The Fountain Of The Baths Of Sextius, Early 19th Century Engraving

Intriguing engraving around 1800, titled The Fountain of the Baths of Sextius, drawn by Jacques Martin Sylvestre Bence (1770-?) and engraved by Fortier (1775-1835) and Pardoux. This engraving is indeed interesting, because it makes us discover a fountain certainly in the gardens behind the thermal baths building in Aix en Provence, we recognize the square tower of the medieval enclosure, but this decoration seems to have disappeared today. (unless there is a contradiction, but I have not found any photo of this one).. It is obviously made of two Roman sarcophagi for the basins and a rather neoclassical background. Jacques Martin Sylvestre Bence is an important artist for magnificent panoramic engravings of Italy or Greece, yet he is still little studied. Ckaude François Fortier is also famous for his archaeological surveys, and in particular his participation in the monumental work Voyage dans la Basse et Haute Egypt. Cleaned, nicely framed, it is a lovely document on a vanished Aix en Provence, and a charming demonstration that the Grand Tour began in Provence...