Section and Plan of the Small Dining Room of the Hôtel de Montholon

Art Historical Context

This exquisite architectural drawing, titled *Section and Plan of the Dining Room of the Hôtel Montholon*, was created 1785–86 by Jean-Jacques Lequeu and Françoisfflot le Neveu. Lequeu, a visionary architect celebrated for his intricate and imaginative designs, collaborated with Soufflot le Neveunephew of the famed Neoclassical architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot— the opulent final years of the Ancien Régime. The depicts precise plans and cross-sections of an intimate dining space in a grand Parisian hôtel particulier, a luxurious townhouse emblematic of aristocratic refinement just before the French Revolution. Rendered in pen and black and gray ink with subtle brush-applied gray and beige washes, the drawing masterfully conveys depth, light, and texture. Framing lines in bold black ink define the composition's crisp geometry, a hallmark of 18th-century Neoclassical drafting techniques. These washes mimic stone surfaces and shadows, bringing the room's elegant proportions and decorative details to life on a modest sheet measuring 9 5/16 x 7 3/4 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1970), this piece offers a window into pre-Revolutionary French interiors. It highlights the era's obsession with symmetry, classical motifs, and domestic grandeur, preserving the splendor of elite spaces now lost to time. Visitors will appreciate its technical precision and the glimpse it provides into a world of lavish hospitality.