Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian, born - Charles Ferdinand S'Artois, Duc de Berry - n.d. - T-Shirt

This is a formal line engraving of Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duc de Berry, rendered in restrained greys on a pale cream ground.

Visual Elements & Composition

The palette stays monochrome, with warm grey and pale cream filling most of the field and near-black reserved for the deepest shadows. The composition is built on a vertical portrait rectangle, with the Duke in military dress, decorated with orders and a sash, set inside an oval medallion. Above him sits a crowned oval emblem bearing fleurs-de-lis, and rays radiate behind the whole arrangement like a burst of light. The inscription reads "CHARLES FERDINAND D'ARTOIS, DUC DE BERRY" and "NÉ 24 JANVIER 1778," giving the sheet its identifying label and birth date.

Meaning & Symbolism

The fleurs-de-lis and crown are the emblems of the French Bourbon monarchy, and the radiating rays echo the royal iconography of the period. The Duke was the younger son of the future King Charles X, and his position placed him at the center of the monarchy's transition during the Bourbon Restoration. His assassination in 1820 became a flashpoint that tested the stability of the throne. Luigi Schiavonetti, the Italian engraver who worked in England, was known for translating painted nuance into precise printmaking, and this portrait shows the formal rigor of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century print market.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A tee carries a portrait across the chest, so the engraving's oval medallion and central figure sit at the wearer's own center line. The fine linework and open cream field suit the flat front of a shirt, where the emblem reads clearly at conversation distance. Its monochrome tones let the historical details stand out against the fabric.