July 29, 2024
Provided Image/Freeman’s | Hindman
'The Destruction of the Bastille,' the ink and wash drawing pictured above, was gifted to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1790. It will be displayed at the Museum of the American Revolution in August before being auctioned off in Philadelphia on Sept. 10.
A one-of-a-kind piece of American and French history will be displayed in Philadelphia in August.
The Museum of the American Revolution will show "The Destruction of the Bastille," an ink and wash drawing gifted to George Washington by French military officer Gilbert du Motier — commonly known as the Marquis de Lafayette — in 1790. This could be the last public appearance for the piece, since it is set to be part of a Freeman’s | Hindman auction of books and manuscripts in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 10, following its display at the museum.
In case you missed the plot of "Hamilton," Lafayette was a hero in the United States and France, and played important roles in both countries' fights for freedom. At 19 years old, he came to America and volunteered to join the Continental Army, led by Washington, during the Revolutionary War. He commanded troops in the decisive siege of Yorktown before returning to his home country and becoming a key figure in the French Revolution. Lafayette was one of Washington's most trusted military commanders, and they had a close friendship and even family-like relationship.
The drawing depicts the demolished Bastille prison in Paris on Aug. 8, 1789, a few weeks after the July 14 uprising that launched the French Revolution. On March 17, 1790, Lafayette — who was the head of the Paris National Guard — wrote to Washington from France to inform him of the latest happenings in the French Revolution. He also gifted Washington the Bastille drawing, which was made by Bastille demolition site inspector Étienne-Louis-Denis Cathala, along with the main key to the prison.
"Give me leave, My dear General, to present you With a picture of the Bastille just as it looked a few days after I Had ordered its demolition, with the Main Kea of that fortress of despotism — it is a tribute Which I owe as A Son to My Adoptive father, as an aid de Camp to My General, as a Missionary of liberty to its patriarch," Lafayette wrote to Washington.
The drawing became one of Washington's most cherished possessions. The piece hung prominently in the presidential house in Philadelphia during Washington's two terms, and then it hung in the entryway of his Mount Vernon home — even after his death. Washington's family kept the sketch until 1891, nearly 100 years after he died. The drawing was then sold at auction and passed through private collections. It has rarely been publicly displayed in the centuries since it was created, but the piece recently appeared in Paris at the Didier Aaron & Cie art gallery.
"The Museum of the American Revolution relishes the opportunity to showcase this extraordinary piece of history to the public before its ownership changes and its fate becomes unknown," R. Scott Stephenson, president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution, said in a release. "I can think of no better way to celebrate the impending 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s 1824-25 tour of America than to bear witness to this great historical reminder of reverence, camaraderie, and courage."
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