Vue de la Grande Façade du Vieux Louvre

originally published 1729, inscribed 1752

Not on view

In a striking horizontal print, one of a series of twenty-one views of Paris, Jacques Rigaud has depicted the long east facade of the Louvre, still a royal palace in the eighteenth century. Designed in the late 1660s by a team including Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun, and Claude Perrault, the facade demonstrates the majesty and authority of French Baroque architecture, which is notable for its classical grandeur, restrained ornament, and balanced proportions. As depicted by Rigaud, it is a monument inviting both admiration and admission: near the center foreground, a gentleman gestures as though explaining the building to his companion, and in the center of the facade, the illuminated entrance frames figures strolling in the courtyard beyond.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Vue de la Grande Façade du Vieux Louvre
Artist: Jacques Rigaud (French, Marseilles 1681–1754 Paris)
Date: originally published 1729, inscribed 1752
Medium: Etching
Dimensions: sheet: 9 3/16 x 18 3/16 in. (23.4 x 46.2 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Object Number: 53.600.1191
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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In the same medium

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Veue du Chateau de St. Cloud du Costé de l'Orangerie (View of the Chateau of St. Cloud from the Orangerie Side)

Jacques Rigaud

1730

Vue du Parterre du Château de Rambouillet

Jacques Rigaud

n.d.

View at the Queen's Statue at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Jacques Rigaud French, Pen and ink, brush and wash — View at the Queen's Statue at Stowe, Buckinghamshire
Jacques Rigaud
1733–34

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