Engraving Paris - View Of The Elephant Fountain - On The Place De La Bastille - 19th Century

PropertiesView / Product This is the Napoleonic project for a monumental fountain intended for the Place de la Bastille, on the site of the former fortress destroyed in 1789. Original intaglio engraving, enhanced with polychrome. In the center of the engraving, a circular basin from which cascades spring; on the pedestal sits a monumental elephant topped with a small pavilion. All around, strollers, soldiers, carriages, and horsemen enliven the square; the horizon reveals the tree-lined boulevards and the rooftops of Paris under a finely hatched blue sky. The project of Napoleon I and the architect Jean-Antoine Alavoine, THE ELEPHANT FOUNTAIN, was planned for the Place de la Bastille, on the site of the demolished former fortress. It represented a bronze elephant approximately 24 meters tall, cast using cannons captured from the enemy; water was intended to spout from its trunk. Due to a lack of funds after the fall of the Empire and the change of regime, the project was abandoned. Only a life-size plaster model was actually erected (1814), but it quickly fell into disrepair and was deemed unsanitary (made famous by Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, where Gavroche takes shelter there). It was demolished in 1846. The square was then given the July Column (inaugurated in 1840), commemorating 1830. Dimensions: Length 44 cm – Height 36.5 cm – Width Frame: 2.5 cm, Condition: PERFECT CONDITION, Period: 19th century (CIRCA 1830), Framing: CURRENT mounting, composed of a gold bevel, an ecru wild silk mat, a gold fillet, and a wooden frame, with aged gold water gilding. PAYMENT and SHIPPING: ACCEPTED PAYMENTS: BANK TRANSFER / PAYPAL / BANK TRANSFER / CREDIT CARD online or by CHECK (Payment plan available). PACKAGES WILL BE MAILED WITHIN 4 DAYS. COMBINED SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES.