Design for Festival Architecture for an Entry into Paris for the King of Sweden, Frederick I of Hesse
18th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and colored washes, heightened with white
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (22.2 x 23.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970
Accession Number
1970.611.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate 18th-century drawing by Guillaume Thomas Raphaël Taraval captures the grandeur of royal spectacle: a design for festival architecture marking the entry into Paris of Frederick I of Hesse, who reigned as King of Sweden from 1720 to 1751. Taraval, a French artist known for his work in Sweden and France, envisioned an elaborate temporary pavilion or triumphal structure, blending Baroque opulence with classical symmetry to honor the visiting monarch during a diplomatic visit. Royal entries like this were lavish public events in the Age of Absolutism, transforming city streets into t...