Marie Antoinette Information

Archive for August, 2009

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Marie Antoinette Austria

Question: Marie Antoinette movie questions?

Did everytihng in the movie really happend to marie in real life?! like did she really cheat on her husband? and was her relationship with the king really not that satisfying? looks like they don’t really like each other, and did it take them forever to have kids? i want to know why she got married so young and how come she was chosen as queen? its seems so random, shes from austria right? how did she end up with the the king?

oh yeah! this may be a REALLY silly question! call me stupid but, when the women get pregnant they go through the 9 month period to right? cause in the moive she just had the baby! lol

sorry about the lame questions! but thanks :]
how did her baby die?

Answer: Marie Antoinette got married at the age of 14, which wasn't unusual at those times, especially for the royalty. The marriages had a political meaning. When she got married to Louis 2 dynasties were mixed: the Habsburgs and the Bourbons, which was supposed to guarantee safety and balance in Europe. It wasn't random at all, on the contrary.
The fact that they didn't like each other didn't really matter, because the reason for their marriage wasn't love but politics. He had her first baby, Marie Thérèse Charlotte,in 1778, at the age of 23, 9 years after marrying Louis.Louis Joseph was born 1781, died 1789 of bone tuberculosis. HEr next son, Louis Charles, died also on bone tuberculosis at the age of 10. Marie Antoinette's second daughter, Sophie Helene Beatrice, died at the age of 11 months, cause of death remained unknown.

She cheated on her husband a lot, she was commonly known as "the Austrian Whore". Some of her lovers were:
Arthur Dillon, the Duc de Lauzun, Axel von Fersen, Baron de Besenval, the Prince de Ligne, the Comte de Vaudreuil.
She even confessed herself that she led the life of 'a despicable prostitute

About the pregnancy, i'm not sure if it's a real question, but they just skipped the part when she was pregnant for nine months.

Hope that helps!!

Marie Antoinette leave Austria behind 4ever

French Revolution Phases

Question: Various History Questions?

-What are the short and long term causes of the French Revolution?
-What is each phase of the French Revolution, and what happened?
-How did Napoleon get into power, what reforms did he make, what steps did he take to make an empire?
-What were the goals, actions and outcomes of the Congress of Vienna
-What was the social structure of colonial society in Latin America?
-What was each revolution and who were the leaders, goals, followers and outcomes in Latin America?
-Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Britain (long and short term factors)?
-What were the major developments in Industrialization-inventions, impact and how it grew/expanded?
-What were the good and bad impacts of Industrialization?
-What were the major ideologies that developed out of industrialization, who were the thinkers, what were the main ideas, proposals for industrial society?

Answer: I would try the public library,and you should be able to get answers to all of these questions.

French Revolution

Marie Antoinette Off With Her Head

Question: Why did Marie Antoinette die?

I do know she was guillotined and her son was takening from her. But WHY (what was the reason) for her being guillotined? (guillotine is the machince that cuts your head off for those who didn’t know) :]

Answer: (For the complete story, go to Gooogle:
Type in "The Life and Death of Marie Antoinette
Hit "Search" Key.
You will find a list of sources
Scroll down to and CLICK: "Marie Antoinette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

There you will find the entire story of her life and death

In the interim, here is a bit of her story
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Imprisonment
Marie Antoinette did not ever truly recover from her husband's death. According to her daughter, "She no longer had any hope left in her heart or distinguished between life and death." She began to suffer from convulsions and fainting fits. She also lost her appetite and lost an enormous amount of weight.

On the night of July 3, 1793, commissioners arrived in the royal family's cell with instructions to separate Marie Antoinette's son from the rest of his family. He had been proclaimed Louis XVII by exiled royalists after his father's death. The republican government had therefore decided to imprison the eight-year-old child in solitary confinement. Louis flung himself into his mother's arms crying hysterically and Marie Antoinette shielded him with her body, refusing to give him up. When the commissioners threatened to kill her if she did not hand the child over, she still refused to move. It was only when they threatened to kill Marie Thérèse that she came to realise how hopeless the situation was. Two hours after the commissioners had entered her room, the former Queen relinquished her son to them. They would not meet again, since Marie-Antoinette would soon be put on trial for treason and her son would die in captivity in 1795.

At two o'clock in the morning of 2 August 1793, Marie Antoinette was awoken by guards and told to get dressed. She was taken away from her daughter and sister-in-law and transferred across Paris to the Conciergerie Prison. She was re-named "the Widow Capet," after Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian Dynasty. She was no longer to be referred to as "Marie Antoinette" but simply "Antoinette Capet" or "Prisoner No. 280." A young peasant girl, Rosalie Lamorlière, was entrusted to take care of Marie Antoinette's needs, but these were few since the queen did not ask for much.

On August 29, 1793, Marie Antoinette was visited by Alexandre Gonsse de Rougeville, a devoted supporter who passed a secret message hidden in the petals of a carnation. The message informed the queen to prepare herself for imminent rescue. The plan failed when guards intercepted Marie Antoinette's reply, which she had pin-pricked into a piece of paper. The "affair of the carnation" fueled speculation of a widespread royalist conspiracy and the queen was consequently placed under even tighter security.

On September 2, the republican journalist and politician, Jacques Hébert, told the Committee of Public Safety, "I have promised [my readers] the head of Antoinette. I will go and cut it off myself if there is any delay in giving it to me." Most republicans now felt an intense hatred for her and they were determined to see her dead.

Marie Antoinette under arrest.
She was brought to trial on October 14. When she entered the courtroom, most people were shocked at her appearance. She was emaciated, prematurely aged, exhausted and care-worn. Forty witnesses were called by the prosecution. They returned to the Affair of the Necklace or alleged that the queen had plied the Swiss Guard with alcohol during the siege of the palace. The most horrific charges came whenever Hébert accused her of having sexually abused her own son. When the queen was pressed to answer this charge she replied, "If I have not replied it is because Nature itself refuses to respond to such a charge laid against a mother."

The following questions were actually put to the jury: Is it established that manoeuvres and communications have existed with foreign powers and either external enemies of the republic, the said manoeuvres, &c., tending to furnish them with assistance in money, give them an entry into French territory, and facilitate the progress of their armies? Is Marie Antoinette of Austria, the widow Capet, convicted of having co-operated in these maneuvres and maintained these communications? Is it established that a plot and conspiracy has existed tending to kindle civil war within the republic, by arming the citizens against one another? Is Marie Antoinette, the widow Capet, convicted of having participated in this plot and conspiracy?

The jury decided unanimously in the affirmative, and she was condemned to death for treason on October 15 and escorted back to the Conciergerie. She wrote her final letter known as her "Testament", to her sister-in-law Elisabeth. She expressed her love for her friends and family and begged that her children would not seek to avenge her murder.
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Execution and burial

Marie Antoinette on her way to the guillotine, by Jacques-Louis David, 1793 On the morning of October 16, a guard arrived to cut her hair and bind her hands behind her back. She was forced into a common, slow-moving cart and paraded through the streets of Paris for over an hour before reaching the Place de la Révolution where the guillotine stood. She stepped lightly down from the cart and stared up at the guillotine. The priest who had accompanied her whispered, "This is the moment, Madame, to arm yourself with courage." Marie Antoinette turned to look at him and smiled, "Courage? The moment when my troubles are going to end is not the moment when my courage is going to fail me." Legend states that her last words were "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose," spoken after she had stepped on the executioner's foot.

At 12:15 Marie Antoinette was executed. Her head was exhibited to a cheering crowd. The bodies of Marie, Louis XVI and Madame Elisabeth (Louis' sister) were buried in the churchyard of La Madeleine and covered in quicklime. Following the restoration of the Bourbons, a search was conducted for the bodies. On the January 21, 1815, some bone fragments and a clump of gray matter with a lady's garter was discovered. The fragments were buried in the crypt of St. Denis Basilica.

Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Antonia of
Antoinette went down in history as a shallow, weak, self-indulgent and stupid person. Only royalists

Marie Antoinette loses her head

French Revolution Napoleonic Era

Jacques-Louis David, the leading exponent of ‘Neo-Classical Art’ in the era of the French Revolution, was born on August 30, 1748, in a well-to-do family of Paris. David lost his father to a violent feud when he was only nine years of age. In 1757, his mother put him in the custody of his architect uncles. David’s uncles wanted him to follow their suit and be an architect. They therefore, got him enrolled in the premium College des Quatre Nations, University of Paris. He was however, inclined more towards art than anything else, and was not a good performer at school.

Against the wishes of his family, Jacques decided to take art lessons. His training began with the ace ‘Rococo’ painter, François Boucher, and later on by Boucher’s friend, Joseph-Marie Vien, who introduced David to ‘Classicism’ at the famous Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. The artist won the coveted Roman fellowship prize, the Prix de Rome, in 1774, after three failed attempts, and studied at the French Academy, Rome until 1779. During his stay in Italy, Jacques-Louis got to see the Ancient Italian and Neo-classical masterpieces, including the ruins of Pompeii that completely turned him to ‘Classicism.’ After his stint with the academy, he returned to Paris and joined the Royal Academy, where two of his paintings were included in the Salon of 1781. His fortunes brightened when he married Marguerite Charlotte, the daughter of a wealthy contractor of royal buildings.

‘Neoclassicism’ prospered in France in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. David began considering the ornately moralistic style of ‘Rococo Art,’ as frivolous. His style started getting inclined more towards the past, giving way to what is known as the ‘History Painting,’ characterizing the mood of the Ancien Régime (the Old Rule). Some of his masterpieces, exhibited during this time, at the Paris Salon, include “St. Roch Interceding for the Plague-Stricken” (1780-1781), “Christ on the Cross,” “Belisarius Receiving Alms” (1781), and “Andromache Mourning Hector” (1783).

The transition in Jacques-Louis’ style of work, from ‘Rococo’ and ‘Baroque’ to ‘Neo-classicism,’ was most prominently reflected in his magnum opus, “the Oath of the Horatii” (1784-1785), which also evidenced the influence of artists like Hamilton, on his work. His other creations, such as “Death of Socrates” (1787), and “The Love of Paris and Helen” (1789), proved instrumental in the development of ‘Romantic Hellenism’ in ‘French Art.’ His classic work, “The Lictors Returning to Brutus the Bodies of his Sons,” was felicitated at the Salon of 1789. This awe-inspiring and enigmatic piece challenged the critics for a long time with different interpretations of it emerging during different periods.

David played an active role in the French Revolution and staunchly supported Maximilien Robespierre, the lead member of the Committee of Public Safety, who backed the trial and the execution of the King Louis XVI. The artist also co-founded the ‘Institut de France’ to replace the bureaucratic, Royal Academy and propelled several propaganda exercises. Some of Jacques’ prominent works of this time include “The Oath of the Tennis Court” (1791), “Lepelletier de St. Fargeau” (1793), and “The Death of Marat” (1793).

After the end of the Revolution, David was imprisoned, first in 1794, and again in 1795, for his political role during the Revolution. He was later saved by the intervention of his wife however, an act symbolized in his “Intervention of the Sabine Women,” (1799). The same year, shortly after Napoleon came to power, David was named Painter to the Emperor. He painted “The Coronation of the Emperor Napoleon I” (1806-1807), in Napoleon’s honor, and “The Distribution of the Eagles” (1810), representing his revolutionary patriotism.

With the fall of Napoleon and Louis XVIII becoming the king, in the year 1816, David was sent to exile in Brussels, as a punishment for voting for the execution of Louis XVI in 1792. In Brussels, David painted “Amor and Psyche” (1817), “The Farewell of Telemachus,” “Eucharis” (1818), and “The Anger of Achilles” (1819). These compositions were completely diverse from David’s earlier works and marked a new direction in his career. In 1822, he started working on “Mars Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces,” which he declared would be his last work. The following year, on December 29, 1825, he was killed in a road accident when a carriage struck him. David was buried at Evere Cemetery, Brussels, as he was denied a burial in France on the accusation of regicide.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.labedzki-art.com

Silver Coins of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era

French Revolution Diaries

Question: Does this plot sound good?

Hi! I’m writing a story that takes place during the French Revolution. It’s written like a diary (like the Dear America books). Can you tell me if this plot sounds good?

Marie is 15 when the Revolution breaks out. She and her family belongs to the Third Estate, but is in the upper part of it (borgeosie). Marie is behrothed to marry a man named Charles, who is a friend of her father’s, but doesn’t like him. Her father is a follower of the Enlightenment and is arrested for his invovlment in planning a riot against King Louis XVI. While her father is in jail, Marie falls in love with a noble, named Adrian. Adrian helps free Marie’s father from jail, and then they flee to England and get married.

How does it sound? Thanks in advance for your input!

Answer: I think it sounds good, but not that original. I feel like I've read a lot of stories with the normal-but-idealistic girl/noble cause/gets into trouble/forbidden love books. I like the idea of her being in the bourgeois, but I think it might be more interesting if the love interest was poorer than her, in part because nobles and bourgeois had pretty similar lifestyles, and intermarriage between the two was fairly common in 18th century France, but do what you want. It'll be most interesting if you do a plot you're interested in, and just make the storytelling great. I loved the Dear America books when I was younger, this does sound like a fun story. Good luck!

François Francœur - Symphonies pour le festin du Comte d'Artois - VII. Contredanse