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Hand Colored Vue d'optique of the Hotel des Invalides Dining Room in Paris

Offered by: Timeless Intaglio – Rare Prints, Maps & Books

Description
A hand colored vue d'optique or perspective view engraving of the interior of the Hotel des Invalides in Paris entitled "Vue Perspective du Refectoire de L'Hotel Royal des Invallides a Paris". It depicts the refectory or dining room of the Hotel Royal des Invalides in Paris, where a large group of men, possibly clerics, academics or convalescing soldiers are eating. They are dressed in colorful red, grey, blue and yellow coats. The Hotel Royal des Invalides is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments dedicated to the military history of France, as well as the Saint-Louis des Invalides cathedral. It also houses a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans. It is one of the most important masterpieces of classical French architecture.

Jacques Chéreau (1688-1776) was a portrait engraver, printmaker and publisher of optical prints in a neighborhood of printmakers at the Rue Saint-Jacques in Paris.

This very colorful engraving is presented in a gold frame with a grey mat. There are several creases and a small curved closed tear in the lower right corner. There some frame scratches.

A “vue d'optique" or “perspective view" refers to a very special genre of antique print. Originating in England it became popular in Europe during the second half of the 18th century. Augsburg, Paris and several other places became centers for the production of these interesting, fascinating engravings. A 'vue optique' or 'vue d'optique' were hand-colored etchings and engravings made to be viewed through an optical device called "optical machines," "optiques," or "Zograscopes", which consisted of convex lens and mirrors, all of which produced an optical illusion of depth. The title of the view was frequently printed in several languages and often repeated above the view in inverted writing (which was corrected by the lens for the viewer). Vues d’optiques were rendered in bright colors painted by hand and exaggerated linear converging lines perspective, which enhanced the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality when viewed through the convex lens.

More Information

Period:	18th Century
Styles / Movements:	Classical, Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	571089

Dimensions

W.	23.5 in;	H.	19.75 in;	D.	88 in;
W.	59.69 cm;	H.	50.17 cm;	D.	223.52 cm;

Message from Seller:

Timeless Intaglio is an online gallery of rare and collectable antiquarian prints, maps and books. Although we specialize in all forms of vintage printed works on paper, the majority were created with the intaglio method of transferring ink from a plate, usually copper, to paper with a technique utilizing pressure generated by a press. Email us directly: rbreiman@timelessintaglio.com