Democratic gratitude ; Democratic religion, James Gillray

Two panels from a sequence of eight designs, arranged in two rows, titled "Democracy - or - a Sketch of the Life of Buonaparte." [Left] Democratic Gratitude. Buonaparte heading the Regicide Banditti which had dethron'd & Murder'd the Monarch, whose bounty had foster'd him: Bonaparte stands in back-view directing with outstretched sword the demolition and plundering of a stone building, already on fire. A man with an axe on a ladder smashes a royal escutcheon. Plunderers issue (right) carrying off bags, chests, etc. Plate, coins, jewels, and orders are heaped at Bonaparte's feet and an obsequious soldier empties a sack. On the left is a band of ragged soldiers with a tricolour flag. They have firebrands, a pick-axe, pikes, etc. On 13th Vendémiaire (5 Oct. 1795) Bonaparte commanded the troops by which the Convention was defended from an insurrection which was partly royalist. [Right] Democratic Religion. Buonaparte turning Turk at Cairo for Interest, after swearing on the Sacrament to support ye Catholic Faith: Bonaparte sits cross-legged on a sofa, smoking a hookah, while a Turkish priest puts a turban on his head. A fat Turk (left) reads from a book, while another whets a knife. On the right is a group of dismayed French officers. Behind are impassive Turkish priests with folded arms. An arc of an ornate tent forms a background (BM).
Courtesy of Boston Public Library