BRETEZ, Louis / TURGOT. - Plan de Paris commencé l'année 1734, Dessiné et gravé sous les ordres de Messire Michel Etienne Turgot, prévost des marchands.

FIRST EDITION of Turgot's Monumental Joined View of Paris, stretching to over 10 Feet.This expansive engraved view of Paris covers the first eleven arrondissements of modern Paris. With a combined width of over ten feet, this archivally joined plan makes for an arresting centerpiece. Turgot's is perhaps the best record of Paris in the 18th century, before its transformation by Georges-Eugène Haussmann and Emperor Napoleon III. It is widely regarded as one of the most important city views of all time.

Sold with the index plan, also laid down on canvas with wooden rollers.

The Mayor of Paris, Michel-Étienne Turgot, commissioned Louis Bretez, a member of the Académie de Saint-Luc to create an impressive image of the city. He was given license to survey wherever he needed and could enter private property if the task required. The end result was to be a statement piece, one which was presented to dignitaries, foreign and domestic alike, to reinforce their esteem of Paris.
Historians suspect that Bretez was awarded the commission in part because of the work he had already done on architectural perspective, some of which was published in his 1706 book La perspective pratique de l'architecture .

Claude Lucas, engraver of the Royal Academy of Sciences, masterfully engraved the plan, which was published between 1739 and 1740. The map was bound in elegant volumes and offered to the King, the members of the Academy, the Municipality, and important visiting dignitaries. Those examples assembled and hung on the wall generally didn't survived.

PLEASE NOTE: The illustration provided is a digital composite of another example of the map ( David Rumsey Collection 10059 ). We are happy to provide images of parts upon request.