Fig. 3 — The Planting of Tree of Liberty in Zweibrücken, Germany.
The subject of this colour print by the German painter Karl Kaspar Fritz is the occupation of the town of Zweibrücken by the French armies. French soldiers, recognisable by their blue, white and red uniforms, have been portrayed as oppressors as they seize a peasant’s cart (left), harass some young women (centre foreground) and force a peasant down to his knees. The plaque being affixed to the Tree of Liberty carries a German inscription which in translation reads:
‘Take freedom and equality from us, the model of humanity.’ This is a sarcastic reference to the claim of the French as being liberators who opposed monarchy in the territories they entered.
Fig. 4 — The courier of Rhineland loses all that he has on his way home from Leipzig. Napoleon here is represented as a postman on
his way back to France after he lost the battle of Leipzig in 1813. Each letter dropping out of his bag bears the names of the territories he lost.
Fig. 5 — The Club of Thinkers, anonymous caricature dating to c. 1820.
The plaque on the left bears the inscription: ‘The most important question of today’s meeting: How long will thinking be allowed to us?’ The board on the right lists the rules of the Club which include the following:
‘1. Silence is the first commandment of this learned society.
2. To avoid the eventuality whereby a member of this club may succumb to the temptation of
speech, muzzles will be distributed to members upon entering.’
No comments:
Post a Comment