Representation des Machines qui ont servi à eslever les deux grandes pierres qui couvrent le fronton de la principale entrée du Louvre

1677

Sébastien Le Clerc I

(French, 1637–1714)

Culture

France

Medium

etching and engraving

Measurements

Platemark: 37.7 x 62.7 cm (14 13/16 x 24 11/16 in.); Sheet: 51.2 x 70.5 cm (20 3/16 x 27 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

L. E. Holden Fund 2021.168

State

IV/IV

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

King Louis XIV made improvements to the living quarters of the Louvre Palace as seen in this 1677 print, but soon abandoned Paris for his palace at Versailles, where he lived until his death in 1715.

Description

Sébastien Leclerc’s etching showing the construction of one facade of the Louvre Palace in Paris shows the machines used to drag and raise a sixty-foot-long stone to cover both sides of a pediment. Leclerc shows a machine in the left foreground that drags the large stone while in the background, at the top of the pediment and an elaborate scaffolding, cranes can be seen raising and placing stone. Leclerc was among a number of printmakers who worked for King Louis XIV, helping to document his many building campaigns and art collections.