The Tennis Ball Oath


No, I’m not confusing the Henry V reference of “Tennis balls, my liege” with the French Revolution’s Tennis Court Oath, but I did think of both when I saw this drawing.

Photo of drawing found on Prints Old and Rare
It’s called The Dog Congress (W. H. Beard, 1880), but its lighting and detail of individual faces so reminded me of The Tennis Court Oath (Jacques Louis David, 1789, below) and its subjects might so enjoy a good game of fetch, that I could not help but immediately think of it as the Tennis Ball Oath.


Explore this sketch in greater detail here.

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