Design for the Garden Façade of the Palais Royal
1781
Medium
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over traces of black chalk underdrawing
Dimensions
sheet: 10 1/4 x 14 3/16 in. (26.1 x 36 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Alain and Marie-Christine van den Broek d'Obrenan Gift, 2008
Accession Number
2008.596
Tags
Art Historical Context
Victor Louis's *Design for the Garden Faade of the Palais Royal* (1781) captures the elegance of late 18th-century French neoclassicism at a pivotal moment in Parisian urban development. As a leading architect of his time, Louis contributed to the ambitious expansions of the Palais Royal—a residence originally built for Cardinal Richelieu and later transformed by the Orléans family into a vibrant cultural hub with theaters, shops, and gardens. This presents a refined proposal for the garden-facing elevation, emphasizing symmetry, classical columns, and rhythmic arcades that reflect the era's r...