There was a time in the West when men's fashion
involved lots of silk and lace and high heels. This extravagant garb has since fallen out
of style, but it doesn't mean that it's no longer beautiful. To tell you the truth, I never
knew how to appreciate the fashion - it seemed fussy and itchy - until I went to art school
and became acquainted with Janelle's work. It was through their art that I was able to see
the beauty in these bygone eras and what's more, I felt inspired to learn about the past. Today, I
want to share some of that fascination with you by exploring the life of a very peculiar 18th century
gentleman, using art to tell his story. We'll be making some character designs of one of history's
most well-known but least understood figures, French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre. Or, if
you prefer, *Maximilien Robespierre*. Enjoy. Let's first introduce some artistic context. Two movements dominated
the 18th century: Baroque and Rococo. Both used luxurious detail to invigorate the senses. Dresses
grew wider, wigs piled higher, all the way through, it was form over function. However, by the century's
end, the political situation in Europe took a turn and fashion followed. The frills and ruffles of
the aristocracy gave way to simpler silhouettes inspired by the Greeks and Romans - quite fitting -
as democratic ideas entered the mainstream. We are entering the 1780s and 90s, and France is
undergoing a rather violent identity crisis. So, how did gentlemen dress back in the day?
Underneath everything, he would wear a simple shirt usually made out of linen. This would then be
tucked into a pair of breeches and tied at the top with a cravat. Next, he puts on his stockings
and adds a waistcoat, leaving the top buttons undone to let the lace peek through. Finally, he
puts on his coat. In terms of hair, wigs during the late 18th century were going out of style, but they
were far from obsolete. They were curled at the sides and tied at the back. Natural hair could also
be pomaded, curled, and powdered to achieve this look. When I design characters, I first need to
understand their role in the larger story. Heroes need to feel different from villains. But, if I've
learned anything from history, it's that there is never just one story. So, who was Robespierre?
What role did he play in the revolution? This is where things start
getting really complicated. In case you aren't familiar with the course of
events, the French Revolution is considered a major turning point in world history because of
the progressive ideas that took seed and spread. Feudalism and old social fissures were replaced
by a system which judged all people equally, so long as you're male and also white. Something I
find amusing is that it was very much an age when theatrics merged into politics; every leader has
a distinct personality. Here, we have precise and uptight Robespierre, wearing silk stockings
from Lyon, bold and brash Danton, and then Marat, who ran a popular newspaper called Friend of
the People and was assassinated in a bathtub. Considering the chaos and how frequently the
pendulum of power swung between political parties, it is no surprise that Robespierre's legacy is
riddled with controversy. There seems to be a dominant narrative, however. Before learning about
this more seriously, I had heard of Robespierre. I thought of him as a prime example of situational
irony: he was a fanatical dictator who had sent hundreds of people to the guillotine only to
be guillotined himself at the end. Obviously, this is quite a two-dimensional portrait.
He was a different character at different stages of his life and who he is as a symbol is
different from who he was as a person. All that we know him to be today is too much to contain
in one design, so we are going to make several, all of which fit into his legacy. Starting
with the most widespread of perceptions. First, a bit of background on this guy. Robespierre
was born to a middle-class family in the northern province of Artois. He made a modest living as a
lawyer, but as the revolution picked up steam, he found himself at the center of politics in Paris.
He was a persistent, logical speaker, and his works became keystones in directing public opinion.
He is best remembered however, for his role in the Reign of Terror - a period of time when 17 000
people were officially executed. He was arrested on 9 Thermidor Year II, or in our calendar, July
27th, 1794. Without further ado, let's start drawing. For this interpretation, we're going to be using
descriptions published after his death. They are scathing. Many of them involve his dishonest
appearance. When Merlin de Thionville was asked how he had bought himself to sentence Robespierre,
he at first seemed remorseful. But then, rising violently, he exclaimed: if you had seen his
green eyes, you would have sentenced him just as I did. Dishonesty is difficult to capture, but
what seems to work is obscuring his figure. With his cloak, it looks like he has something to
hide. In this first sketch, I leaned into the inky blacks and created a dramatic silhouette
because I liked the power it gave him. Janelle followed up with a few more drawings,
placing the same emphasis on black and white design. These costumes range from fairly tame to
completely and utterly diabolical. Notice the sharp corners, the snake-like braid, and how accessories
obscure the face. However, none of them felt quite right. We realized that we wanted to
create a villain with more depth, and the lack of focus on his face prevented these
designs from connecting with the audience. So, for our next round of explorations, we focused
on the face entirely. These were sketches Janelle made, and this is when I felt the spark that comes
when you know that you're headed in the right direction. The facial expressions do a lot. While
these all feel sinister, some are more nervous in constitution. Others are dangerously calm, or
moody, or look like they've seen some things. Robespierre, unlike his counterparts was known
to be more sensitive. His power is more subtle. His opponents write vividly about this awkwardness.
Some say that he never laughed, and when he tried to smile, only grimaced. My favorite perhaps
is that he looked like a cat drinking vinegar. Now, let's start merging our favorite ideas. In my
opinion, my first attempt at the final render was unsuccessful. The pose was a little awkward but
most importantly, it wasn't as powerful without the black and white style. Janelle followed up with
another render and this time, it felt right. Let me take you through the elements. First and foremost,
we wanted him to feel cold and dangerous like a blade, so we made use of pointed shapes. His hands
are claw-like. We also carried over the tricorn hat from the initial sketch, which, depending on
the angle, could look like horns. Lastly, we added dark streaks at the roots of his powder-white wig.
It has this polluting, impure quality. Interestingly, Robespierre never attended an execution until
his own. He preferred to distance himself from those he condemned. Instead, he sentenced his
political rivals using his pen, so we fashioned the feather to look like a blade, the white streak
cutting through the dark shapes. We also liked how the buttons when lined up would make his clothing
feel like sheets of metal. To further emphasize the metallic quality, we used a blood red somewhere
a little unexpected: the insides of his cape. The idea was that if this character were animated,
we could play with the concealing then sudden revealing of this red in dramatic, windy moments.
The cape was actually inspired by French fashion designer Christian Louboutin who is known for his
iconic red soled shoes. That said, let's embark on a tangent about the color red. despite Louboutin's
signature look, this was not a completely original idea. The first person who was actually
recorded to have worn red heels consistently was King Louis XIV of France. At the time, red
dyes were made by crushing the dried bodies of the cochineal insect and it was expensive. But, just
to make sure that this item would remain coveted, in 1673, he issued an edict declaring that only
nobility could wear the color. By the time the French Revolution came around, the popularity
of red heels among aristocrats had faded. They would not resurface again until the 1900s when
they re-emerged exclusively as women's fashion [see correction]. Anyways, Robespierre would have never been able
to afford a cape such as this, but we like how this indulgent red feels secretive - how it can
be concealed according to his will. We're keeping it. You may have noticed at this point that our
costumes are not that historically accurate. This drawing for instance builds on historical menswear
using inspiration from punk and goth fashion. While historical accuracy is nice, incorporating
modern influences allows us to express character in a way that audiences can better interpret. For
our next design, we're going to pivot 180 degrees. As our foundation, we will be using memoirs
written by those who lived with Robespierre. They describe a version of him that feels
disembodied from the repulsive, corrupted image spread in the years following his death. Prominent
players in the revolution had nicknames: Marat was "friend of the people", Saint-Just was the "angel of death",
Madame la Guillotine, well, she had many. Robespierre was "the incorruptible". A bit of background: as a
young lawyer, he was particularly influenced by enlightenment thinkers and their progressive
beliefs. Above all, he believed in the sovereignty of the people. In his spare time, he hung out at
the Rosati Club - a literary arts society - and partook in their poetic traditions, writing, interesting
poems about tarts and empty cups. He was also a tremendous lover of birds. When the pigeon he had
entrusted his sister to care for died, his sister wrote, "Maximilien's tears flowed. He piled
reproaches and swore that he would no more confer any of his dear pigeons on us". More details of
his domestic life are revealed by Elizabeth Lebas. She writes, in the evening, Ropespierre read us the
works of Corneille, Voltaire, and Rousseau. We listened to him as a family with great pleasure. He knew
so well how to make what he was reading felt. After an hour or two of reading, he retired to
his room saying good evening to us all. He had a profound respect for my father and mother. They too
regarded him as a son and we as a brother. Before we move on to the final renders, a quick tangent
on wigs: I think it's safe to say that 18th century style wigs feel too outdated to appeal to a wide
audience. Most performances set in the 18th century keep the cuts and silhouettes of the clothing but
replace the wig entirely, the most popular example being Hamilton. In fact, the only wig seen is
used on the most out-of-touch, two-dimensional villain character. For Robespierre however, the
wig is pretty central to his personality. He always felt compelled to present himself cleanly.
His wig was always powdered and carefully curled. So, instead of removing it, we chose to stylize
and simplify so that it felt more natural. I kept my lines extremely loose, which
made it feel less stiff and itchy. I like to approach design holistically, so one
thing I'm doing is referring back to our previous design to inspire decisions. if these characters
are diametrically opposed, we can turn edgy lines into soft ones and pointy shapes into round ones.
Here are the results: for the color palette, we took some inspiration from Rococo era paintings. Even if
the revolution obliterated the style, its romantic quality was too compelling to set aside. We decked
him out in powder pinks so much so that you can almost taste the sweetness. Fun fact: some poses
were inspired by the shapes of pigeons. Now, onto our last version, by far the most difficult
to get right. So, our first design used text written in the wake of his demise and our second,
memoirs published long after the revolution's end. Surely, you can see the problem with this. The first
is pure propaganda and the second, very incomplete. Historiography on Robespierre is extensive.
Works published up until the turn of the century are generally very unreliable, since
most sources were influenced by partisanship. After Robespierre's fall, there was a rush to
denounce him and his accomplices. Many politicians found it easy to wipe their hands clean by
pinning all the revolution's failings onto him. this is speculation on my part, but that narrative
stuck because it was so simple, clear, and direct. On the other hand, Charlotte's memoirs
were published in the 1830s as we saw a resurgence of historical studies about the
French Revolution. Over time, historians were allowed to study the period more freely
and more sympathetic perspectives emerged. This is why there have been so many contradictions -
how Robespierre could be both portrayed as this and this. Today, things are a little different.
Historians from the past decade have a new focus: to study Robespierre as a person instead
of the embodiment of the revolution. Our final version will attempt to piece together a more
realistic version of Robespierre by taking into account various perspectives popular then and
now. Janelle took on the design for this version. The first few attempts were way too soft; he
doesn't look like the kind of person capable of sentencing a king to death. The second matched
the descriptions but felt too unappealing and plain for him to be a main character. This is
what's proving hard to balance: his appearance was unremarkable. He was a middling form and
delicate complexion. His eyes were rather dull. However, he was a revolutionary leader with big
ideas. He spoke with passion for abolishing the death penalty, denounced slavery, and argued for
universal male suffrage. Much more controversially, in 1794, he authored the Law of 22 Prarial, which
would strip away a person's rights to fair trial. So, here's what we did: we decided to give him pale
skin and eyes, but he is posed to look intensely deep in thought. Instead of going with the clothing
in his most famous portrait, we went for more iconic green. Lastly, he is firm and stiff both in
dress and personality. Despite earlier descriptions of dishonesty, he was actually known for his
conviction and resistance to public pressure. He was called "the incorruptible" for a reason.
We hope that this is reflected in his pose. So, these are our three reinterpretations. While
we kept proportions similar, you can see how differences in color and style can completely
change a character. The study of Robespierre isn't just about what he did or didn't do. It
is also about the complexity of his legacy. Just for fun, here are some portraits of him through
the years. We start fairly grounded and realistic, but as the years go by, they become more inventive,
each trying to make a new statement. Regardless of your opinion on Robespierre, one thing is clear: we
naturally infuse our portraits with contemporary influences and ideas. We mold our characters based
on the narratives we want to push forward. Thank you for listening and for coming along; this was
a lot. If you're interested in learning more about the fashion or the history, we've got you covered.
Find further reading in the description below.
