Set of Four Circa 1830s French Oil Paintings, Medieval Monuments of Paris

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A set of four oil paintings dating to the 1830s, each depicting a historical monument of … Read more More information coming soon…

A set of four oil paintings dating to the 1830s, each depicting a historical monument of Paris.

Left to right as seen in the main photo:

Hôtel de Sens. The only building of the four left standing. The original hotel dates to 1345, built for the archbishops of Sens, but later used by King Charles V (known as Hôtel Saint-Pol). The Saint-Pol was destroyed, with the current hotel being built between 1475 and 1519, reverting to the residence of the archbishops. Confiscated during the French Revolution, the hotel has housed the Forney Art Library since 1961. In 1830, a cannonball struck the gable above the entrance and is still visible today. It appears the cannonball was depicted in the painting, placing the paintings just after 1830.

Tour Saint-Jacques. A Gothic church once located on the Right Bank of the Seine, built in the early 1500s. Demolished during the French Revolution, an agreement was made to preserve the tower at the expense of the rest of the church, which was sacrificed for materials. The tower is a famous landmark of Paris, topped by a figure of St James the Greater next to a platform that provides a panoramic view of the city.

Église Saint-Jean-en-Grève (Church of St John on the Shore) . Dating to the early 1200s, this building was once the baptismal chapel of the nearby Église Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais de Paris, before becoming an independent parish around 1212. Unfortunately, the church was completely demolished during the Revolution, with no trace of the original building left.

Tour de Nesle. Constructed in the early 1200s, this was one of the four guard towers along the city wall of Paris. Facing the Louvre castle, it was one half of the protection from upstream incursions. The tower was condemned in 1665, with the site later becoming the location of the Bibliothèque Mazarine within the within the Palais de l’institut de France. See less