Exit Liberté a la Francois! or Buonaparte closing the Farce of Egalité, at St. Cloud (James Gillray)
A hand-coloured etching published eleven days after the 18 Brumaire coup shows Bonaparte and his grenadiers clearing the Council of Five Hundred from the Orangery at St. Cloud at bayonet point, beneath a banner reading 'Vive le Triumvirat' and a drum labelled 'Vive la Liberté'. The tell is the title's label 'the Farce of Egalité' set against the bayonets, while the deputies and soldiers are distorted and Bonaparte himself is drawn calm and upright.
- Date
- November 21, 1799
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- James Gillray (artist), published by Hannah Humphrey, London
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Medium
- Issuer type
- Individual
- Regime
- Pitt Government
- Leader
- William Pitt the Younger
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Elections and party politics
- Event
- Coup of 18 Brumaire
- Techniques
- Name-calling
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Library of Congress, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (published 1799, before 1931; LoC rights statement: No known restrictions on publication)
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Art Wood Collection of Caricature and Cartoon, LC-DIG-ppmsca-07510
Text on the object
EXIT LIBERTÈ a la FRANCOIS! _ or _ BUONAPARTE closing the Farce of Egalité, at St. Cloud near Paris Novr. 10th 1799. Js Gillray inv & fect London Publish'd Novr. 21st 1799. by H. Humphrey 27 St. James's Street [banner:] Vive le Triumvirat Buonaparte Seyes - Ducos [drum:] Vive la Liberté [papers on the floor:] Resignation des Directoires Un Liste de Membres du Conseil des Cinque Cents
The imprint line inside the plate is faint; the date and address match the Library of Congress record (published 21 November 1799). The handwritten 'Buonaparte' and '96' in the upper margin are collector annotations and are omitted.
