Réprésentation du feu terrible à nouvelle Yorck, que les Américains allumé pendant la nuit du 19. septembre 1776 (Representation of the terrible fire at New York, that the Americans lit during the night of September 19, 1776)
Five days after British troops commanded by General William Howe landed in Manhattan, a great fire destroyed much of southwest Manhattan. At the time, many assumed that American Revolutionary sympathizers had started the blaze, but its precise cause remains unknown. Flames here engulf large, elegant buildings along a street that may be Broadway, as skirmishes take place and figures flee. Known as a Vue d’Optique, this print was published in Paris and based on a design created in Augsburg. Sold across Europe, such prints were known as Perspective Prints, or Vues d'optique in French, and Guckkastenbilder or Perspektivansichten in German. They were intended to be viewed through an optical device called a perspective glass or zograscope that contains a concave lens and a mirror that reversed the image and enhanced its three-dimensionality. Specially designed peepboxes were also made to contain them.
Artwork Details
- Title: Réprésentation du feu terrible à nouvelle Yorck, que les Américains allumé pendant la nuit du 19. septembre 1776 (Representation of the terrible fire at New York, that the Americans lit during the night of September 19, 1776)
- Engraver: Anonymous, French, 18th century
- Artist: After Franz Xavier Habermann (German, Habelschwerdt, Glatz 1721–1796 Augsburg)
- Publisher: Basset (Paris)
- Date: ca. 1778
- Medium: Hand-colored etching and engraving
- Dimensions: Image: 9 1/8 × 15 1/16 in. (23.2 × 38.2 cm)
Sheet: 11 × 16 in. (27.9 × 40.6 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
- Object Number: 54.90.1415
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Anonymous, French, 18th century
18th century
Anonymous, French, 18th century
Pierre Adrien Pâris
n.d.
Anonymous, French, 18th century
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
1778
Anonymous, French, 18th century
1784
Multiple artists/makers
18th century
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.