Artwork

Vue d’une Ruine près St. Maur-les-Paris (View of a Ruin near St. Maur-les-Paris)

Vue d’une Ruine près St. Maur-les-Paris (View of a Ruin near St. Maur-les-Paris) is a chalk print by the Romanticist artist Le Roy. It dates from 1772 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:lower center in image: LLesueur; upper left in plate: 3.e; upper right in plate: a.; in plate, below image, at left: "Dessiné d'après nature par le Sueur; in plate, below image, at right: Gravé par Mlle Le Roy; below image in center: Vue d’une Ruine près St. Maur-les Paris / A Paris chez Basset, rue Jacques, No. 670

About this work

Overview

Created around 1772 by the French printmaker Le Roy, this chalk‑manner print depicts a tranquil ruin near the village of Saint‑Maur‑les‑Paris. Executed on laid paper and bordered in red, the image is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C. The work presents a modest, almost documentary view of a decaying stone structure framed by trees and a modest church tower.

Subject & Meaning

A few figures wander along the crumbling walls, emphasizing the passage of time and the quiet persistence of everyday life amid architectural decay.

The composition centers on weathered masonry and a small ecclesiastical spire, suggesting a once‑active site now reclaimed by nature. A few figures wander along the crumbling walls, emphasizing the passage of time and the quiet persistence of everyday life amid architectural decay. The setting evokes the eighteenth‑century fascination with ruins as symbols of history and the fleeting nature of human achievement.

Technique & Style

Le Roy employed the chalk‑manner, a printmaking technique that reproduces the soft, velvety tones of chalk drawings. Lines appear gently blended, producing a muted palette of browns and grays that convey atmospheric depth. The red border, printed directly on the paper, frames the scene and highlights the subtle chiaroscuro that models the ruin’s forms.

History & Provenance

The print entered the National Gallery of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the twentieth century, though its earlier ownership record is sparse. Its attribution to Le Roy and dating to the early 1770s align with a period when French artists frequently produced picturesque views of rural and historic sites for an emerging market of collectors interested in topographical prints.