1734-36 The Turgot Plan of Paris

Plan de Paris. Commencé l'année 1734. Dessiné et gravé sous les ordres de Messire Michel Étienne Turgot, Marquis de Sousmons...

By: Michel-Étienne Turgot & Louis Bretez

Date of Original: 1739 (published) Paris

Original Size: 102.5 x 130 inches (260 x 330 cm)

This is a fine print wall covering of a monumental twenty sheet map of Paris that is widely considered to be one of the most impressive bird’s eye view of a city every created. It all began in 1734, when Michel-Étienne Turgot, chief of the municipality of Paris commissioned Michel-Étienne Turgot to create a statement piece to be presented to foreign and domestic dignitaries intended to boast the architecture and layout of the city.

In order to achieve this, Turgot was given special permission to enter private mansions, houses, and gardens to take measurements and make sketches so that the finished work would be as accurate as if viewed from the sky in a balloon. The entire process took two years of consistent work followed by the exemplary engraving talents of Claude Lucas of the Royal Academy of Sciences. 

The end result of these unique efforts is a spectacular map of Paris, comprised of twenty individual sheets that when joined together creates a dramatic visualization of one of the most iconic cities of the world.

Inventory #81042