Trompe-l’oeil with portraits from the French Revolution.

Stipple engraving, printed in black and red, 7,7 x 7,7 cm, laid paper with partial watermark, inscriptions throughout print.

Loose under passe-partout. Good impression with margins. Excellent condition.

Charming and refined trompe-l'oeil print with portraits of the major figures of the French Revolution. The sitters are Maximilien de Robespierre (1758-1794), Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau (1749-1791), Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette (1757-1834), Jean-Sifrein Maury (1746-1817), Jean Sylvain Bailly (1736-1793), Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve (1756-1794) and Jacques Necker (1732-1804). Chronos is striking the portrait of Robespierre, who was executed in 1794. The faces and the body of Chronos are printed in red. In the background the French Constitutions of 1791 and 1793 and several assignats, a monetary instrument used at the time.
Ref. P. Chevremont, Marat. Index du bibliophile et de l’amateur de peintures, gravures, etc. Paris 1876, p. 445.