RIGAUD, Jacques (1681-1754)
A View of the Palace of Chantilli, taken from the Principal Entrance / Vue du Chateau de Chantilli, prise du cote de la Principale Entree
London: Sold by J. Boydell, Engraver at the Unicorn the corner of Queen Street in Cheapside, 1755. Hand-coloured engraving. Printed on laid paper. In excellent condition. Framed in a beautiful gold-leaf frame with a cream washline mount. Image size: 8 1/2 x 17 inches. Framed size: 16 1/4 x 22 3/4 inches.
A magnificent view of a stunning chateau in Chantilly, France by the celebrated landscape engraver Jacques Rigaud.
Towards the middle of the eighteenth century a trend developed amongst English and European artists and printmakers, which sought to visually record their country's natural beauties. Sparked by a sense of national confidence and patriotism, artists and printmakers began to publish topographical prints of important sights and architectural attractions. In addition to being a visual record of the countryside they were meant to encourage public recognition of national treasures. These topographical prints were aimed at English and foreign tourists who desired a memento of their travels, or at those vicarious tourists who collected topographical prints instead of traveling. By joining this printing trend Jacques Rigaud made a name for himself in both France and England, and became one of the most successful French landscape engravers. He dedicated his artistic life to producing delicate engraving of national beauties across France. He executed a large series of works depicting France's stately homes and he worked in England, where he was commissioned to illustrate the celebrated gardens at Stowe. Rigaud's work influenced an entire generation of English and French printmakers; his delicate formal engravings established a classical format for topographical prints, which would be used until the onset of the nineteenth century.
Le Blanc, Manuel de L'Amateur D'Estampes III, p. 337, no. 81-86 (Le Blanc mistakenly confuses Jacques Rigaud with his nephew Jean Baptiste Rigaud and attributes Jacques' work wrongly) Clayton, The English Print 1688-1802 p. 156-157.
Item #15069
Price: $950.00