LE PONT MARIE
late 17th century
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-533-32
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**LE PONT MARIE** by Gabriel Perelle (French, 1604–1677) captures a quintessential view of 17th-century Paris, on the elegant Pont Marie, a stone arch bridge spanning the Seine River. Completed in the 1660s during the reign of Louis XIV, the bridge exemplified the era's architectural advancements and urban beautification efforts, linking the Île Saint-Louis to the Right Bank. Perelle, a master engraver renowned for his topographic prints, meticulously rendered such landmarks, often collaborating with his sons to produce detailed series of French châteaux, gardens, and cityscapes. As a print f...