DATED 1793

One of the four panels gives precise historical references with portrait medallions and a text legend. In order to understand this, it is important to keep in mind the global historical context. In January 1793, one year after the proclamation of the French republic, Louis XVI was executed on the Place de la Concorde. That same year Great Britain joined Austria and Prussia as Allied Powers in a declaration of war against France. The Allies managed to occupy the Austrian Lower Countries and of the region alongside of the Rhine. After several defeats by the Austrians, these wars finally came to an end with the treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 by General Bonaparte. In the 18th century, Italy was a loose federation consisting of many small kingdoms and states; it was politically unstable and culturally vulnerable to the ambitions of other European powers.
These door surrounds reflect the attitude of the Kingdom of Naples (Naples which remained under Bourbon rule, from 1734-1860) towards the dramatic political evolutions in France; the tragic ending of the French monarchy and England's declaration of war on France, all occurring in the same year, 1793.