Gezigten In Frankrijk door Parelle

Paris, mid-18th century. Hardcover. Near Fine. Contemporary marbled paper over boards, leather backstrip, manuscript title in paper label on front board, printed paper spine label (a bit scufffed, No. 43 or 48?); oblong folio (388x284mm); 31 engraved plates depicting landscapes and great houses in France, some of them proofs-before-letters, with manuscript titles and privileges. Includes Pont-neuf, College des 4 Nations, Jardin de St. Germain en Laye, Chasteau et de la Caseade de St. Clou, La Maison de Sceaux, and others. Very scarce -- none located on OCLC, and auction records are scant. Binding worn, scuffed, bumped; but contents are very fine indeed.

Gabriel Parelle (1604-1677) was a French draftsman and printmaker of topographic views and landscapes. A pupil of Simon Vouet (who introduced the Baroque style of painting to France), Parelle specialized in classical landscapes similar to those of Francisque Millet, although more obviously decorative. He founded an etching workshop, with the assistance of his sons Nicolas and Adam assisted him. Parelle was also a pupil of famed artist Daniel Rabel, and produced several hundred engravings both from his own drawings and from those of his contemporaries.