occupied until 1860 (Gran-Aymerich 1998: 59n, 77, 81). AWnal note on
protagonists: the French authorities did not feel it necessary to employ only
antiquarians born and educated in France. As the Roman example illustrates,
Italian antiquarians were hired for work in Rome and were even brought back
to Paris where they held positions in the most prestigious cultural institutions
of the time. Issues of blood, ethnicity, culture and language would only
become integral parts of nationalism later in the century.
CONCLUSION: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE PAST:
BETWEEN THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE MODERN
WORLD OF NATIONSThe study of the past was not the same after the emergence of nationalism,
but changes during its early years were not abrupt. Contrasts between the eras
of pre-nationalism and nationalism were not clear-cut. There were similarities
between both periods in the use of the past. Although as a successful political
ideology nationalism signiWed a break from the Enlightenment, only subse-
quent changes in its character deeply aVected archaeological practice and
theory. In the period dealt with in this chapter, the use of the Classics was
maintained asexempla virtutisfor emulation, although the focus of attention
shifted to particular historicalWgures that were in tune with the politics of the
moment. Antiquarians continued to provide data on monuments and ancient
objects, which were then copied by modern artists and architects, turning
urban and domestic architecture into a heterogeneous re-enactment of a
classical past.
Also, in a similar manner to the previous period, ideas of progress were
stressed. The past had to be investigated and lessons learnt from it. During
this era, the belief of the essential role of Reason as the basis on which
individuals could construct the best form of society, and thereby attain
freedom, was intimately connected with the nation. The early years of na-
tionalism, therefore, saw the emergence of a rhetoric which reinforced the
prestige already assigned to the Classics in the preceding centuries. The
novelty was that their understanding was voiced in terms of a recently coined
key word, civilization. Nations had to prove that they were civilized in order
to be considered as such, and one of the ways to demonstrate this was by
emulating the deeds of great past civilizations. Rome, Greece, and Egypt were
not only regarded as models, but as the very genesis of European culture—led
by France—characterized by the monumental architecture they left behind.
Monuments were seen as one of the key features for the recognition of an
The French Revolution 77