Louis XVI arrested 233 years ago

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On August 10, 1792, King Louis XVI was taken into custody by mobs during the French Revolution. The King was executed the following January after being put on trial for treason.          

 

Married to Marie Antoinette, they were the last king and queen of France before the disastrous fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution.         

 

 

 Louis XVI - 1701 

painting by Hyacinthe Ragaud 

 

 

 

 

The portrait above is regarded as the very epitome of the absolutist ruler portrait. Yet it represents more than just power, pomp and circumstance. The sumptuous red and gold drapery is not only a motif of dignity, but also creates a framework that echoes the drapes of the ornate, ermine-lined robe. The blue velvet brocade ornamented with the golden fleurs-delis of the house of Bourbon is repeated in the upholstery of the chair, the cushion and the cloth draped over the table below it: the king quite clearly "sets the tone".  A monumental marble column on a high plinth is draped in such a way that it does not detract from the height of the figure. Louis is presented in an elegantly angled pose, situated well above the standpoint of the spectator to whom he seems to turn his attention graciously, but without reducing the stability of his stance.  Rigaud's consummate mastery of portraiture is particularly evident in the way he depicts the king's facial expression: his distanced unapproachability are not founded in Neoclassicist idealization, but in the candour of an ageing, impenetrable physiognomy. The lips are closed decisively and with a hint of irony, the eyes have a harsh, dark sheen, while the narrow nose suggests intolerance. This is a ruler who is neither good nor evil, but beyond all moral categories.           

 

King Louis XVI may actually have been given a bad rap as witness the YouTube link below: The Really Bad Sex Life of Louis XVI.       

 

 

 

 

 

          

Viewfinder links:

          

Antoine-François Callet         

King Louis XVI          

Marat/Sade            

Orchestral Manouvers In the Dark (OMD) – Maid Of Orleans       

Queen Marie Antoinette          

Hyacinthe Rigaud           

          

Net links:

           

         

          

YouTube links:

          

Christories ~ The TRUTH about Louis XVI         

Coldplay ~ Viva la Vida             

Orchestral Manouvers In the Dark (OMD) – Maid Of Orleans 

The Really Bad Sex Life (And Reign) Of Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI    

What Caused the French Revolution?          

          

          

          

          

Styrous® ~ Sunday, August 10, 2025  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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       Marquis de Sade - 1760

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Blackboard Jungle             
Searching for Sugarman & Sixto Rodriquez      
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The James Dean Story         
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Rocky Horror       
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Marat/Sade

Recently, a friend visiting from Switzerland very casually mentioned to me that he was going to see the play, "Marat/Sade".  After I peeled myself down from the ceiling, I screamed, "I have to see it, too!", and did just that. To understand why, read "20,000 Vinyl LPs 5: Marat/Sade".

The play (the full title of which is, "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade"), was presented at the Brava Theatre (the old York Theater on 24th Street in the Mission) by San Francisco producer Marc Huestis and Russell Blackwood with his company, Thrillpeddlers.

(click on any image to see larger size)

Thrillpeddlers ad for Marat/Sade

After listening to the recording of the play for almost fifty years I had established images in my mind of what the play should look like. The set by James Blackwood fit them perfectly as did the wild costumes by Beaver Bauer and alice cunt (?). The production more than fulfilled my mind's images. They were surreal, vivid and fantastic! I was a very happy man. 

The performances of the actors were intense, riveting and everything one could wish for.

cast and musicians

Bonnie Suval                                       Jeff Garrett
(Charlotte Corday)                   (Marquis De Sade)
and Aaron Malberg                                             ~
(Marat)                                                                ~

photos by Daniel Nicoletta

 Bonni Suval (left)               Rumi Missabu (right)

photos by Daniel Nicoletta

 

The instrumentation was delightful and well done featuring a trumpet (with some fancy footwork), a recorder, a horn of some kind, a drum, a tambourine, a clarinet and keyboard played by Richard "Scrumbly" Koldewyn. The refrain of the key song succinctly tells the theme of the play:

Marat we're poor and the poor stay poor

Marat don't make us wait any more

We want our rights and we don't care how
We want our revolution NOW!

Ummmmmm . . . .

There is a video of Judy Collins singing the song on YouTube.

During the intermission I kibitzed in the lobby with Tom Orr who played the role of Kokol. 

 Tom Orr

photo by Styrous®

Curtain call by the Thrillpeddlers troupe

photo by Styrous®

After the show I found Rumi Missabu (who played Jacques Roux) in front of the theater enjoying a post-performance cigarette, so, we chatted for a bit. He and the other actors had done a fantastic job of establishing the feeling of insanity/genius for the production. 

Rumi Missabu

photo by Styrous®

Rumi was an original member of the Cockettes and is now their archivist. Videos of him can be seen on YouTube. I remember seeing the Cockettes sometime in the seventies at the Palace Theater in North Beach. I saw a couple of their shows but the only one I remember is their last one, "Journey to the Center of Uranus". Divine was in that show. Who could forget Divine of "Pink Flamingos" fame? Or her wonderfully raspy voice belting out the disco "hit", "You Think You're a Man"? "Man" can be seen on YouTube".

Selections from the play can also be seen on YouTube.

The production ran from July 13 - 29, 2012.
Previews were on July 11 & 12, 2012.

What a once in a lifetime experience it was, literally. My thanks to all who brought this fantastic adventure to life.

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Styrous® ~  July 31, 2012

Part One of this Entry

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