The Inauguration of the Statue of Louis XV

After Gabriel de Saint-Aubin French
 Etcher Pierre Chenu French

Not on view

Edme Bouchardon’s equestrian statue of Louis XV was installed in 1763 in an open space directly between the Champs Elysée and the entrance to the Tuileries gardens, a location considered at the time to be the outskirts of the city. It was an event that held a natural attraction for Saint-Aubin, whose work focused on the people and monuments of Paris, especially at inflection points of change and improvement.

For a publication celebrating royal architectural patronage, Saint-Aubin represented the sculpture’s inauguration in allegorical form with the Seine and the city of Paris welcoming the new jewel in the city’s crown.

The Inauguration of the Statue of Louis XV, After Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (French, Paris 1724–1780 Paris), Etching, third state

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