A View of Place Louis XV

Alexandre-Jean Noël’s A View of Place Louis XV is a highly detailed, celebratory record of one of the most significant public squares in 18th-century Paris.

The square, now known as the Place de la Concorde, was originally named after King Louis XV and featured an enormous equestrian statue of the king at its center. This painting documents the architectural layout and the atmosphere of the space shortly after its completion.

The work's meaning is highly focused on royal propaganda and civic pride. It was designed to capture the scale and ambition of Parisian planning under the monarchy, celebrating the power and glory of the king in a grand, public setting. The accurate depiction of the surrounding buildings and the activities of the carriages and pedestrians make the work a precise historical document of Parisian city life.