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1925 |
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2014 |
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2024 |
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Sidewall (France)
This is a sidewall. It was attributed to Jacquemart & Bénard. It is dated 1792–93 and we acquired it in 1925. Its medium is block printed on handmade paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.
This wallpaper from the French Revolution was woodblock-printed ca. 1792. The Citizens of France felt that the Revolution could not be won just by fighting in political circles or on the battlefield. They thought it also had to occur in the ordinary citizen’s everyday life. It was believed that symbols had a powerful effect on the spirit and could reinforce the validity of the new principles. The domestic nature of wallpaper as well its repetitive aspect made it an ideal medium for portraying such motifs, and bringing these ideals into the home. This paper contains numerous symbols of the Revolution including the red Phrygian or liberty cap, tricolor ribbons, and the motto "Unite, Indivisibilite de la Republique", which are all combined in this rather beautiful format. Unlike posters or flyers used today for the spread of information, these are block-printed wallpapers, made by some of the top French manufacturers. These Revolutions papers must have been fairly widely printed and used as the Museum collection contains about a dozen different versions of these papers in both sidewalls and borders.
This object was
donated by
Advisory Council.
It is credited Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.
- Sugar Bowl And Lid (England)
- stoneware (black basalt), encaustic silver decoration.
- Bequest of Erskine Hewitt.
- 1938-57-306-a,b
- Sidewall, Battle of Porte St. Denis
- block printed on handmade paper.
- Gift of Katzenbach and Warren Inc..
- 1964-37-8
- Sidewall, Hoche
- block-printed on handmade paper.
- Gift of John Judkyn.
- 1949-137-1
Our curators have highlighted 9 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Sidewall, Le Printemps from Les Quatre Saisons
- block-printed on handmade paper.
- Museum purchase from the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition....
- 1994-101-12-a,b
- Sweetmeat Dish (France)
- glass, silver, gold.
- Gift of Sarane H. Ross in memory of her parents, Catherine B. and Charles V.....
- 1994-121-1
- Bandbox And Lid, Putnam and Roff
- block printed paper on pasteboard support.
- Gift of Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson.
- 1913-45-10-a,b
Its dimensions are
37.5 x 55 cm (14 3/4 x 21 5/8 in.)
Cite this object as
Sidewall (France); Attributed to Jacquemart & Bénard (France); block printed on handmade paper; 37.5 x 55 cm (14 3/4 x 21 5/8 in.); Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council; 1925-1-370
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Hewitt Sisters Collect.
