Cross Section of the Hôtel de Ville Seen in Perspective Showing the Decoration and Illumination of the Courtyard and Rooms Created on the Occasion of the Ball Given the Night of August 30 and 31, 1739

About the Artwork

This cross-section of a building allows a unique view into a French royal wedding. The partiers are dressed in costume and dance in the Parisian town hall. No expense was spared in the lavish celebration, from flowers to drinks to the elaborate false ceiling painted to look like the sky.

Inscriptions

upper center in black: J. F. BLONDEL

Exhibition history

French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002). Gallery One 2012. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Jacques-François Blondel (French, 1705–1744)
Date: 1739–1740
Medium: pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, and watercolor with gouache, over graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 42.9 x 69.5 cm (16 7/8 x 27 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 53.9 x 89.6 cm (21 1/4 x 35 1/4 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Accession no.: 2008.408

Open-access museum record · AT-00011493