View of the palace of Saint Ildephonse palace. Picturesque and historical journey in Spain by Alexandre de Laborde

Original hand coloured engraving with the view of Saint Ildephonse palace from the plates of 'Voyage pittoresque et historique de l´Espagne' by Alexadre de Laborde, printed by Pierre Didot between 1806 and 1820. This print is a later edition. Alexandre de Laborde was a French military archaeologist, politician and publisher who, after almost 10 years as an officer in the Austrian army, left his military career spurred by his interest in the arts and dedicated himself to traveling through England, Holland, Italy and Spain. Protected by Luciano Bonaparte, he worked in 1800 at the Madrid Embassy and devoted himself to publishing great books on Spain. During the time of his diplomatic mission, he had the opportunity to know the beauty of this country and to take an interest in it, which also related to the origins of his paternal family. He hired a team of artists at the head of which he remained for a long time as an archaeologist. Aided by a team of authors including his friend François-René de Chateaubriand, he finally published this Voyage pittoresque et historique en Espagne (Picturesque and historical journey in Spain). This work contributed to spread abroad the romantic vision of Spain, and had the patronage of Manuel Godoy and Álvarez de Faria, prime minister of Carlos IV between 1792 and 1798. This work is now possibly the most important book on Spain of the 19th century, with 4 volumes of magnificent engravings and a compendium of political and civil history, and extremely difficult to find complete and in good condition.