L'Europe en ce moment—Fantaisie Politico-Géographique. French satirical map 1872
£440
SKU: P-8-006443
L'Europe en ce moment — Fantaisie Politico-Géographique [Europe today — A Politico-Geographical Fantasy]
A powerful French serio-comic satirical map issued shortly after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, responding directly to the collapse of the European balance of power and the rise of a newly unified Germany as the dominant force in continental Europe. Its central argument is blunt and pessimistic: Europe is being violently reordered by Germany, while the rest of the continent appears helpless, compromised, or dangerously self-deceived. The German Empire, embodied in the massive figure of Bismarck, dominates the continent as an armed colossus, while a German puppeteer manipulates the strings of Spain, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. At the eastern margins, the Tsar sits isolated and freezing in Moscow, watchful yet detached. France, personified as Marianne, appears wounded and humiliated, reflecting the trauma of defeat in 1871 and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. Britain stands aloof and commercially self-interested, detached from continental suffering. Dense satirical texts and visual jokes reinforce the sense that diplomacy, civilisation, and equilibrium have collapsed, replaced by force, cynicism, and naked power. The map functions as a visual editorial, capturing French anxiety at the dawn of a new, militarised European order.
Size 33 x 51 cm | 13.0 x 20.0 inches
Date Published: 6th July 1872 [dated on reverse]
Type: Large engraved serio-comic satirical paranoia map
Author: Yves & Barret
Publication: La Vie Parisienne
Condition: Good |
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