print; satirical print

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Object Type: print; satirical print
Museum number: 1868,0808.8189
Title: Object: Le Congrès suspendu (par un Message de France)
Description: The title continues: 'ou des gens qui ne tiennent plus qu'à un fil.' A conclave of sovereigns apparently symbolizing the conference set in London and dealing with the Greek borders, see BM Satires No. 15865. The participants, identified by captions within the print, all wearing uniforms and sitting in appropriately decorated chairs, are startled by the arrival of a French courier who stands at right and announces that Charles X of France will not be attending the talks; the sovereigns frown apprehensively; on the far left is an empty chair for Charles X; on either side are Sultan Mahmud II, wearing a jewelled turban, and Emperor Francis II, who holds the 'Instructions de Meternik' written on a piece of paper, and whose chair is decorated at the back with the Habsburg eagle dropping dagger and orb; at centre are Miguel of Portugal, holding a riding-crop, and Ferdinand VII of Spain, who clasps his stomach with both hands; a note stuck on his chair indicates it was paid for by the French in 1825; nearby Frederick William III of Prussia sits next to the Duke of Wellington, who stands in for the King of England, and examines a document; at far right is Czar Nicholas I. c.1829 Lithograph
Producer name: Print made by: J J Grandville; Printed by: Langlumé
School/style
Production date: 1829 (circa)
Production place: Published in: Paris (France)
Materials
Technique
Dimensions: Height: 224 millimetres (printed area); Width: 272 millimetres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: Adhémar and Lethève date the print around 1829; they describe a state published by Bulla; this is a different state, published by Langlumé. (Description and comment from M. Dorothy George, 'Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum', XI, 1954) The reactionary sovereigns hear with dismay news of a threat to the French monarchy: when Polignac's ministry was appointed, see No. 15861, &c, Lafayette was acclaimed at Lyons as a republican and a national hero. Ferdinand, who owes his throne to French intervention in 1823, see No. 14511, is especially disturbed. France and England had represented to Russia that the execution of the Treaty of London (see No. 15507), accepted by Turkey at Adrianople, see No. 15877, should be settled by the three powers, and that the conference relating to Greece should be transferred to London. 'Ann. Reg.', 1829, p. 230.
Bibliographic references: IFF / Inventaire du Fonds Français: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes (7); BM Satires / Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum (15874)
Location: Not on display
Subjects: satire; politics
Associated names: Portrait of: Mahmud II; Portrait of: Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Francis I, Emperor of Austria; Portrait of: Miguel I, King of Portugal; Portrait of: Ferdinand VII, King of Spain; Portrait of: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; Portrait of: Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia; Portrait of: Frederick William III, King of Prussia; Associated with: Charles X, King of France and Navarre; Associated with: Ferdinand VII, King of Spain; Associated with: Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Francis I, Emperor of Austria; Associated with: Frederick William III, King of Prussia; Associated with: George IV, King of the United Kingdom; Associated with: Mahmud II; Associated with: Richard Clemens Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg; Associated with: Evaristo Miguel; Associated with: Pope Nicholas I (St Nicholas the Great); Associated with: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Associated events: Associated Event: July Revolution (?) 1830
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1868
Department: Prints and Drawings
Registration number: 1868,0808.8189

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