Description
Simon Thomassin's Recueil...du Chateau & Parc de Versailles
These masterful engravings are from the work entitled Recueil des statues, groupes, fontaines, termes, vases, et autres magnifiques ornements du chateau & parc de Versailles by Simon Thomassin. Thomassin was a well-known engraver of Paris during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was a member of the French Acadamey and had aquired the title "Graveur du Roy" (Engraver of the King). King Louis XIV commissioned this work in 1689 in order to demonstrate the his 'admiration of the universe.' The work, which is ultimately an illustrated guide to the Grounds and Palace of Versailles, was unsurprisingly dedicated to the king when it was first published in 1694. The first Amsterdam edition was published in 1695 by Pierre Mortier. The prints offered here are were published in Amsterdam in 1708. They are on fine chain-linked paper that measures ~ 6 7/8" by 8 7/8"."