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A Christening in Revolutionary France
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Mallet’s image depicts a Republican baptism ceremony during the French Revolution. The event takes place in a magnificent Gothic church, identifiable as such by its pointed arches and stained glass window. A mother presents her infant to the priest who raises his right hand as he administers the sacrament. Even the musicians pause from playing to watch this spectacle.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineA Christening in Revolutionary France, late 18th century. Jean-Baptiste Mallet (French, 1759–1835). Pen and brown and gray inks and red chalk and watercolor, heightened with white; squaring for transfer; sheet: 33.3 x 44.6 cm (13 1/8 x 17 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin, 2017.213
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