HILAIR, Jean-Baptiste. MATHIEU, J. - Lot 63

HILAIR, Jean-Baptiste. MATHIEU, J. Vue de la Place Al-meïdan (Hippodrôme). [Paris], 1783. Sheet in plano (54 x 70 cm). Large black etching on laid paper (ca. 40 x 55 cm at the bowl), (slight foxing at the fold in the margins). View of the Constantinople Hippodrome engraved by J. Mathieu after the painting by Jean-Baptiste Hilair. It shows the obelisks of Theodosius and the column of Constantine VII standing amid picturesque scenes with different types of costumes from Constantinopolitan life at the end of the 18th century. "The 18th century was marked by a renewed interest in Greek history and culture following the discovery of the ruins of Herculaneum in 1748. This archaeological interest complemented the Romantic conceptions of the time, depicting ancient Greece as a model of harmony, preserved from the corruption of modern times". Plate 81 published in the second part of volume II of Choiseul-Gouffier's Voyage pittoresque de la Grèce (1809-1822). Ecole Française. [Turkey]. [Istanbul].