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Archive Reference / Library Class No.D5459/1/84
Former ReferenceD5459/1/6
TitleCloset Reflections
Date[1790-1799]
DescriptionAn interior scene. Marie Antoinette sits in a red chair next to a table covered in a red cloth, upon which are a crucifix and rosary beads. In her right hand she holds a book inscribed 'Burke on the French Revolution' and she holds out her left hand to a portrait of Burke on the wall. Burke holds a scroll of paper in his right hand, on which is written 'Sublime and Beautiful'.

Behind the queen are a red curtain and a picture pinned to the wall. The picture is titled 'Death and the Lady', in reference to the traditional English song of the same name, and beneath a drawing of Death gesturing towards a woman is written 'Fair Lady lay thy Costly Robes aside'.Available on CD 158.
LevelItem
RepositoryDerbyshire Record Office
ArtistWoodward, George Murgatroyd (?1765-1809)
Archive CreatorGeorge Murgatroyd Woodward (1765-1809), artist and writer
Further InformationThe text below the drawing reads:

"Why look I up to thy dear portrait, most amiable of men - thou image of perfection - to what a state is thy Beautiful vision reduced!! Thou canst afford her no relief - else would thy sword leap from its scabbard in defence of a poor unhappy helpless woman - the days of Chivalry indeed are pass'd."

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) , who was one of the vehement critics of the French Revolution, was particularly shocked by the treatment of the queen. One of the most famous (and mocked) passages in his 'Reflections on the Revolution in France', published in 1790 began:
"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then the dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision"
and ended:
"I though ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. -- But the age of chivalry is gone."

'Sublime and Beautiful', refers to 'A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful', which Burke published in 1756.

The picture of death suggests that it may have been painted after her execution on 16 Oct 1793.
Physical DescriptionColoured drawing. Size 425 x 312 mm. Portrait.
CopiesA digital copy can also be viewed on the public computers at the record office.
Related MaterialSee D5459/1/42, D5459/1/48 and D5459/1/53 for other depictions of Burke.
Image

Closet Reflections

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