Vue d'optique - Vue intérieure de la cathédrale de Dorth.

Original engraving. Optical view heightened in watercolor, depicting an interior view of Dorth Cathedral.
Optical views, also called views, perspectives or "mondo nuovo", are engravings that were very popular between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They were intended to be observed through a set of multiple mirrors or by means of a Zograscope, an instrument consisting of a mirror and a lens. Optical views can be considered as the forerunners of three-dimensional images and stereoscopes which enjoyed great success from the 19th century onwards. Optical views seem to appear in the 1740s and were parlor entertainments. The process was first developed in Paris, then London and finally in Germany and aimed to represent - in an idealized manner - the most famous panoramas and landscapes of East and West.
Fine impression with very fresh colors.