On July 14, 1789 (exactly 235 years ago this Sunday), some idealistic Parisians stormed a not especially crowded prison. They set in train a three-pronged revolution: for individual liberty, for civil equality, and, last and rarest, for communal obligation. In the National Assembly of 1789 and the National Assembly of 2024, some questions never get a final answer. Guillaume Lethière (1760—1832) was a Neoclassical painter of mixed race who has never, until now, been the subject of a solo museum show. Born in the French Caribbean, almost certainly into slavery, he reached the summits of artistic achievement in Paris and Rome.

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Persons: égalité, Guillaume Lethière Organizations: National Assembly, Clark Art Institute Locations: French Caribbean, Paris, Rome, France, Caribbean, Europe