A French gentleman, of the court of Louis XVIth. A French gentleman, of the court of Égalité 1799

An elderly courtier of the 'ancien régime' (left) bows low, in profile to the right, grimacing. His features are aquiline. He wears a high toupet wig and a large black bag (which flies into the air as he bows) with a solitaire ribbon round the neck. His small tricorne hat is in his right hand, his left hand is on his breast. His fingers are extravagantly pointed. His successor (right) stands in back view, legs astride, hands thrust deep into his coat-pockets, a bludgeon projecting vertically from the left pocket. His head, with blunt, coarse features, is turned in profile to the left. He has shaggy hair with a long pigtail queue, and wears a large cocked hat, one peak on his neck, round which is a clumsy neck-cloth. His coat is loose with broad collar and projecting revers. His breeches are tied beneath the knee, showing striped stockings above very wrinkled boots with grotesquely pointed toes (BM). / A satire on French manners, before and after the Revolution; at the former period, they were as extravagant in excess of refinement as at the latter they were in vulgarity (Wright/Evans).
Courtesy of Boston Public Library