Inauguration de la statue equestre de Louis XV

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin|Pierre Chenu

1766 · Etching, third state · Drawings and Prints

Edme Bouchardon’s equestrian statue of Louis XV was installed in 1763 in an open space directly between the Champs Elysée and the entrance to the Tuileries gardens, a location considered at the time to be the outskirts of the city. It was an event that held a natural attraction for Saint-Aubin, whose work focused on the people and monuments of Paris, especially at inflection points of change and improvement. For a publication celebrating royal architectural patronage, Saint-Aubin represented the sculpture’s inauguration in allegorical form with the Seine and the city of Paris welcoming the new jewel in the city’s crown.

Artist

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin|Pierre Chenu

Date

1766

Medium

Etching, third state

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1987