Fireworks Display Presented to the Dauphin on his Sixth Birthday on September 3 by Charles-Nicolas Cochin II

Fireworks Display Presented to the Dauphin on his Sixth Birthday on September 3 1736

print, etching, engraving

pencil drawn

toned paper

light pencil work

print

etching

pencil sketch

incomplete sketchy

charcoal drawing

charcoal art

pen-ink sketch

france

pencil work

engraving

pencil art

Charles-Nicolas Cochin II's 1736 engraving, "Fireworks Display Presented to the Dauphin on his Sixth Birthday on September 3," is a detailed visual record of a lavish celebration held at the Château de Meudon for the young Dauphin. The etching, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, showcases the intricate design of the fireworks display and the architectural elements of the palace, which are illuminated with light and reflected in the numerous fountains. Cochin's meticulous attention to detail highlights the grandeur of the event and provides a fascinating glimpse into the extravagance of the French court during the reign of Louis XV.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

⋮

For the sixth birthday of young prince Louis, King Louis XV's heir, an extravagant party was given at the royal chateau of Meudon, five miles from Paris. The royal gardens were transformed into the mythical Garden of Hesperides, and before the small party (of mostly grownups), a colossal Hercules slays the dragons that protect the golden apples in Hera's garden, which confer immortality on all who partake. Behind this spectacle, fireworks burst forth to resemble the sun, a theme also reflected in the trimmed shrubbery, where two faces of Apollo, atop the lyre, similarly seem to burst with light. An official bureaucratic department of the king's household oversaw the planning and execution of such festivities, the Menus Plaisirs du Roi, which was administered by a number of high-ranking officials, and employed a small army of artists, architects, and craftsman, some of whom are credited in the inscription for planning the Dauphin's party.