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Lot Essay
This drawing is one of a series of at least eight views of the Pont-Royal executed during its construction (1685-1689): two of similar size, previously also in the Wattinne collection in Paris (Mareuse, op. cit., pp. 64-71; one of them Sotheby's, London, 4 July 2012, lot 34), two in the Louvre (Lugt, op. cit., 1949, nos. 549-50), two at the Bibliothèque nationale (Lugt, op. cit., 1936, nos. 277-78), and one recently on the art market (Artcurial, Paris, 27 March 2015, lot 91). These last five are of smaller dimensions (generally 47 x 63 cm.). A drawing of smaller dimensions (19 x 30 cm.), signed and dated 1686, and also showing the construction of the Pont-Royal was recently with Stephen Ongpin (cat. 2015, no. 9). It is not known for what purpose Cruyl made this series of drawings. A print was made after one of the drawings in the Louvre, showing the finished bridge from a viewpoint similar to that used in the present work (Jatta, op. cit., p. 315, fig. 141).
Cruyl was a Flemish priest, architect, draughtsman and etcher. He left Ghent for Italy in 1664 and spent a few years in Rome before staying for extended periods in Florence (1672), Naples (1673) and Venice (1676), and is documented working in Paris in 1680-82 and in 1686-87. The 'bird's eye' view of the present drawing is typical of his oeuvre.
In 1684 the wooden bridge that linked the Louvre to the Rue du Bac was carried away by ice. It was replaced by a new one designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) with construction overseen by François Romain (1648-1735), a Dominican monk from Holland. He introduced new construction techniques visible in the present drawing, most importantly the preparation of the foundations by dredging, and the use of caissons of great timber boxes in which the masonry was built and sunk down on top of the piles. The bridge comprises five arches and is 110 meters wide. The present view shows a stage in the construction at which the two arches at the sides are already complete and work has moved to the three central arches. A temporary bridge has been built and large cranes activated by wheels are used to transport the pieces of pouzzolone cement.
This drawing also provides a fascinating, rare and early panorama of Paris. On the left is the Louvre, with the Pavillon de Flore and the Galerie de bord de l'eau, at the end of which is the Vieux Louvre. One of the many interesting features of the drawing is that it shows buildings since destroyed that filled the space between the Tuileries and the Louvre with the Church of S. Thomas du Louvre in the middle. Further away, one can make out S. Eustache and the Hôtel de Ville. In the distance are depicted, with great precision, the Pont-Neuf, the Chapel of the Samaritaine (now destroyed), the Pont-au-Change, and the Pont-Nôtre-Dame surmounted by houses, the Pont-Saint-Michel, Nôtre-Dame, la Sainte-Chapelle. On the left bank one can see the Couvent des Théatins, the Hôtel de Bouillon (now part of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts), the Collège des Quatre-Nations (now Institut), the large abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Sulpice and the dome of the Palais du Luxembourg. In the background are le Val-de-Grâce and the hills dominating the Seine and the Marne.
Cruyl was a Flemish priest, architect, draughtsman and etcher. He left Ghent for Italy in 1664 and spent a few years in Rome before staying for extended periods in Florence (1672), Naples (1673) and Venice (1676), and is documented working in Paris in 1680-82 and in 1686-87. The 'bird's eye' view of the present drawing is typical of his oeuvre.
In 1684 the wooden bridge that linked the Louvre to the Rue du Bac was carried away by ice. It was replaced by a new one designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) with construction overseen by François Romain (1648-1735), a Dominican monk from Holland. He introduced new construction techniques visible in the present drawing, most importantly the preparation of the foundations by dredging, and the use of caissons of great timber boxes in which the masonry was built and sunk down on top of the piles. The bridge comprises five arches and is 110 meters wide. The present view shows a stage in the construction at which the two arches at the sides are already complete and work has moved to the three central arches. A temporary bridge has been built and large cranes activated by wheels are used to transport the pieces of pouzzolone cement.
This drawing also provides a fascinating, rare and early panorama of Paris. On the left is the Louvre, with the Pavillon de Flore and the Galerie de bord de l'eau, at the end of which is the Vieux Louvre. One of the many interesting features of the drawing is that it shows buildings since destroyed that filled the space between the Tuileries and the Louvre with the Church of S. Thomas du Louvre in the middle. Further away, one can make out S. Eustache and the Hôtel de Ville. In the distance are depicted, with great precision, the Pont-Neuf, the Chapel of the Samaritaine (now destroyed), the Pont-au-Change, and the Pont-Nôtre-Dame surmounted by houses, the Pont-Saint-Michel, Nôtre-Dame, la Sainte-Chapelle. On the left bank one can see the Couvent des Théatins, the Hôtel de Bouillon (now part of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts), the Collège des Quatre-Nations (now Institut), the large abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Sulpice and the dome of the Palais du Luxembourg. In the background are le Val-de-Grâce and the hills dominating the Seine and the Marne.