#Jean-lambert tallien

[suburbanbeatnik]

Sexy clinch 1790s French edition

[noura-addams]

Jean-Lambert Tallien on 9 thermidor threatened to use a dagger against Robespierre before the National Convention if the deputies did not decree his accusation ..

[demaskblue]

Thermidorians as k-pop idols (blackpink inspiration for the idea haha+something funny someone said on frevcord + le fil)

In order: TALLIEN, COLLOT, FOUCHE, BARERE

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Frev appearance descriptions masterpost

Jean-Paul Marat — In Histoire de la Révolution française: 1789-1796 (1851) Nicolas Villiaumé pins down Marat’s height to four pieds and eight pouces (around 157 cm). This is a somewhat dubious claim considering Villiaumé was born 26 years after Marat’s death and therefore hardly could have measured him himself, but we do know he had had contacts with Marat’s sister Albertine, so maybe there’s still something to this. That Marat was short is however not something Villaumé is alone in claiming. Brissotwrote in his memoirs that he was ”the size of a sapajou,” the pamphlet Bordel patriotique (1791) claimed that he had ”such a sad face, such an unattractive height,” while John Moore in A Journal During a Residence in France, From the Beginning of August, to the Middle of December, 1792 (1793) documented that ”Marat is little man, of a cadaverous complexion, and a countenance exceedingly expressive of his disposition. […] The only artifice he uses in favour of his looks is that of wearing a round hat, so far pulled down before as to hide a great part of his countenance.” In Portrait de Marat(1793) Fabre d’Eglantine left the following very detailed description: ”Marat was short of stature, scarcely five feet high. He was nevertheless of a firm, thick-set figure, without being stout. His shoulders and chest were broad, the lower part of his body thin, thigh short and thick, legs bowed, and strong arms, which he employed with great vigor and grace. Upon a rather short neck he carried a head of a very pronounced character. He had a large and bony face, aquiline nose, flat and slightly depressed, the under part of the nose prominent; the mouth medium-sized and curled at one corner by a frequent contraction; the lips were thin, the forehead large, the eyes of a yellowish grey color, spirited, animated, piercing, clear, naturally soft and ever gracious and with a confident look; the eyebrows thin, the complexion thick and skin withered, chin unshaven, hair brown and neglected. He was accustomed to walk with head erect, straight and thrown back, with a measured stride that kept time with the movement of his hips. His ordinary carriage was with his two arms firmly crossed upon his chest. In speaking in society he always appeared much agitated, and almost invariably ended the expression of a sentiment by a movement of the foot, which he thrust rapidly forward, stamping it at the same time on the ground, and then rising on tiptoe, as though to lift his short stature to the height of his opinion. The tone of his voice was thin, sonorous, slightly hoarse, and of a ringing quality. A defect of the tongue rendered it difficult for him to pronounce clearly the letters c and l, to which he was accustomed to give the sound g. There was no other perceptible peculiarity except a rather heavy manner of utterance; but the beauty of his thought, the fullness of his eloquence, the simplicity of his elocution, and the point of his speeches absolutely effaced the maxillary heaviness. At the tribune, if he rose without obstacle or excitement, he stood with assurance and dignity, his right hand upon his hip, his left arm extended upon the desk in front of him, his head thrown back, turned toward his audience at three-quarters, and a little inclined toward his right shoulder. If on the contrary he had to vanquish at the tribune the shrieking of chicanery and bad faith or the despotism of the president, he awaited the reéstablishment of order in silence and resuming his speech with firmness, he adopted a bold attitude, his arms crossed diagonally upon his chest, his figure bent forward toward the left. His face and his look at such times acquired an almost sardonic character, which was not belied by the cynicism of his speech. He dressed in a careless manner: indeed, his negligence in this respect announced a complete neglect of the conventions of custom and of taste and, one might almost say, gave him an air of ressemblance.”

Albertine Marat — both Alphonse Ésquiros and François-Vincent Raspail who each interviewed Albertine in her old age, as well as Albertine’s obituary (1841) noted a striking similarity in apperance between her and her older brother. Esquiros added that she had ”two black and piercing eyes.” A neighbor of Albertine claimed in 1847 that she had ”the face of a man,” and that she had told her that ”my comrades were never jealous of me, I was too ugly for that” (cited in Marat et ses calomniateurs ou Réfutation de l’Histoire des Girondins de Lamartine (1847) by Constant Hilbe) 

Simonne Evrard — An official minute from July 1792, written shortly after Marat’s death, affirmed the following: “Height: 1m, 62, brown hair and eyebrows, ordinary forehead, aquiline nose, brown eyes, large mouth, oval face.” The minute for her interrogation instead says: “grey eyes, average mouth.”Cited in this article by marat-jean-paul.org. When a neighbor was asked whether Simonne was pretty or not around two decades after her death in 1824, she responded that she was ”très-bien” and possessed ”an angelic sweetness” (cited in Marat et ses calomniateurs ou Réfutation de l’Histoire des Girondins de Lamartine (1847) by Constant Hilbe) while Joseph Souberbielle instead claimed that ”she was extremely plain and could never have had any good looks.”

Maximilien Robespierre — The hostile pampleth Vie secrette, politique et curieuse de M. J Maximilien Robespierre… released shortly after thermidor by L. Duperron, specifies Robespierre’s hight to have been ”five pieds and two or three pouces” (between 165 and 170 cm). He gets described as being ”of mediocre hight” by his former teacher Liévin-Bonaventure Proyart in 1795, ”a little below average height” by journalist Galart de Montjoie in 1795, ”of medium hight” by the former Convention deputy Antoine-Claire Thibaudeau in 1830 and ”of middling form” by his sister in 1834, but ”of small size” by John Moore in 1792 and Claude François Beaulieu in 1824. The 1792 pampleth Le véritable portrait de nos législateurs… wrote that Robespierre lacked ”an imposing physique, a body à la Danton,”supported by Joseph Fiévée who described him as ”small and frail” in 1836, and Louis Marie de La Révellière who said he was ”a physically puny man” in his memoirs published 1895. For his face, both François Guérin (on a note written below a sketch in 1791), Buzot in his Mémoires sur la Révolution française (written 1794), Germaine de Staël in her Considerations on the Principal Events of the French Revolution (1818), a foreign visitor by the name of Reichardt in 1792 (cited in Robespierre by J.M Thompson), Beaulieu and La Révellière-Lépeaux all agreed that he had a ”pale complexion.” Charlotte does instead describe it as ”delicate” and writes that Maximilien’s face ”breathed sweetness and goodwill, but it was not as regularly handsome as that of his brother,” while Proyart claims his apperance was ”entirely commonplace.” The foreigner Reichardt wrote Robespierre had ”flattened, almost crushed in, features,” something which Proyart agrees with, writing that his ”very flat features” consisted of ”a rather small head born on broad shoulders, a round face, an indifferent pock-marked complexion, a livid hue [and] a small round nose.” Thibaudeau writes Robespierre had a ”thin face and cold physiognomy, bilious complexion and false look,” Duperron that ”his colouring was livid, bilious;  his eyes gloomy and dull,” something which Stanislas Fréron in Notes sur Robespierre (1794) also agrees with, claiming that ”Robespierre was choked with bile. His yellow eyes and complexion showed it.” His eyes were however green according to Merlin de Thionville and Guérin while Proyart insists they were ”pale blue and slightly sunken.”  Etienne Dumont, who claimed to have talked to Robespierre twice, wrote in his Souvernirs sur Mirabeau et sur les deux premières assemblées législatives (1832) that ”he had a sinister appearance; he would not look people in the face, and blinked continually and painfully,” and Duperron too insists on ”a frequent flickering of the eyelids.” Both Fréron, Buzot, Merlin de Thionville, La Révellière, Louis Sébastien Mercier in his Le Nouveau Paris (1797) and Beffroy de Reigny in Dictionnaire néologique des hommes et des choses ou notice alphabétique des hommes de la Révolution, qui ont paru à l’Auteur les plus dignes d’attention… (1799) made the peculiar claim that Robespierre’s face was similar to that of a cat. Proyart, Beaulieu and Millingen all wrote that it was marked by smallpox scars, ”mediocretly” according to Proyart, ”deeply” according to the other two. Proyart also writes that Robespierre’s hair was light brown (châtain-blond). He is the only one to have described his hair color as far as I’m aware. 

For his clothes, both Montjoie, Louis-Sébastien Mercier in 1801, Helen Maria Williams in 1795, Duperron, Millingen and Fiévée recall the fact that Robespierre wore glasses, the first two claiming he never appeared in public without them, Duperron that he ”almost always” wore them, and Millingen that they were green. Pierre Villiers, who claimed to have served as Robespierre’s secretary in 1790, recalled in Souvenirs d'un deporté (1802) that Robespierre ”was very frugal, fastidiously clean in his clothes, I could almost say in his one coat, which was was of a dark olive colour,” but also that ”He was very poor and had not even proper clothes,” and even had to borrow a suit from a friend at one point. Duperron records that ”[Robespierre’s] clothes were elegant, his hair always neat,” Millingen that ”his dress was careful, and I recollect that he wore a frill and ruffles, that seemed to me of valuable lace,”Charlotte that ”his dress was of an extreme cleanliness without fastidiousness,” Williams that he ”always appeared not only dressed with neatness, but with some degree of elegance, and while he called himself the leader of the sans-culottes, never adopted the costume of his band. His hideous countenance […] was decorated with hair carefully arranged and nicely powdered,” Fiévée that Robespierre in 1793 was ”almost alone in having retained the costume and hairstyle in use before the Revolution,” something which made him ressemble ”a tailor from the Ancien régime,” Thibadeau that ”he was neat in his clothes, and he had kept the powder when no one wore it anymore,” Germaine de Staël that ”he was the only person who wore powder in his hair; his clothes were neat, and his countenance nothing familiar,” Révellière writes that Robespierre’s voice was ”toneless, monotonous and harsh,” Beaulieu that it ”was sharp and shrill, almost always in tune with violence,” and  Thinadeau that his ”tone” was ”dogmatic and imperious.”

Augustin Robespierre — described as ”big, well formed, and [with a] face full of nobility and beauty” in the memoirs of his sister Charlotte.

Charlotte Robespierre — an anonymous doctor who claimed to have run into Charlotte in 1833, the year before her death, described her as ”very thin.” Jules Simon, who reported to have met her the following year, did him too describe her as ”a very thin woman, very upright in her small frame, dressed in the antique style with very puritanical cleanliness.”

Camille Desmoulins — described as ”quite tall, with good shoulders” in number 16 of the hostile journal Chronique du Manège (1790). Described as ugly by both said journal, the journal Journal Général de la Cour et de la Ville in 1791, his friend François Suleau in 1791, former teacher Proyart in 1795, Galart de Montjoie in 1796, Georges Duval in 1841, Amandine Rolland in 1864 (she does however add that it was ”with that witty and animated ugliness that pleases”) and even himself in 1793. Proyart describes his complexion as ”black,” Duval as ”bilious.” Both of them agree in calling his eyes ”sinister.” Duval also claims that Desmoulins’ physiognomy was similar to that of an ospray. Montjoie writes that Desmoulins had ”a difficult pronunciation, a hard voice, no oratorical talent…”, Proyart that ”he spoke very heavily and stammered in speech” and Camille himself that he has ”difficulty in pronunciation” in a letter dated March 1787 and confesses ”the feebleness of my voice and my slight oratorical powers” in number 4 of the Vieux Cordelier. In his very last letter to his wife, dated April 1 1794, Desmoulins reveals that he wears glasses.

Lucile Desmoulins — The concierge at the Sainte-Pélagie prison documented the following when Lucille was brought before him on April 4 1794: ”height of five pieds and one and a half pouce (166 cm). Brown hair, eyebrows and eyes. Middle sized nose and mouth. Round face and chin. Ordinary front. A mark above the chin on the right.” Cited in Camille et Lucile Desmoulins: un rêve de république (2018). Described as beautiful by the journal Journal Général de la Cour et de la Ville in 1791 (it specifies her to be ”as pretty as her husband is ugly”), former Convention deputy Pierre Paganel in 1815, Louis Marie Prudhomme in 1830, Amandine Rolland in 1864 and Théodore de Lameth (memoirs published 1913).

Georges Danton — Described as having an ugly face by both Manon Roland in 1793, Vadier in 1794, the anonymous pamphlet Histoire, caractère de Maximilien Robespierre et anecdotes sur ses successeurs in 1794, Louis-Sébastien Mercier in 1797, Antoine Fantin-Desodoards in 1807, John Gideon Millingen in 1848, Élisabeth Duplay Lebas in the 1840s, the memoirs (1860) of François-René Chateaubriand (he specifies that Danton had ”the face of a gendarme mixed with that of a lustful and cruel prosecutor”) as well as the Mémoires de la Societé d’agriculture, commerce, sciences et arts du department de la Marse, Chalons-sur-Marne (1862). As reason for this ugliness, Millingen lifts his ”course, shaggy hair” (that apparently gave him the apperance of a ”wild beast”), the fact he was deeply marked with small-poxes, and that his eyes were unusually small (”and sparkling in surrounding darkness”), while Chateaubriand instead underlines that he was ”snub-nosed,” with ”windy nostrils [and] seamed flats.” Mercier writes that Danton’s face was ”hideously crushed.” The former Convention deputy Alexandre Rousselin (1774-1847) reported in his Danton — Fragment Historique that Danton developed a lip deformity after getting gored by a bull as a baby, had his nose crushed by another bull, got trampled in the face by a group of pigs and finally survived ”a very serious case of smallpoxes, accompanied by purpura.” Vadier claims that Danton possessed a ”robust form, colossal eloquence,” the anonymous pamphlet that ”he was very strong, he said himself that he had athletic forms,” Desodoards that he ”held the nature of athletic and colossal forms,” Chateaubriand that he was ”a vandal in the size of Goth” (don’t know who he’s referring to), Pierre Paganel (in Essai historique et critique sur la révolution française: ses causes, ses résultats, avec les portraits des hommes les plus célèbres (1815) volume 2, page) that he was of an ”enormous stature,” while the pamphlet described him as a ”gigantic orator” whose voice ”shook the vaults of the hall.” René Levasseur in 1829, Millingen, Paganel and Desodoards all agreed with this, the first three writing that Danton possessed a ”stentorian voice,” the latter that he had ”a very strong voice, without being sonorous or flexible.” In her memoirs (1834) Charlotte Robespierre claims that ”[Danton] did not at all conserve the dignity suited to the representative of a great people in his manners; his toilette was in disorder.”

Louis Antoine Saint-Just — In Saint-Just (1985) Bernard Vinot writes that Saint-Just’s childhood friend Augustin Lejeune recalled his “honest physiognomy,” and that his sister Louise would evoke her brother’s ”great beauty” for her grandchildren (I unfortunately can’t find the original sources here), while the elderly Élisabeth Le Bas too stated that ”he was handsome, Saint-Just, with his pensive face, on which one saw the greatest energy, tempered by an air of indefinable gentleness and candor” (testimony found in Les Carnets de David d’Angers (1838-1855) by Pierre-Jean David d’Angers, cited in Veuve de Thermidor: le rôle et l'influence d'Élisabeth Duplay-Le Bas (1772-1859) sur la mémoire et l'historiographie de la Révolution française (2023) by Jolène Audrey Bureau, page 127). In Souvenirs de la révolution et de l’empire, Charles Nodier (who was twelve years old when he met Saint-Just…) agrees in calling him ”handsome,” but adds that he ”was far from offering this graceful combination of cute features with which we have seen it endowed by the euphemistic pencil of a lithograph,” had an ”ample and rather disproportionate chin,” that ”the arc of his eyebrows, instead of rounding into smooth and regular semi-circles, was closer to a straight line, and its interior angles, which were bushy and severe, merged into one another at the slightest serious thought that one saw pass on his forehead”and finally that ”his soft and fleshy lips indicated an almost invincible inclination to laziness and voluptuousness.” How would you know what his lips were like, Nodier. In Essai historique et critique sur la révolution française (1815) Pierre Paganel writes that Saint-Just had ”regular features and austere physiognomy.” He describes his complexion as ”bilious” while Nodier calls it ”pale and grayish, like that of most of the active men of the revolution.” Similar to Élisabeth’s description, Nodier writes that Saint-Just’s eyes were big and ”usually thoughtful,” while Paganel instead writes they were ”small and lively.” According to Paganel, Saint-Just had a ”healthy body [and] proportions which expressed strength,” while Saint-Just’s colleague Levasseur de la Sarthe instead wrote in his memoirs that he was ”weak in body, to the point of fearing the whistling of bullets.” Finally, Paganel also gives the following details: ”average height, large head, thick hair, disdainful gaze, strong but veiled voice, a general tinge of anxiety, the dark accent of concern and distrust, an extreme coldness in tone and manners.” In Lettre de Camille Desmoulins, député de Paris à la Convention, August général Dillon en prison aux Madelonettes (1793) Desmoulins jokingly writes that ”one can see by [Saint-Just’s] gait and bearing that he looks upon his own head as the corner-stone of the Revolution, for he carries it upon his shoulders with as much respect and as if it was the Sacred Host.” In Histoire de la Révolution française(1878), Jules Michelet claims that Élisabeth Le Bas had told him that this portrait, depicting Saint-Just as having ”a very low forehead, [with] the top of his head flattened, so that his hair, without being long, almost touched his eyes,” was similar to what he had looked like.

Jacques-Pierre Brissot — The following was documented after Brissot had been arrested at Moulins on June 10 1793 — ”height of five pieds (162 cm), a small amount of flat dark brown hair, eyebrows of the same color, high forehead and receding hairline, gray-brown, quite large and covered eyes, long and not very large nose, average mouth, long chin with a dimple, black beard, oval face narrow at the bottom” (cited in J.-P. Brissot mémoires (1754-1793); [suivi de] correspondance et papiers (1912)). In Journal During a Residence in France, from the Beginning of August, to the Middle of December, 1792John Moore described Brissot as ”a little man, of an intelligent countenance, but of a weakly frame of body” and claimed that a person had told him that Brissot had told him that he is ”of so feeble a constitution” that he won’t be able to put up any resistance was someone try to assassinate him.

Jérôme Pétion — described as ”big and fat” (grand et gros) by Louis-Philippe in 1850 (cited in The Croker Papers: the Correspondence and Diaries of the late right honourable John Wilson Croker… (1885) volume 3, page 209). Manon Roland wrote in her memoirs that Pétion ”had nothing to regret physically; his size, his face, his gentleness, his urbanity, speak in his favor” as well as that he ”spoke fairly well,” a descriptions which Louis Marie Prudhomme partly agreed with, himself recording that Pétion ”had a proud countenance, a fairly handsome face, an affable look, a gentle eloquence, movements of talent and address; but his manners were composed, his eyes were dull, and he had something glistening in his features which repelled confidence” in Paris pendant le révolution (1789-1798) ou le nouveau Paris (1798). In Quelques notices pour l’histoire, et le récit de mes périls depuis le 31 mai 1793 (1794) Jean-Baptiste Louvet reported that, while on the run from the authorities after the insurrection of May 31, the less than forty years old Pétion already had a white hair and beard. This is confirmed by Frédéric Vaultier, who in Souvenirs de l'insurrection Normande, dite du Fédéralisme, en 1793 (1858) described Pétion during the same period as ”a good-looking man, with a calm and open physiognomy and beautiful white hair,” as well as by the examination of his mangled courpse on June 26 1794, which states he had ”grayish hair” (cited in Charlotte de Corday et les Girondins: pièces classées et annotées (1872) by Charles Vatel, volume 2, page 154.

François Buzot — according to the memoirs (1793) of Manon Roland, he had ”a noble figure and elegant size.” In the examination made of Buzot’s body after the suicide there is to read that he had black hair (cited in Charlotte de Corday et les Girondins: pièces classées et annotées (1872) by Charles Vatel, volume 2, page 153)

Charles Barbaroux — his son wrote in Jeunesse de Barbaroux (1822) that ”nature had richly endowed Barbaroux; a robust and large body; a charming, fine and witty physiognomy.” In 1867, François Laprade, who had witnessed Barbaroux’ execution as a thirteen year old, recollected that ”he was a brown man - that is to say he had brownish skin, black hair and beard, reclining figure” (cited inCharlotte de Corday et les Girondins: pièces classées et annotées, volume 3, page 728)

Marguerite-Élie Guadet — According to his passport (cited in Charlotte de Corday et les Girondins: pièces classées et annotées, volume 3, page 672): ”height of 5 pieds, 5 pouces (176 cm) middle sized mouth, black hair and eyebrows, ordinary chin, blue eyes, big forehead, thin face, upturned nose.” According to Frédéric Vaultier’s Souvenirs de l'insurrection Normande, dite du Fédéralisme, en 1793(1858), ”Guadet was a man of fine height, meagre, brown, bilious complexion, black beard, most expressive face.”

Joseph Le Bon — his passport description (cited in Louis Jacob, Joseph Le Bon, (1932) by Louis Jacob, volume 1, page 63) gives the following information: ”Height five pieds six pouces (178 cm), light brown hair and eyebrows, high forehead, average nose, blue eyes, medium-sized mouth, smallpox scars.”

Claire Lacombe — the concierge of the Sainte Pélagie documented the following about the imprisoned Lacombe: ”height of 5 pieds, 2 pouces (168 cm). Brown hair, eyebrows and eyes, medium nose, large mouth, round face and chin, plain forehead” (cited in Trois femmes de la Révolution : Olymps de Gouges, Théroigne de Méricourt, Rose Lacombe (1900) by Léopold Lacour)

Charlotte Corday — according to her passport, ”height of five pieds one pouce (165 cm), brown hair and eyebrows, gray eyes, high forehead, long nose, medium mouth, round, forked (fourchu) chin, oval face.” (cited in Dossiers du procès criminel de Charlotte Corday, devant le Tribunal révolutionnaire(1861) by Charles-Joseph Vatel, page 55)

Prieur de la Marne — a passport dated October 1 1793 gives the following details: ”age of 37 years, height of 5 pieds 5 pouces (176 cm), blondish brown hair and eyebrows, receding hairline, long nose, grey eyes, large mouth.”

Maurice Duplay — ”height of 5 pieds 6 pouces (179 cm), blondish brown hair and eyebrows, receding hairline, grey eyes, long, open nose, large mouth, round, full chin and face.” Descriptions given in 1795 and cited in Les deniers montagnards (1874) by Jules Claretie.

Jean Lambert Tallien — Both a spy report written in 1794 found among Robespierre’s papers and Mme de la Tour du Pin, a noblewoman who met Tallien in late 1793, describe Tallien as blonde. Mme de la Tour du Pin adds that said hair was curly and that he had a pretty face.

[plrle]

Hi so first of all i love you art so much , I wanted to ask if you could draw robespierre, marat, and danton in like a mean girls AU/ vibe 🙏🙏🙏😭😭

what geniuses inhabit my inbox :_D congratulations anon you've made me watch mean girls for this

+ bonus doodles lol

(i was glad to finally meet the Caesar clip in the wild. :D)

[aedesluminis]

These two dreadful men [Barras and Tallien] were united, not by bonds of true friendship, to which honest souls are susceptible, but by their emulation of cruelty. They both exerted violence, they both bathed themselves in blood, one in Marseilles, the other in Bordeaux. In order to defend myself from their faction, when they relentlessly persecuted me, I had to retrieve some collections of letters that they sent to the Committee of Public Safety during their missions. It is impossible to conceive something more appalling and everything that has been published about them gives only a vague idea of those horrible lines, directly taken from their correspondence.

— L. Carnot, Réponse à Bailleul, p. 192-193

last edited 06/06/2024

[citizen-card]

is Tallien the French Revolution's biggest loser?

This is a long-overdue post about one of the aforementioned poll's semifinalists, compiling some loser-y moments for your consideration:

Participated in/encouraged the September Massacres of 1792 and became notorious for his actions as a representant en mission in Bordeaux. Despite this, he would go on to denounce the Terror and contribute significantly to the narrative that all its excesses should be pinned on Robespierre instead.

During 1794, he was recalled from mission and expelled from the Jacobin Club. At the same time, his lover Theresa was arrested. Shortly before 9 Thermidor, she sent him a letter from prison calling him a coward for having done nothing to save her. Said letter supposedly contained a dagger (I am personally unsure of this; how does one have a blade in prison?) and stated: "I die in despair at having belonged to a coward like you."

Bought a knife to the National Convention session of 9 Thermidor, holding it out and threatening to stab Robespierre himself. Of course, he never went through with these threats and probably did this for shock value. (I can't find records of it in the meeting minutes, though, so he might not have done it at all)

Named his daughter 'Rose Thermidor'. Imagine if one were to name their child after a month/political coup in the modern day!

Over the next few years, his marriage to Theresa would deteriorate. She would subsequently have affairs with a wealthy financier, who she ended up divorcing Tallien to marry. (She also said in a letter:“I was forever disgusted with him”.) Sad!

Spent the last few years of his life in poverty, eventually dying of leprosy at the age of 53.

[sieclesetcieux]

Michel Biard and Marisa Linton, The French Revolution and Its Demons (2021), p. 8-16:

(first part)

[transrevolutions]

every day my need to kill jean-lambert tallien grows ever stronger. yeah he's been dead for like 200 years or whatever but my hatred of him goes beyond the constraints of mortality

[frevandrest]

Now I'm curious: what happened to Tallien to consider him a worse loser than Barras? I only know his involvement in Thermidor and the fact that Theresia left him after all the mess he did to go with a richer banker... Did he embarrass himself in other ways?

How much time do we have? Look, I don't know a lot about Barras, but nothing - nothing - can be as embarrassing as Jean-Lambert Tallien. He is the biggest loser both in terms of "a flop" and "who lost during the revolution" (and he lost more than many people who ended up guillotined, imo).

And I don't even know how/why it happened! He started out okay - he had modest skills but seemed honest about the revolution. Then Bordeaux happened. Thermidor and months after were Jean-Lambert's five minutes of fame, but then it dissolved quickly, both in his professional and in private life.

The Quiberon Invasion mess in 1795 is one of the first examples, when he and Hoche (well, Tallien mostly because it was his orders) executed 750 royalists even after promising they'd be treated like prisoners of war. Yes, those were royalists who made an invasion on France so it's not surprising that they died, but 1) Hoche I think promised they'd be spared but Tallien ordered the execution, 2) Tallien was the one who ran his mouth so much after Thermidor about sparing people and now he executed in one day half of the number of people that were executed in the entire Great Terror, and 3) Seems like Tallien had some pro-royalist dealings/conversations with foreign powers (Spain mostly) and wanted to do a cover-up (? - will need to look into this further).

In his private life, Theresia wanted to leave him as early as 1796 and was reportedly banging Barras, but Tallien begged her to give him another chance. She said yes, and 9 months later she gave birth to a stillborn boy. We are not sure if the baby was Barras' or Tallien's. Life in the Directoire was not great for Jean-Lambert and he was struggling with money, so he joined Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. It was horrible; he was miserable and suffered health problems. He wrote clingy letters to Theresia ("Care for our daughter and be faithful to me, my love!") (Spoiler: She was already on kid number two by the banker). The letters were intercepted by the enemy and read publicly. On his way from Egypt, Tallien was arrested and spent some time with the enemy but was released. Coming back from France must have been horrible, though, because Theresia asked for a divorce (and by the time it was done, she was already pregnant with banker's baby number 3). Because the kids were technically conceived while she was married to Tallien, they later successfully asked to have Tallien as their last name and were known as "Tallien bastards" in the family. After, it was just a series of bad circumstances and decisions. Theresia remarried, to a Belgian prince, and we have a letter where Tallien begged her not to do that. Fouché tried to help him and found him a job in Alicante. But it was horrible because the whole town was infected by the Yellow Fever. Tallien contracted it and lost one eye. It is also possible that this is where he got leprosy (?)

When he got back to France, he was a ruin. He supported Napoleon in 1815, hoping to get some influence (I assume), but then Waterloo happened so another bad call for Jean-Lambert. He lived in poverty and only escaped banishment during the Bourbon restoration because of his poor health. He died at 53 of leprosy (at least wiki claims so - I could never verify it but we know he suffered poor health for years).

And on top of that - on top of that! - his magnum opus, his legacy, the thing that lives on for 200+ years, is not associated with him. Nobody knows of Jean-Lambert Tallien and his most crowning achievement: the invention of the Terror and evil mastermind Robespierre. Sure, he wasn't the only one involved in that, but he did play a crucial role and, arguably, it is the most historically important thing that he did. And nobody knows it was him! So many people hate Robespierre for 200+ years, but nobody knows who is responsible for forging that smear campaign. (Yes, I am aware that it's the point: if people knew it was constructed, and by specific people, they wouldn't view it in the same way, because the main thing about the Terror how it's seen is that it's an objective thing that happened just as described. But allow me this Tallien rant). So.. yeah.

[deathzgf]

top 10 UGLIEST revolutionaries that you would NOT go out with

01 : maximilien robespierre

have you SEEN his death mask & facial reconstruction ??? this is not very sigma

02 : louis antoine saint - just

i ' m homophobic

03 : marie - jean herault

please leave your boobs alone

04 : collot d ' herbois

COLLOT !!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR !!! / ref

05 : joseph fouche

joseph fouche

06 : lazare carnot

i blame you for this

07 : georges couthon

STOP :3 ING AT ME

08 : jean - lambert tallien

no one else can be born 23 january sorry you , john hancock , & i need to fight to the death

09 : jean - marie goujon

imagine carrying a baby for 9 whole months just to name it jean or marie lol

10 : fabre d ' eglantine

ask game

[noura-addams]

𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐧-𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞

Description [translated]:

Private Jean de Dieu - Charles de Sombreuil - Tallien - General Hoche

I just found that illustration and catched my attention a lot because tallien and Hoche are in it!

A close up for tallien:

He looks the same like these two portraits here:

___________________________________

And a close up for Hoche:

also he Looks the same like his original portrait of him by the artist Jean Louis Laneuville here:

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And here's a close up at the Soldat Jean de Dieu:

I couldn't find any information about him unfortunately because when I searched at his name I've found a similar name and it was for one of napoleon's marshals so idk .. and the name was Jean-de-Dieu Soult

___________________________________

And finally a close up at Charles de Sombreuil:

Ok now this is a very interesting one

To be honest with you all I don't know which Charles de Sombreuil are appearing here because there's two Charles de Sombreuil

The first one is: Charles François de Virot Marquis de Sombreuil [ 1723 - 1794] he got guillotined in paris And he was a lieutenant-general in the French Revolution 

This is his portrait:

And the second one:Charles Eugène Gabriel de Virot de Sombreuil [ 1770 - 1795] he was shot in Vannes for his participation in the Quiberon expedition in an attempt to land emigrants in Brittany.

And he is the son of Charles Virot de Sombreuil

The story of Charles Virot de Sombreuil and his son gabriel Sombreuil is a long story and both had encountered with lazare Hoche and tallien in some way especially during the time of Quiberon expedition so this illustration maybe relate to something during that time .. I don't know to be honest.

Side note:[ the quality of this illustration is very high ].

[avergehistoryenjoyer]

Out of curiosity for all my theatre nerds out there, who would you guys cast as who in the show? It could be Broadway actors or film actors, anyone really! I’ve got all the characters listed below (in order of appearance):

- Jean-Lambert Tallien

- Joseph Fouché

- Charlotte Robespierre 

- Maximilien Robespierre 

- Camille Desmoulins 

- Augustin Robespierre 

- George Couthon

- Georges Danton

- Eleonore Duplay

- Louis Antione de Saint Just

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Awkward hugs compilation

M. Dusaulx: It isn’t envy that rises to this tribune, it is gratitude. I am very attached to M. Petion: he is my fellow patriot. Without ever having spoken to him, I believe I am his interpreter on this tribune. No premature praise: love is the reward of living men, statues and crowns the price of the dead. I regard M. Petion as my son; it is very bold, no doubt! He steps down from the tribune, and M. Petion throws himself into his arms. This triumph of sentiment made all hearts feel the sweetest sensation. Session at the Jacobins November 19 1791

M. Dusaulx: All the patriots of this club have long been suspended in the course of a discussion which seemed to compromise two good patriots who must love and esteem each other; something would be missing after what M. Brissot said before leaving this assembly, it is the duty of these two generous men to embrace each other. No sooner had he finished than MM. Robespierre and Brissot were in each other's arms, amid the unanimous applause of the Society, moved by this touching spectacle. M. Robespierre: By yielding to M. Dusaulx's invitation, I only gave myself up to the impulse of my heart, I gave what I owed to the confession and to the fraternity and to the feeling depth that I have of a man who enjoys the greatest consideration and who must render the greatest services to the fatherland; I will prove to M. Brissot how much I am attached to him. This should in no way change the opinion that every man should have of the public good; it is to do all that will be in me, and what I believe necessary for the public safety, that I will ask to answer in another session to the speech of M. Brissot. Brissot and Robespierre at the Jacobins, January 20 1792

M. Dumouriez rushes into M. Robespierre's arms. The Society and the tribunes, regarding these embraces as a presage of the agreement of the ministry with the love of the people, accompany this spectacle with the liveliest applause. The Jacobin Club, March 19 1792

A few days later Danton came to find me. He showed me a letter that Marat wrote to him; this letter was very insolent; reproaches were mixed with insults; he threatened Danton. Danton seemed angry to me; Marat was on the surveillance committee, we went down there together. The debate was very lively; Danton treated Marat harshly; Marat maintained what he had put forward, ended up saying that it was necessary to forget everything, tore up the letter, embraced Danton, and Danton embraced him back. I attest to these facts which played out before me. Discours de Jérôme Pétion sur l’accusation intentée contre Maximilien Robespierre (November 5 1792)

Dumouriez enters the hall together with Santerre; the general embraces Robespierre, everyone applauds. The Jacobin Club, October 14 1792

Rousillon: I was accused of partiality, because I did not want to call into question whether Legendre would be expelled; Momero was said to be an aristocrat; I was forced to embrace Jacques Roux, but never did a kiss seem so bitter to me. The Jacobin Club, June 28 1793

The reconciliation, however, appeared to be complete; the two embraced: Danton put frankness in it; he was touched; we were all moved: well! How could you not? We only think, we only see the patrie, liberty, the republic; Only Robespierre remained cold like marble!.... Principaux évènemens, pour et contre la Révolution, dont les détails ont été ignorés jusqu’à présent: et prédiction de Danton au Tribunal révolutionnaire, accomplie (1794) by Jean-Lambert Tallien and Jean-Louis-Marie Villain d’Aubigny, page 49-50.

Goupilleau de Fontenay: I challenge David to declare if, at the moment when Robespierre descended from the tribune of the Jacobins, after having delivered his speech, or rather his indictment, he, David, did not go and embrace him saying: "If you drink hemlock, I shall drink it with you."  David: It was not to come and greet Robespierre that I went down to his side; it was to go up to the tribune and ask that the feast of the 10th should take place. I didn't embrace Robespierre, I didn't even touch him, because he repelled everyone.  The Jacobin Club, July 31 1794

On exiting the hall, Tallien doubled his pace, grabbed hold of Fréron, pressed him into his arms and embraced him. This unexpected scene caused great disorder within the club. On one side, people applauded, saying: ”Look! Look! They don’t care!” On the other, one cried: ”This is how the conspirators get along!” Jacobin Club, September 3 1794, just after both Tallien and Fréron had been struck from the club’s list of members.

Chatillon-Sur-Marne, which I am only mentioning here because Joly, its priest, a former college comrade of Robespierre, got it into his head to come and say hello to him at the time of the terror. Robespierre drew back when he tried to embrace him; and whenever, while talking, the priest of Chatillon-sur-Marne approached the tyrant, the latter huddled in a corner, still afraid of being assassinated. Dictionnaire néologique des hommes et des choses… (1799) by Beffroy de Reigny, volume 3, page 223

The next day Saint-Just came to my room: I was occupied with my mail and I begged him to let me finish a letter. While I was writing he saw my rifle, seized it and amused himself by examining the battery: it was unfortunately loaded, the shot went off, the bullet passed close to me and went to pierce my coat rack which was on a chair, five or six steps away. I got up immediately, the gun had fallen from the hands of Saint-Just, he turned pale, staggered and threw himself into my arms. He then said to me in a deepened tone: “Ah! Levasseur, if I had killed you? - You would have played me a nasty trick; if I must die from a gunshot, let it at least come from an enemy’s hand. Hearing the report, several officers who were near my door rushed into my room and found Saint-Just, pale as death, in my arms. Mémoires de R. Levasseur (de la Sarthe) ex-conventionnel, ornés du portrait de l’auteur (1829), volume 2, page 242

The session became so stormy that Collot used acts of violence against Robespierre. He threw himself at him and seized him by the flanks. He was about to throw Robespierre through the window when the latter's friends rescued him. Robespierre then declared that he was leaving the committee, that he could not honorably sit with executioners, that he would report this to the Convention. One saw the danger of publicizing this scene, blamed Collot's patriotic anger, and begged Robespierre, after having torn up the disastrous list, not to give the enemies of the Republic new means of attacking it. Robespierre seemed to calm down, but when Collot approached him to embrace him he refused and despite being urged not to he left. Mémoires de Barras, membre du Directoire, page 349-350

[did-slid-skid]

list of tags under the cut wooooo i enjoy being able to navigate my own blog

most commonly tagged people

Louis Antoine de Saint Just

Maximilien Robespierre

Camille Desmoulins

Lucile Desmoulins

Jean Paul Marat

Georges Danton

Bag of People (tag for when there are a lot of people. kinda inconsistent in usage but I'll clear it up eventually)

less commonly tagged people (for now)

Augustin Robespierre

Charlotte Robespierre

Eleonore Duplay

Fabre d'Églantine

Georges Couthon

Horace Desmoulins

Jacques Louis David

Jean-Lambert Tallien

Joachim Murat

Joseph Fouché

Napoleon Bonaparte

note that there are others who i have tagged sparsely but don't wanna find who they are right now

most plentifully tagged interactions

Robespierre + Camille

Robespierre + Saint Just

Camille + Saint Just

Camille + Danton

Camille + Lucile (note to self: go retag that one post) (note to self: i don't remember what post this is referring to, why did i think being so vague was a good idea?????)

slightly less plentifully tagged interactions

Robespierre + Marat

Robespierre + Danton

Robespierre + Bonbon

Robespierre + David

Robespierre + Camille + Saint Just

Robespierre + Camille + Danton

Saint Just + Charlotte

Charlotte + Eleonore

Camille + Horace

Lucile + Horace

Camille + Lucille + Horace

Camille + Fréron

Lucile + Fréron

Marat + David

Marat + Napoleon

Napoleon + David

Marat + Napoleon + David

Marat + Murat

Bonbon + Napoleon

and other tags

art

my art

untagged stuff