Charles de Wailly

Charles de Wailly was a pre-eminent and influential architect and designer. He trained in Paris with Legeay and Blondel and then went to study in Italy from 1754 to 1757. In Rome he was part of the lively international community of artists which included Piranesi, Hubert Robert and Robert Adam. His interest in Roman antiquity as well as in more recent monuments had a profound effect on his work; he particularly admired Bernini. On his return to France, he established a successful career, patronised by the Marquis de Marigny and other nobles, receiving both private and public commissions, including that for the new theatre for the Comédie Française. 

Another very similar composition by de Wailly, executed in 1779, depicting the stage design for the Palais d'Armide is housed in the Bibliothèque National de France, Paris and was also part of the exhibition, organised by Caisse Nationale des Monuments et des sites, in 1979.¹

1. Exhib., cat., op.cit. no. 79