Vue du Chateau et d'une Partie de la Ville de Versailles
c. 1770–1800
Medium
etching and engraving, hand colored
Dimensions
31.9 × 42.5 cm
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift
Accession Number
2020.162
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
This perspective view (often called a vue d’optique,or optical view) is an example of a popular art and entertainment format during the second half of the 1700s in Europe. The hand-colored etching and engraving was made to be viewed with a special viewing device consisting of a convex lens and a mirror, so that scene appeared to be a three-dimensional image. Here, the viewer can enjoy a perspective view of the French Palace of Versailles. Such views—which were only made for a short time and larg...