View, France, Paris, Fontainebleau Palace, Isidore Deroy, Lithograph, Antique Print: 19th Century

Description

Fontainebleau served as a residence for all the kings of France from the 12th to 19th centuries. The original medieval palace was completely rebuilt and turned into a large Italianate palace by Francis I in the 1500s, who brought Italian Renaissance artists there to decorate it. After the Revolution, Fontainebleau became the imperial palace of Napoleon Bonaparte when he became Emperor Napoleon I, who restored the castle to its former splendor. The final resident was Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie, who made it their holiday palace until the collapse of the Second Empire in 1870. Today Fontainebleau and its formal gardens offer tours of the historic buildings and recreational activities on the grounds.

Isidore Laurent Deroy was a French painter and prolific lithographer of views and historic sites, who spent his life in Paris. He was a student of Louis-François Cassas and Fèlix. Deroy exhibited at the Salon from 1822 to 1866. His lithographs, drawings and paintings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and a number of French museums. Deroy’s sons, Emile Deroy and Auguste-Victor Deroy, also became accomplished artists.

Full publication information: Dessiné d’après nature et Lithog. par Deroy.

Condition:  Generally very good, recently professionally cleaned and deacidified with only light remaining toning, handling, wear. 

References:

Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 3. p. 195

“Fontainebleau: 800 years of history.” Chateau de Fontainebleau. https://www.chateaudefontainebleau.fr/en/explore-the-castle-and-gardens/chateau-fontainebleau-history/ (11 January 2023).