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Premium Pierre-François-Léonard FONTAINE.
See original version (French)
Pierre-François-Léonard FONTAINE.
See original version (French)
Lot no. 23
Pierre-François-Léonard FONTAINE.
Manuscript with autograph note signed, Journal de nos Travaux depuis le 9 frimaire an 8 (novembre 1799); one folio volume (36,5 x 23,5 cm) of 392 pages, green parchment-backed boards (worn binding, repaired with adhesive).
Very interesting document on all the architect's works from 1799 to 1813.
At the head is Fontaine's autograph note: "Copie du premier volume de mes notes sur les travaux exécutés à Malmaison au Louvre aux Tuileries et autre depuis le 3 novembre 1799 et années suivantes PFL Fontaine".
This beautifully written volume relates all the work carried out by Fontaine with his friend Charles Percier, from 3 November 1799 to 30 December 1813; it is also a diary of his life and the main events of his time. In the margins, the dates and headings of the subjects dealt with are recorded. At the end of the volume, a table of contents details the various works, places, people and subjects dealt with in this volume.
Let us quote the beginning: "[3 November 1799] Citizen David and I visited Malmaison, which Madame Bonaparte wants to have embellished: she has ordered us to present her with projects. She wants to make this estate a place of delights. The gardens are pleasant, the site is very beautiful, the house is dreadful, as are all the buildings that depend on it. We believe, however, that it is possible to restore it and make it more or less comfortable. We are going to start planning new buildings. [31 December] Madame Bonaparte and David presented us to the First Consul, who, after talking to us for a long time about his plans for Paris and asking us whether the antique statues brought from Italy would not be well placed at Les Invalides under the dome of the church, drove us in his carriage from Luxembourg to the Muséum central des arts"...
Here are some of the main topics discussed the work at the Invalides, the victory at Marengo (and the supper given by Josephine at Malmaison), Caroline Bonaparte's marriage to Murat, the dismissal of Lecomte and the appointment of Fontaine and Percier as government architects, work at the Tuileries, the restoration of Saint-Cloud, the enlargement of the Tuileries gardens, the placing of the Venetian horses on the Carrousel, the Louvre bridge, peace with England, the re-establishment of religious worship, new streets, the Emperor's throne, the coronation, the Emperor's visit to the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe project, the Madeleine church, Napoleon's visit to David's studio to see the painting of the coronation, Versailles and the Trianons, the Élysée Palace, reunification of the Louvre and the Tuileries, obelisk on the Pont-Neuf, marriage of Napoleon and Marie-Louise, Chaillot Palace, Palace of the King of Rome, balls, opera project, completion of the Pantheon, etc.
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Pierre François Léonard FONTAINE, and his times - Unpublished drawings
75009 Paris - France
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11/21/2025 : 11:00 AM
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