On the other hand, David's sketch indubitably depicts not the majestic Queen of France but a condemned, emaciated woman, made ready for execution

Marie Antoinette was only 37 at the time of her execution on 16 October 1793. After her trial she spent 10 months in the Temple prison and 3 months in the Conciergerie, where she was parted from her children and subjected to cruel treatment. In captivity she suffered from a tormenting illness. And in 2024 Macron made use of her grief in his Olympic spectacle.

Read, or reread, Anatole France's The Gods Are Athirst, a remarkable novel about the French Terror, whose hero is a pupil of David, a great artist, yet a frightening figure.

The "trial" of Marie Antoinette was an unspeakable disgrace. Incidentally, Hébert, the instigator of that dark charade, who dreamed of sending everyone to the guillotine, spent the night before his own execution in dreadful lamentations, tears and pleas for mercy.

A Montagnard, supported by Marat during his elections in Paris, he voted for the king's death and interrogated the Dauphin. One need not be a royalist to condemn the Terror, a time of totalitarian excesses and shameful barbarity that did France no credit.

David called Danton a "scoundrel" as he was driven past the windows of the Café de la Régence to the scaffold. Danton shouted back: "Valet!", which was also quite apt.

Let us not forget that David himself took part in the Terror, and that says a great deal. When, in the fateful hour, he saw his saviour and idol Robespierre, who had at first not wanted Marie Antoinette executed, going to the scaffold, his jaw locked. For all the greatness of his talent, David was to some extent a painter of dictatorship and of dictators. This theme is touched upon in the reflections of Jean d'Ô, the artist's grandson. As for the portrait of Marie Antoinette, it is still hidden within the walls of the Château de Saint-Fargeau, far from the public's eyes.