Works at the Champ de Mars

This engraving depicts the works at the Champ de Mars prepared for the Fête de la Fédération of 14 July 1790. It shows the scale of the construction effort, with the people, the National Guard, carts, wheelbarrows, shovels, pickaxes, tents, and the École militaire in the background. The work refers to one of the great symbolic moments of the early French Revolution, when thousands took part in preparing the Champ de Mars for the great festival of national unity. It thus illustrates the civic, collective, and patriotic spirit associated with the Revolution’s early years.