3-016-293 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Corner of a Library, 1711. An interior set against a plain wall with a bookcase to one side on which are neatly arranged volumes in perfect order. The bookcase is designed to allow easy access to the top shelves on which the largest volumes are kept, while a striking element is the curtain intended to protect them from dust and light. Leaning against the side of the bookcase are what appear to be rolled-up maps, together with an oriental lance, one of the various oriental items in the room. The foreground is used for a table covered with a splendid Chinese textile on which the artist has depicted a terrestrial and a celestial globe, an armillary sphere and an atlas. The furniture is completed by three chairs, one with a walking stick resting on it, and the candelabrum in the space nearest the viewer.