Page from a Scrapbook containing Drawings and Several Prints of Architecture, Interiors, Furniture and Other Objects
ca. 1800–1850
Medium
Pen and black and gray ink, graphite, black chalk
Dimensions
15 11/16 x 10 in. (39.8 x 25.4 cm)
Classification
Albums|Drawings|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.535.122(a–j)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This captivating page from a scrapbook created by the renowned French architects Pierre François Léonard Fontaine and Charles Percier around 1800–1850, offers a window into the opulent world of Neoclassical design during the Napoleonic era. Fontaine and Percier, collaborators and imperial architects to Napoleon Bonaparte, pioneered the Empire style—a lavish revival of ancient Roman and Greek motifs adapted for modern grandeur. Here, meticulous drawings and prints showcase architecture, elegant interiors, furniture, and objects, reflecting their influence on Europe's decorative arts. The artwo...
About the Artist
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine|Charles Percier · 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. ...