Swiss Peasant Girl and Army

Location

Country: Switzerland
City: Berne
Place: British Embassy

This print illustrates the Swiss peasant war of 1653 which was a popular revolt in the Old Swiss Confederacy at the time of the Ancien Régime. A devaluation of Bernese money caused a tax revolt that spread from the Entlebuch valley in the Canton of Lucerne to the Emmental valley in the Canton of Bern and then to the cantons of Solothurn and Basel and also to the Aargau. The population of the countryside demanded fiscal relief from their ruling authorities, the city councils of these cantons' capitals. When their demands were dismissed by the cities, the peasants organized themselves and threatened to blockade the cities. Mary Shelley wrote a short story The Swiss Peasant in 1830.

Places

Switzerland

Subjects

topography, genre, tree, fir, girl, 19th century costume, bayonet, rifle (military), sword, soldier, chalet

Materials & Techniques

Baxter-process print

Artist

19th century unknown

Title

Swiss Peasant Girl and Army

Date

Medium

Baxter-process print

Acquisition

Presented by Sir Nigel Ronald, January 1954

GAC number

15637