MERIAN, MATTHAEUS. Le Plan de la Ville, Cite, Universiteet Fauxbourgs de Paris avec la description de son antiquite et singuliarites. N.p., [1615]. Engraved bird's-eye plan of the of Paris. 995 x 745 mm. (19½ x 39¼) including engraved vignette borders on each side, lacking printed text at bottom, a few small holes, some wrinkling and soiling; matted and framed. Franklin, Les anciens plans de Paris, pp. 101-123; Bonnardot, Anciens plans de Paris, pp. 87-103; Atlas des Anciens Plans de Paris, pl. XV.

Details

MERIAN, MATTHAEUS. Le Plan de la Ville, Cite, Universiteet Fauxbourgs de Paris avec la description de son antiquite et singuliarites. N.p., [1615]. Engraved bird's-eye plan of the of Paris. 995 x 745 mm. (19½ x 39¼) including engraved vignette borders on each side, lacking printed text at bottom, a few small holes, some wrinkling and soiling; matted and framed. Franklin, Les anciens plans de Paris, pp. 101-123; Bonnardot, Anciens plans de Paris, pp. 87-103; Atlas des Anciens Plans de Paris, pl. XV.

Lot Essay

Merian's plan of Paris was published in 1615. Louis XIII and his mother, Marie de Médicis, are shown at the heads of each lateral band, which portray the various estates of society in the costume of the day. The arms of France and Navarre are encircled by the insignia of the knightly order of the Saint-Esprit, established in 1578 by Henri III; the coat of arms of the city of Paris is adjacent. Churches and public buildings, though greatly exaggerated in size, are carefully rendered. Some of the Cité, as well as the bridges, appear to have been drawn on the spot, but Merian's delineation of individual houses is in general fanciful.

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