| Marie Antoinette Being Taken to Her Execution | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | William Hamilton |
| Year | 1794 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, history painting |
| Dimensions | 152 cm× 197 cm(60 in× 78 in) |
| Location | Musée de la Révolution française, Vizille |
Marie Antoinette Being Taken to Her Execution is an oil on canvas history painting by the British artist William Hamilton. [1] [2] It depicts a scene in Paris from the French Revolution. [3] On 16 October 1793 Marie Antoinette, the widow of the deposed French monarch Louis XVI who had been executed earlier that year, was herself taken to be guillotined. [4]
She is portrayed in white, emphasising her innocence, with the executioner Charles-Henri Sanson binding her hands. A priest is shown beside her while soldiers hold back the revolutionary mob of Sans-culottes. The composition emphasises the former queen's dignity. It was produced at a time when Britain and the French Republic were at war. Today the painting is in the collection of the Musée de la Révolution française in Vizille. [5]