Troisième Journée: Rupture du Palais des enchantements de l'Isle d'Alcine représentée par un feu d'artifice [Third Day: The Destruction of the Palace of Enchantments on the Isle of Alcine as Represented by a Fireworks Display], plate 9 from Les Plaisirs de l’Isle Enchantée, ou Les Festes et divertissements du Roy à Versailles [The Pleasures of the Enchanted Isle, or the Celebrations and Entertainments of the King at Versailles]
Primary
Israël Silvestre
(Nancy, France, 1621–Paris, France, 1691)
Publisher
Louvre Chalcographie
NationalityFrench, Europe
Date1664, reprinted circa 1860
MediumEtching and engraving
DimensionsSheet: 16 3/4 × 21 5/8 in. (42.5 × 55 cm)
Additional Dimension: 10 13/16 × 16 11/16 in. (27.5 × 42.4 cm)
Additional Dimension: 10 13/16 × 16 11/16 in. (27.5 × 42.4 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.1876
Keywords
Rights Statement
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number2002.1876
On View
Not on viewThis image records events during the same grand fête in 1664. On the third day of the festival, after the plays and other performances were finished, the theatrical set in the Estang basin was blown up in a magnificent fireworks display. Fireworks were frequently the culmination of grand feasts and the king employed only the best specialists. Silvestre took great care to show not only the fabulous spectacle, but also the large number of spectators attending and their reactions.
Exhibitions
Israël Silvestre
1664, reprinted circa 1860
François Antoine Aveline II
1750
Adam Perelle
published by Langlois in 1704