The book “Desseins de toutes les parties de l’eglise de Saint Pierre de Rome”, published in 1713, was written by Jacques de Tarade an French engineer and architect. He wrote/drew this book in behalf of the French king. The content of the book are detailed drawings of the St.Peter’s Basilica in Rome and a comparison of the Basilica and the cathedral Notre Dame in Paris.
The book doesn’t have a Table of Contents. So, there is not really a clear structure. On the first page of the book there is a big self-portrait of Jacques de Tarades and after that follows a text introducing the purpose of the book. There is also a long letter from Jacques de Tarade thanking the French King for this opportunity. Then follow all the drawings. First there are the ground plans, then the outside views, after that the sectional drawings and then the really detailed drawings of the inside of the Basilica. Next Jacque de Tarade compares the two structures, focusing on the ground plans and the outside views. He also made a chart where he listed important features of the two buildings and compared them. On the last page of the book there is an extract of the favor of the king.
The book has a width of 370mm, a length of 740mm and a height of 25mm. Therefor it classifies as “folio” in accordance to the traditional standard book sizes.
In total there are 58 pages. The whole content in the form of text is written on 3 pages. The illustrations are spread over 55 pages, sometimes accompanied by smaller text parts. Each illustration has its own front- and back sheet.
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