French Revolutionary Visual Culture

This is an historical overview of the Visual Culture of years I & II of the French Revolution. In particular the role of Enlightenment Philosophy as the theoretical underpinning of the Revolution, Hegel's perception of the events in France, and most importantly the role of Terror as a system of power, will each be examined in turn. The central argument is that Terror was a political methodology that was deployed visually by the Revolutionary Government as part of a cultural revolution intended to instill ideals of free will, virtue and enlightened government into a reluctant citizenry.