Fireworks.- Cochin (Charles Nicolas) Préparatifs du grand feu d'artifice..., etching, [c. 1735].

Fireworks.- Cochin the Younger (Charles Nicolas, 1715-1790) Préparatifs du grand feu d'artifice... after Giovanni Paolo Panini, ...Que S.E.M. Le Cardinal de Polignac fit tirer à Rome dans la place Navonne le 30 Novembre 1729 pour la Naissance de Monseigneur le Dauphin, etching and engraving, on 18th century laid paper without watermark, sheet 460 x 890 mm (18 x 35 in), numerous expert areas of restoration to tears, loss and handling creases, mainly visible in left and right edges and corners, minor surface dirt, unframed, Paris, [circa 1735]

⁂ Large detailed view showing the preparations in Piazza Navona, Rome, for the fireworks display commissioned by Cardinal Melchior de Polignac and held on 30 November 1729 in honour of the birth of the dauphin Louis, son of King Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska. The present etching is based on a veduta painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini [see The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, no. 95] that records the ephemeral arches and other festival decorations designed by Pier Leone Ghezzi.