This charming pair of late 18th-century French oil paintings depict a smartly attired husband and wife. Produced around 1795, during a time of exceeding tumult, they’re remarkable survivors.The French Revolution, a monumental time of new ideologies, violence, and change, spanned a period from 1789 to the late 1790s. The monarchy was overthrown, the Republic was established, and both King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were publicly executed. ‘Liberty, equality and fraternity’ replaced ‘absolutism, intention, and authority’.Our pair witnessed it first hand, on the losing side - they were aristocrats, probably forced to hurriedly flee from the burning capital. Although not in full uniform, on the gentleman’s left arm, he wears a white silk armband, which is likely to be a reference to the Army of Condé. This ‘émigré’ army was counter-revolutionary and fought to overthrow the Republic, thus restoring the monarchy. They were assisted by royalist armies within France and also overs...