Marie Antoinette's

The latest exhibition at the Grand Palais is called France in Relief, Masterpieces from the collection of relief maps of Louis XIV to Napoleon III. The show features amazing scaled-down maps of some primary European cities made of wood, paper, metal and silk.  In a way, they are like the 18th century version of Google Maps.



The 3D maps were created for military purposes at the time, to aid in the preparation of war.  During the 18th century they went on display to reinforce the power France held. But today they serve to teach us about the development of borders, town planning, map-making, historical towns (that have since been destroyed and rebuilt) and even siege warfare.



The maps are so well made and realistic you can picture the 18th century cities just as they were; the detail in the architecture of buildings and layout of each city gives us a fresh perspective on historical urban life.  To create the maps, surveyors and engineers were sent out across the country to measure and record the details of assigned towns. There are 16 maps on view, all from the collection of the Grand Palais. The cities include:

Fort Barraux (Isère), 
Montmélian (Savoy), 
Exilles (Italy)
Fenestrelle (Italy)
Embrun (Hautes-Alpes)
Grenoble (Isère)
Briançon (Hautes-Alpes)
Mont-Dauphin (Hautes-Alpes) 
Besançon (Doubs)
Neuf-Brisach (Haut-Rhin)
Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin)
Luxembourg
Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands)
Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
Cherbourg (Manche) 
Brest (Finistère)

Check out this video on the exhibition, you will be amazed at the size and detail in each map!


If you can make it to this show, it is on view until February 17, 20
 Video via Liberation Next


Would love to hear your thoughts if you see it!