Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and Louis-Charles
1793
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1793
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and Louis-Charles is a 1793 ink by Jacob Adam, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a man, woman, and child posed together in a circle. The man wears a fancy coat with buttons, the woman has a big hairdo and ruffled collar, and the child sits between them looking serious. Around them is a decorative frame filled with flowers, scrolls, and a banner with Latin words. The print was made by cutting lines into metal to create the image—this is called engraving. The Latin says *"Conjugem sequerer meum, Nili hic teneret"* from Seneca, meaning "I would follow my wife, nothing here would hold me." Look up engraving to see how artists like this made detailed prints before photography.
