Two Original Drawings, Views Of Saint-denis (seine-saint-denis), By Douville (1818-1820).

a) “Perspective View of the City of St. Denis taken from the Vert Galant”. Pen and watercolor. 31.3 x 44.2 cm, in an old 39.3 x 48 cm marie-louise. Water stain on the third paragraph of the poem. Handwritten title under the drawing, on the marie-louise. Signed and dated at the bottom right of the sheet: “Douville Delineavit, February 1, 1818”. Handwritten poem under the drawing, on the sheet: “Oh! You who are seen sighing / When Fate calls you / Will you dare to murmur / Seeing Mortal Grandeur // Will you complain about these laws / Whose Orders threaten you / And which make Kings Pass / Through which all men Pass // These Magnificent Tombs / These superb Mausoleums / Mark, however beautiful they may be / Only signaled losses // Nothing can last long / In our equal fortunes / Die then: without murmuring / Weak and common souls. » This drawing was made after an engraving by Israël Silvestre (1621-1691), entitled « Profil de la Ville de S. Denis » and under which appear the same sixteen verses, which are said to be a poem by Georges de Scudéry (cf. Faucheux and Baré, on the website israel.silvestre.fr). This view was taken from the northwest. It shows the 17th-century Saint-Denis, in the countryside, with the spire topping the north tower of the basilica (then the abbey church of the royal abbey) and the Valois rotunda adjoining the portal of the north transept of the basilica (the dynastic mausoleum of the Valois, which was destroyed in 1719 without ever having been completed). On the right: the church of Saint-Marcel, the convent of the Visitation of Saint Mary, and the churches of Saint-Martin and Saint-Denis-de-l'Estrée. b) "Perspective view of the town of St. Denis taken from the south side on the newly built bridge over the canal." Pen and watercolor. 29.5 x 43.1 cm, in an old marie-louise of 39.7 x 49 cm. Spot cleaned at the top of the sheet, in the sky. Title in a cartouche under the drawing, on the marie-louise. Dated at the bottom left of the drawing, on the marie-louise: "Surveyed from nature on 1st 7bre 1820", and signed at the bottom right: "By Douville Père". This view was taken from the south. It shows the Saint-Denis of the early 19th century, in the middle of the fields. To the right, in front of the basilica, the former cloister of the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, transformed shortly before into a house of education of the Legion of Honor. In the foreground: the canal spanned by a carriage bridge, with behind, the former Carmelite convent (in which the Paul Éluard municipal museum of art and history is now housed). Left: the chapel of the Convent of the Celestial Annonciades (community established in 1629), whose dome was built by the architect D'Aviler at the end of the 17th century (the convent and its chapel were demolished in 1844-1845; only a few representations of them exist). Bibliography: Claudine Billot, Nicolas Faucherre and Michaël Wyss "Castellum, burgus sive urbs", In. Atlas historique de Saint-Denis, Paris, Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme 2022, pp. 185-313. Ref. A11-16 / 13-52