Design for the Fireworks Display in Paris for the Birth of the Dauphin in 1781
Medium
Pen and black ink, with gray, brown, and colored wash and gouache
Dimensions
14 7/8 x 23 3/4 in. (37.8 x 60.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1965
Accession Number
65.607
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elaborate design captures the grandeur of an 18th-century royal celebration in Paris. Created to mark the 1781 birth of the Dauphin—the long-awaited heir to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette—the drawing envisions a spectacular fireworks display complete with ornate fountains and architectural frameworks. Such ephemeral events were central to French court culture, transforming public spaces into stages for political spectacle and national rejoicing during the final years of the Ancien Régime. Executed in pen and ink with layered washes of gray, brown, and vibrant gouache, the work demonstrat...
About the Artist
Louis Gustave Taraval|Pierre Louis Moreau Desproux · 1738–1794
Taraval served as inspector for the Bâtiments du Roi. According to Macmillan, he was influential in the publication of several important architects, including Pierre Contant D'Ivry and Jean François Chalgrin.