22 - Attributed to Auguste Desperret (1804–1865)

Attributed to Auguste Desperret (1804–1865) Third eruption of the volcano in 1789. Color lithograph. 1833. From "La Caricature morale, religieuse, littéraire et scénique, Volume 6, June 6, 1833 (Plate No. 279)." 26.5 x 34.7 cm Skinning, vertical center fold, lower right corner creased. Depiction of the “LIBERTY” volcano, with the letters “LIBERTY” bursting from the erupting crater. This symbolizes the arrival of a third revolution. The first was that of “1789.” It is evoked in the plate by the ruins of a castle in the foreground, a sign that feudalism had been overthrown. Stone fragments bearing the inscriptions “Right // of Primogeniture,” “Divine Right,” “Feudalism,” and “TITHE” illustrate the progress made in the realm of justice by the Revolution of 1789. The second is that of 1830, depicted in the painting by volcanic rocks floating in the air bearing the inscription “July.” On the flanks of the Volcano of Liberty are European nations, symbolized by small citadels flying their national flags: in the front row is France, which risks being swept away by the lava of the next revolution. Then come Belgium, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Piedmont, and Monaco. Below, men (the privileged, the aristocrats, among whom one might perhaps recognize the Duke of Orléans, as well as Louis-Philippe carrying a large sack of écus on his back) are trying to flee the subterranean fire of the revolution in full swing. Desperet is undoubtedly referring to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Laki in 1783–1784, which was considered, at the time, to be one of the triggering factors of the French Revolution of 1789 (the series of weather disturbances, which led to crop failures, is said to have contributed to the popular discontent that led to the events of 1789). The artist does not specify a precise date for the arrival of the third revolutionary episode, but predicts its inevitable arrival sooner or later. The volcano is depicted as a reservoir where injustices and other government measures—deemed intolerable—accumulate, and from which the revolt rumbling beneath the surface among the people will eventually erupt. (Source: BNF).