Triumphal arch, from 'Éloges et discours sur la triomphante réception du Roy en sa ville de Paris ...' by Jean-Baptiste de Machault
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 7/8 × 8 5/8 in. (30.2 × 21.9 cm) Plate: 11 1/4 × 7 15/16 in. (28.5 × 20.2 cm)
Classification
Prints|Prints-Fete|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1960
Accession Number
60.619.3
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the exuberant world of 17th-century with this etching, *Triumphal Arch*, from Jean-Baptiste de Machault'sÉloges et discours la triomphante du Roy en sa ville Paris*. Created in 1629, it captures one of the grand temporary arches erected to celebrate a royal entry into Paris—likely honoring King Louis XIII after military triumphs. These monumental structures, adorned with classical motifs, trumpeters, and crowds of men and women, evoked the pageantry of ancient Rome, blending Baroque splendor with French absolutist pomp. Masterfully etched by a stellar team—Pierre Firens I, Melchior Tavernier, and the renowned Abraham Bosse—this print exemplifies the era's etching technique, prized for its precise lines and tonal depth in intaglio printing. Measuring about 11½ by 8½ inches, it served as an affordable souvenir of the fête, disseminating the monarchy's glory to a wider audience beyond the elite spectators. Classified under Prints-Fête and Ornament & Architecture, it highlights how prints immortalized ephemeral events. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this work from The Elisha Whittelsey Collection offers a vivid window into the cultural rituals that reinforced royal power, where architecture, music, and spectacle united the realm in celebration.
About the Artist
Pierre Firens I|Melchior Tavernier|Abraham Bosse|Jean-Baptiste de Machault (French|Flemish) · 1584 |1580 –1635 |1638
French (active 1584–1635)|Flemish, Antwerp 1580–1638 Paris