Vue du Chateau et d'une Partie de la Ville de Versailles

This perspective view (often called a vue d'optique,or optical view) is an example of a popular art and entertainment format during the second half of the 1700s in Europe. The hand-colored etching and engraving was made to be viewed with a special viewing device consisting of a convex lens and a mirror, so that scene appeared to be a three-dimensional image. Here, the viewer can enjoy a perspective view of the French Palace of Versailles. Such views-which were only made for a short time and largely disappeared with the advent of photography-appealed to both elite audiences, who viewed collections of images with their own viewing devices in private drawing rooms, and popular audiences, for whom they were street entertainment for a minimal fee.

Credit: Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift