Cour d'Honneur, Versailles, Antique Lithograph after Ph. Benoist, circa 1850

A tinted lithograph of the Cour d'Honneur at the Palace of Versailles, looking across the great forecourt toward the palace. Two pedimented pavilions face each other across the court, the long wings of the palace reach back toward the central buildings, and at the center stands the equestrian statue of Louis XIV. At right, the tall roof of the Royal Chapel rises above a balustrade lined with statues.

The court is full of visitors and soldiers: officers in plumed hats at left, mounted riders, couples in the dress of the 1840s, and guards in helmets and cuirasses at right. A soft, overcast sky takes up the upper half of the sheet.

Versailles was opened as a museum of French history under King Louis-Philippe in the 1830s, and views like this one recorded the crowds who came to see it. The sheet is lettered "Versailles" above and "COUR D'HONNEUR" below, numbered 6, after a drawing by Philippe Benoist, printed by Auguste Bry and published by Gihaut Frères of the Boulevard des Italiens in Paris.

The technique is lithography printed with a buff tint stone, with the sky and pavement in soft crayon tones and the figures picked out with crisp detail and white highlights. A double ruled border frames the image.

Classical and orderly, this view would suit a formal dining room or an entrance hall, framed in a gilt or antique white molding to echo the architecture of the palace.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.