Optical view of the Chinese Baths in Paris (France)
Early XIXth century optical view in original watercolors. Original strong water etching heightened with watercolor at that time. Published by Basset & Debour et Gangel in Paris circa 1840

Chinese Baths in Paris

The Bains chinois are a public bathhouse, built in 1787 at the location of 29 boulevard des Italiens in Paris, at the corner of rue de la Michodière. They enjoyed brief success before the French Revolution. Sold in 1852, they were destroyed in 1853.

The Chinese Baths were built by Samson-Nicolas Lenoir dit le Romain (1728-1810), architect in Paris from 1763, specializing in projects for public places and mansions. He took part in the land speculation which accompanied the urbanization of the new districts of Paris in the last third of the eighteenth century. This is particularly the case of the grand boulevards, courtyards planted with trees wanted by Louis XIV, on the embankments of the fortified enclosures of Charles V and Louis XIII, demolished from 1676 and become fashionable.

The building which rises on three floors, include a central hexagonal pagoda-shaped pavilion and two horseshoe wings around a garden, connected by a covered terrace along the boulevard. The whole rests originally on a base in the shape of caves which sheltered a coffee. The whole is very exotic in appearance, with steeples, banners, inscriptions with fanciful Chinese characters, balustrades, bright colors on the facades, creating a visual attraction on the boulevard.

The Optical View

The Galerie Napoléon is pleased to propose to you this strong water etching printed 184 years ago (around 1840).

As for all the antique prints in our catalogue, this optical view VUE DES BAINS CHINOIS PRISE DU BOULEVARD DES CAPUCINES datant de 1840 is dispatched worldwide within 24H in a Secured packaging, accompanied by its certificate of authenticity guaranteeing the name of the artists (draughtsman, engraver, editor), the impression process used (Strong water) and its date (1840).

In order to guarantee a perfect conservation in time, this strong water etching is dispatched, ready to be framed, under museum quality color passepartout (manufactured without acid in the pulp for a neutral pH) on a cream mountboard made from carton bois (also acid free & neutral pH), in a luxurious portfolio.

History of the Optical views

At the apogee of the mode for optical views, between 1750 and 1790, four European cities specialized in their edition: Paris (France), London (England), Augsburg (Germany) and Bassano (Italy).

Optical views are prized in very different social circles : pleasant recreation in aristocratic salons, the views are admired in beautiful and richly decorated optical boxes which are real works of art. The show was transformed into a real scientific experiment. But the optical views also entertained the people who were in a hurry when a hawker set up a box on a market and began to narrate the extraordinary events that had taken place in a more or less distant and inaccessible country.

There are three categories in the production of optical views.

• Topographic views: Cities, Monuments, Ports, Distant regions, reproduced with more or less accuracy, depending on the documents available to the engraver. It is obvious that the authors of these prints had not seen these territories. They therefore recomposed these landscapes by compiling various engravings and drawings, which explains many fantasies.
• The historical scenes : Inaugurations, Coronations, Battles, Fires or Natural disasters form a subject that the people are fond of.
• Views with a religious or moralizing theme. For educational value, these prints were mainly produced by Parisian publishers in the rue Saint-Jacques.

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With more than 20 years experience and a catalogue of more than 40.000 antique prints, drawings and historical documents dating from the 14th to the 19th century, the Galerie Napoléon, parisian antique dealer's gallery, is one of the world references in the field of antique prints,etchings and antique graphic arts.

In addition to thousands of impassioned of antique prints throughout the world, the Galerie Napoléon is honoured to count among its customers : national archives, museums, historical monuments and important home designer companies. All attracted by the extraordinary diversity of its catalogue and the quality and speed of its services.

This experience allows us to guarantee to each one of our customers the authenticity of the antiques in our catalogue and the shipment of their orders within 24 hours.

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Customize for free the color of your museum quality bevel cut edge passepartout (acid free & neutral pH) among a color chart of 23 shades.
This option will be offered to you free of charge in the cart.

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All our antiques can be shipped worldwide. The orders are dispatched within 24H in a secured packaging.

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For orders below these amounts, the shipping costs are 8EUR for France, 12EUR for all EU destinations and 17EUR for worldwide destinations.

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