Michael Edelman
HST 313
3/28/2005
Caricature Paper

Jacques-Louis David: Gouvernement Anglois (The English Government)

Introduction: As one can expect from the very nature of political and social revolutions, there were some very unhappy people during the French revolution. The question here is why the French citizens of this time so upset were and was their discontent so great that a revolution could be justified? Furthermore, who and what will be the ultimate vehicle to bring the necessary political, social and economic dreams to realization? The French Revolution in began in 1789 and ended in 1799, this was a time in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to …show more content…

As an educated man, David was well aware of their ignorance when it came to artistic interpretation, so he made the image crude enough for even the simplest of citizens to comprehend (Johnson, 1993). David wanted to let his people know that they were being overpowered and demoralized, in a sense planting an infuriating seed in their mind in order to fuel the revolution. With his brush, David could foster a sense of insight, resentment and fear, qualities sure to inspire revolution. Now the only question is whether David was successful and justified in his actions at that time?

Argument: Gouvernement Anglois by Jacques-Louis David was created more towards the beginning of the French Revolution. This was undoubtedly a piece of pro-revolution propaganda created to deface oppressive absolute ruling governments and religions of the time and inspire fear and action on the behalf of the rising bourgeoisie. What is less certain was the need for such an explicit piece of work, the accuracy of David's depiction and whether or not David was successful in what he was trying to do. Proof: When taken out of the context of the French Revolution the implications of David's intentions and methods in liberal politics with regards to progressive morality are more common than you would think, this can be proven through relevant historical examples: Considering the extremely low living standards that