Paris

Original engraving, on steel with burin. Hand watercolored.

Rare engraving by Allain Manesson Mallet was one of the great French scientific authors and cartographers of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A former military engineer in the service of Louis XIV, he published his famous treatise La Géométrie Pratique in 1702, a monumental work intended for engineers, architects, cartographers, artillerymen and military officers alike.
Manesson Mallet sought to make the applied sciences accessible through images. His engravings were therefore not merely decorative: they were genuine teaching tools designed to visually explain measurement, construction, navigation or military engineering techniques.

This engraving presents an animated view of the heights of the Butte Chaumont before the modern urbanization of Paris. The hilltop is punctuated by numerous windmills with outstretched wings, typical of the landscape of Parisian suburbs under the Ancien Régime. At their foot are buildings, gardens, paths and fences, treated with great attention to detail. In the foreground, several figures appear to be engaged in surveying or scientific observations using geometric instruments. The lower part of the print features a schematic terrain section accompanied by landmark letters, probably illustrating principles of practical geometry, surveying or the study of relief.

This print is a precious testimony to the ancient Parisian landscape, now lost, as well as to the scientific and geometric methods taught in the modern era.

Dimension(s): Framing - Length. 23.7 cm - Height. 28.5 cm - Width. Baguette : 1 cm,
Condition: PERFECT CONDITION,
Epoque:Engraving(s) - END XVIIth / BEGINNING XVIIIth (circa 1700),
Framing(s): Current mounting composed of an aged gold bevel, a passe-partout in light blue wild silk, outlined with an old gold fillet. The whole is encircled by a molded wood baguette with a patina in cream and brown tones, embellished with a pearled and gilded interior frieze.