La Halle aux Blés, Interior View
ca. 1810
Medium
Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 7/16 x 10 1/16 in. (29 x 25.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest and Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2013
Accession Number
2013.531
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling heart of early 19th-century Paris *La Halle aux Blés, View*, a delicate watercolor over graphite by architect Pierre François Léonard Fontaine created around 1810. intimate drawing captures the grand interior of the city's famed Grain Hall, a vital marketplace where towering arches frame the daily toil of men at work. Fontaine, a prominent figure in Napoleonic-era architecture, masterfully renders the space's architectural drama—sweeping vaults and structural elegance—while infusing it with the energy of human activity, offering a vivid snapshot of urban commerce and cra...
About the Artist
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine · 1762–1853
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine (1762–1853) was a pivotal figure in French neoclassical architecture, renowned for his masterful interiors, urban planning, and decorative designs that defined the Empire style. Born in Pontoise to architect and fountain designer Pierre Fontaine, he assisted his father on hydraulic projects at the Château de L'Isle-Adam in 1778–1779 before moving to Paris in 1779. ...