DE FER, NICOLAS. Le nouveau plan de Paris. Paris, 1697. 36 x 48½ in., some overall browning, some chipping at edges, linen-backed (a few repairs on verso); on wooden roller. Vallée 813. Atlas des Anciens Plans de Paris, pl. XXII.

Details
DE FER, NICOLAS. Le nouveau plan de Paris. Paris, 1697. 36 x 48½ in., some overall browning, some chipping at edges, linen-backed (a few repairs on verso); on wooden roller. Vallée 813. Atlas des Anciens Plans de Paris, pl. XXII.

Lot Essay

Versailles and its splendors, along with other royal abodes associated with Louis XIV, including Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where he was born, are a feature of this plan. His military triumphs are commemorated in the Place des Victoires (1685) to the northeast of the Palais-Royal, and in the Place des Conquêtes (begun in 1686). Originally designated as Place Vendôme, because of the hôtel of that name, and later as Place Louis-le-Grand, the Place des Conquêtes depicted in De Fer's map is square and open on the south; this was a project only, and when it was completed in 1720 it was octagonal in shape. The Nouvelle Enceinte, planted with trees, follows the wall of Charles V and its prolongation under Louis XIII (1636) and is the site of the Grands Boulevards of today. Much of it was doubtless incomplete in 1697, however, and the southern part is little more than a project. The Pont Royal ou des Tuileries and several other bridges were completed during this reign.

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