Description
Preparatory drawings made by Louis François Cassas, manuscripts, and printed proofs for the publication
Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoénicie, de la Palaestine, et la Basse Aegypte, issued in three volumes in Paris between 1799-1800.
Background
The French painter and architect Louis-François Cassas (1756-1827) was a member of the retinue of the French ambassador to
the Ottoman court, Count Marie Gabriel August de Choiseul-Gouffier. Commissioned by the ambassador, he travelled from 1784
to 1787 to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus, and Asia Minor and drew ancient sites, many of which had never before
been recorded. An earlier commission in 1782 was for a series of views of the Istrian and Dalmatian coast. These drawings
were reproduced in engraving in his book Voyage pittoresque et historique de l'Istrie et de la Damatie (Paris, 1802). Cassas returned to Paris in 1792. After the Revolution he became drawing professor at the Gobelins Tapestry
Manufactory, where he remained until his death.
Extent
10 Linear Feet
(5 boxes, 21 flat file folders)
Restrictions
Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers.