Palais d'Orsay and Legion d'Honneur, Paris, Lithograph after Benoist, circa 1845
€ 330
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1845
Mapmaker / artist
Philippe Benoist (artist), Auguste Bry (printer)
Publisher
Gihaut Freres, Paris
Technique
Tinted lithograph
Coloring
Tinted
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13194-104
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light wear to the bottom left corner. Light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. Small light flecks in the image, otherwise clean.
About this sheet
A tinted lithograph of the Palais d'Orsay on the left bank of the Seine in Paris, a vast, regular palace of three stories seen at an angle, its long arcaded facades lined with tall arched windows and balconies. A railing fronts the building, and in the distance at right appears the domed rotunda of the Palace of the Legion of Honor among trees.
The foreground is a broad cobbled quay with blocks of cut stone at left, where a boy stands beside a bundle. Gentlemen in top hats and tailcoats stroll and talk, ladies walk with a small dog, a man sits on a stone block with his dog at his feet, and a carriage passes along the far side of the street under a cloudy sky.
The Palais d'Orsay, completed in the first half of the nineteenth century, housed the Council of State and the Court of Audit until it was burned during the Commune in 1871; its site was later used for the Orsay railway station, today the Musee d'Orsay. The neighboring Hotel de Salm has been the seat of the Legion of Honor since Napoleon's time. The sheet is lettered "Paris" above and "VUES DES PALAIS D'ORÇAY ET DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR" below, numbered 23, after a drawing by Philippe Benoist, printed by Auguste Bry and published by Gihaut Frères, Boulevard des Italiens.
The technique is lithography with a buff tint stone, highlights left in white, and crisp architectural line work. A ruled double border frames the image.
A view of a vanished Paris landmark, it would make a thoughtful gift for a lover of the Musee d'Orsay, and would hang well in a home office or a reading room in a narrow black frame.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
