Thursday 29 June 2023

Axel von Fersen miniature (auction)

Sold at auction last week in Stockholm: Peter Adolf Hall's famous miniature of Axel von Fersen, painted in Paris when he returned from the American War of Independence.

Wednesday 28 June 2023

Marie-Antoinette's private apartments

Marie-Antoinette's private apartments at Versailles have been reopened to the public as part of the palace's 400th anniversary celebrations.

Thursday 22 June 2023

Marseillaise manuscript

This copy of the Marseillaise from the Revolutionary era was posted on Facebook by Chelli Autographes on 20th June, presumably prior to be offered for sale:

Friday 16 June 2023

New digital Enlightenment project

 The Voltaire Foundation launches its new  ERC-funded project ModERN: Modelling Enlightenment. Reassembling Networks of Modernity through data-driven research, jointly hosted with the Sorbonne. Among other topics, the project will focus onVoltaire’s complex relationship to the French press.

Thursday 15 June 2023

On display - Voltaire's quill!

The Prince Czartoryski Museum in Kraków has opened its newly restored Klasztorek building with an exhibition of 1,800 items from its collection, among them a quill pen belonging  to Voltaire!

Saturday 10 June 2023

Volcanic activity and the French Revolution

The Times newspaper for 9th June publishes an article on the Icelandic earthquake which "caused the French Revolution".