Women feature predominantly through 1870-71 caricatures, depicted as patriotic fighters, mythical figures, fire-starters, mothers, and a variety of other archetypes. In a series of eight, entitled ‘The Women of Besieged Paris’, Faustin (1847-1914) represents the women in Paris besieged by the Prussian military from 19th September 1870 to 28th January 1871.

Here Faustin portrays a pretty nurse at the window of an Annex of the Val-de-Grâce Parisian military hospital, flying the flag of a red cross. “Ambulances” were temporary hospitals set up during the conflict. A hole in the wall of the building is the trace of its bombardment. In the street, a long queue of people is waiting in front of a bakery. 

Paris: Saillant éditeur (5 & 10 rue du Croissant); Imp. Lemercier & Cie, [1871]

CUL, KF.3.11