Lot Essay
François Debret was the younger brother of Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848). Jean-Baptiste had been a pupil of David and had travelled with him to Rome in 1784. François Debret became an architect and a student of Percier and Fontaine while his brother, although regularly exhibiting at the Salon, entered the Ecole Polytechnique as one of its first students and later became Professeur de Dessin there.
François Debret became the architect of the city of Paris in 1815. He was involved with the construction of the Théâtre de la Porte Saint Martin, with the Opera House on Rue Lepeltier and the Theatre de Nouveautés near the Stock Exchange. He started the new wing of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris which Duban completed. These views of Paris reveal his deep love for the city and his debt to the art of watercolor such as Percier and Fontaine practised in the early part of the century.
François Debret became the architect of the city of Paris in 1815. He was involved with the construction of the Théâtre de la Porte Saint Martin, with the Opera House on Rue Lepeltier and the Theatre de Nouveautés near the Stock Exchange. He started the new wing of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris which Duban completed. These views of Paris reveal his deep love for the city and his debt to the art of watercolor such as Percier and Fontaine practised in the early part of the century.