Vue de Peking Capitale de la Chine, et de la Superbe Muraille qui la Separe de la Tartarie.
11 ½ x 15 ½ inches, Fine original color; mounted on thick early paper, a mended edge split, light soiling, else excellent. An animated, beautifully colored panoramic view of Beijing with the Great Wall in the background, one of only a few obtainable, Western, printed images of the city prior to 1800. This work is an example of a vue optique, a print that is engraved in such a way, with exaggerated converging lines, to create a three-dimensional effect when viewed with a special device. Such prints appeared largely in Paris, London and Augsburg in the latter 18th and early 19th century. The market for them was primarily the rising bourgeoisie, affording them a cosmopolitan experience at relatively low cost.
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