Bonnamy - Place De Bourbon Project - Equestrian Statue Of Louis XV - 1749

Paris?, 1749. 270 x 367 mm, inks on laid paper.

Original colored drawing, proposal for Parisian square called "Place de Bourbon" intended to receive equestrian statue of Louis XV with text defending project (scale 90 mm for 300 feet). Created December 1749 by Bonnamy, engineer of the Corps of Engineers, and presented to the King May 7, 1750.

Ambitious project: plan proposes erection of square symmetrical on left bank with Place Vendôme: "I never thought better than to place His Majesty's equestrian statue opposite that of Louis XIV of glorious memory, as both great conquerors; which will create one of the most beautiful views in the world [...]". Author notes that "this square is located in a beautiful neighborhood and there is no building to demolish" so that "if this square is built where I propose it, considerable sums will be saved". Plan also proposes building a City Hall at location of current Mint.

Historical context: In 1748, Paris municipality commissioned sculptor Edmé Bouchardon for equestrian statue of Louis XV. Competition organized to determine location: 150 projects submitted, none satisfactory. Second competition, reserved for members of Royal Academy of Architecture, opened in 1753. Ange-Jacques Gabriel, King's first architect, charged with redesigning esplanade, renamed Place Louis XV. Statue, completed by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, inaugurated June 20, 1763. Scene of tragic "great suffocation", execution site of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Place Louis XV is today Place de la Concorde.

Relation to Recueil Marigny: Variant of this plan appears in "Recueil Marigny" (Musée Carnavalet), gathering 36 "projects for public square to erect equestrian statue of His Majesty Louis XV". Created for Marquis de Marigny (brother of Mme de Pompadour, director general of Buildings), collection gathers copies, by Blondel, of second competition projects from 1753. Presence of Bonnamy plan, of different execution, remains enigmatic; accompanied by letter to Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem, Director of Royal Buildings. Recueil Marigny plan, titled "Plan de la Place de Bourbon et de ses environs. Facile et commode", shows some differences (street arrangement, scale, slightly different text with legend "ce qui est lavé en rouge est bâti").

Reference: Jôrg Garms, Recueil Marigny. Projets pour la place de la Concorde, 1753, Paris, Éditions des musées de la Ville de Paris, 2002.

Condition: some soiling and tears skillfully restored in margins.