There were many revolutions in France in the 19th century. Several History books mention the barricade which stood at the 'Porte', as well as the story of the young woman who gave her life there in 1848. Gabé chose to depict the heroine at the height of her protest before she fell, dead, onto the barricade. A second woman took over and held the body of her comrade whilst throwing stones at the assailants before she too was shot dead. The barricade was overcome by government troops shortly afterwards.

The image demonstrates the point of view of the revolutionaries rather than the government. The viewer empathises with the revolutionaries' courage, cause and strength rather than criticizing them for breaking the law through vandalism and trespassing due to the colours and stances depicted.

This object is a painting in oils, the surface that it is painted onto a stretched canvas. The painting was produced in France in 1849, a year after the event. It has been considered to be a fairly accurate record of the barricade according to contemporary eyewitness newspaper sources.

Gabé, the artist that painted this picture, was usually a French landscape painter, but the Museum has three pictures by this artist that illustrate the events of the French revolution of 1848 which suggests that these events were either of great concern to the artist or were a commission. He was effectively a 'combat photographer' for a period when it was not possible to create an immediate image of an event. Compare this with our modern era when there is a camera phone filming nearly every newsworthy event.