Collection Online as of October 4, 2023
Cross Section of the Hôtel de Ville Seen in Perspective Showing the Decoration and Illumination of the Courtyard and Rooms Created on the Occasion of the Ball Given the Night of August 30 and 31, 1739
Jacques-François Blondel
(French, 1705–1744)
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, and watercolor with gouache, over graphite
Sheet: 42.9 x 69.5 cm (16 7/8 x 27 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 53.9 x 89.6 cm (21 1/4 x 35 1/4 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.408
Location
not on view
Description
This cross-section of a building allows a unique view into a French royal wedding. The partiers are dressed in costume and dance in the Parisian town hall. No expense was spared in the lavish celebration, from flowers to drinks to the elaborate false ceiling painted to look like the sky.