Triumphal arch erected in honor of Cardinal Mazarin after the Treaty of the Pyrenees
ca. 1664–5
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 10 1/4 × 7 5/16 in. (26.1 × 18.6 cm) Mat: 11 5/8 in. × 8 in. (29.6 × 20.3 cm)
Classification
Prints|Prints-Fete|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1969
Accession Number
69.670.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching by François Chauveau captures grand triumphal arch erected in Paris to honor Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the chief minister under young King Louis XIV, following the landmark Treaty of the Pyrene in 1659. That treaty ended decades of Franco-Spanish, securing French territorial gains and marking a pinnacle of Mazarin's diplomatic triumphs. Created around 1664–65, the print commemorates the lavish public celebrations—fêtes—with architectural splendor, including monuments, coats of arms, figures of men, and symbolic birds, evoking the era's Baroque exuberance and royal propaganda. Chauv...
About the Artist
François Chauveau · 1613–1676
Comment on works: Miniature painter; History; Genre; Portraits