Sincapour [Singapore]

Description

aquatint, RARE beautiful view from ‘Voyage Autour du Monde par les Mers de l’Inde et de la Chine de La Corvette de Sa Majesté La Favorite exécuté pendant les années 1830, 1831, 1832, pl. 28, sketched by Francois-Edmond Paris, engraved by Sigismond Himely and under the direction of Louis Auguste de Sainson with Arthus Bertrand, editeur.

“La Favorite” was one of several ships sent out by the France in the 1820/1830s to compete with similar expeditions by other countries. These were voyages with political/territorial objectives via commercial diplomatic, scientific and artistic means, intending to expand French influence particularly in Southeast Asia to counter British interests.
Barthelemy Lauvergne (1805-1871) was a French painter, maritime, and landscape artist active in the mid 19th C. He accompanied the French naval officer Jules Sebastien Cesar Dumont d’Urville (1790-1842) onboard the L’Astrolabe (1826-1829), Cyrille Pierre Theodore Laplace (1793-1875) on La Favorite (1830-1832), and Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant (1793-1858) on La Bonite (1836-1837).
Sigismond Himely (1801-1872) was a mid 19th C. Swiss painter, viewmaker, acquaint engraver active in Paris known for his excellent aquatints. Louis Auguste de Sainson (1800-1877) was a French artist, lithographer, and engraver. He worked as a draughtsman on the Astrolabe in its circumnavigation of the globe in 1826-1829, and then spent almost 5 years to create the prints for the publication of its expedition narrative.