Place Vendome Column, Paris, Antique Lithograph after Jacottet, circa 1850

A tinted lithograph of the Place Vendome in Paris, with its triumphal column rising high into a pale cream sky. The column, wound with a spiral band of relief, stands on a square pedestal and is topped by a small figure of Napoleon. On either side the elegant facades of the square curve away, their arcaded ground floors, tall windows and pedimented centers drawn with care, and the rue de la Paix opens into the distance between them.

The square is lively but spacious: a rider on horseback at left, a carriage and pair waiting at right with a coachman on the box, and small groupings of strollers and children around the base of the column and along the pavements, under rows of street lamps.

The Vendome Column was raised under Napoleon to celebrate the victory at Austerlitz, its spiral reliefs cast in bronze. The figure on top here appears to be the statue of Napoleon in his greatcoat and bicorne hat that crowned the column from 1833 until it was replaced in 1863. The sheet is lettered "Paris" above and "COLONNE DE LA PLACE VENDÔME" below, numbered 10, after a drawing by J. Jacottet, printed by Auguste Bry at 114 rue du Bac and published by Maison Martinet, rue Vivienne and rue de Rivoli.

The technique is lithography printed with a cream tint stone, which gives the whole view a warm, even light, with highlights in white. The printed image is clean.

The tall column and wide sky make this an elegant, airy piece for a bedroom, a dressing room or a Paris themed corner, especially in a pale gold or white frame.

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