"Here Lies Louis the Pretender", 1791

The anonymous cartoonist argues that Louis XVI forfeited his royal dignity through his attempted escape on 20 July 1791. Without setting aside his usual pipe, the Père Duchesne heeds nature's call in front of a symbolic royal monument and wipes his bottom with the declaration which the fugitive had left behind in the Tuileries. His sidekick Jean Bart, another popular figure, smiles, while a muse of freedom decapitates the crowned obelisk.

Inscription: no. 1 Jean Bart, no. 2 Le Pere Duchene, no. 3 La genie de la france.

"Hier ruht Ludwig der Falsche, Capet der Ältere", paper, coloured etching, 27.4 x 24 cm, France, 1791, unknown artist; source: Prometheus – Das verteilte Bildarchiv für Forschung und Lehre, Lexikon der Revolutions-Ikonographie, Justus Liebig Universität Gießen, Historisches Institut, https://prometheus-bildarchiv.de/de/ (fee for access).