave rise to the fictional character of Figaro, openly criticized aristocratic authority in the years before the Revolution. In works by Beaumarchais, Figaro uses his cunning to quietly manipulate the Count Almaviva, taking a more covert approach than Gerard’s bourgeoisie, who employ vehement disapproval and violence to overthrow Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

Family of the artist, by descent to; Gramont. Andrew S. Ciechanowiecki (1924–2015), London, by 1973, sold 2000 to; LACMA.

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