102 François Gérard (1770–1837) – Henri IV Enters Paris – Engraving from Galeries historiques de Versailles by Charles Gavard (1838–1849)

This large 19th-century engraving depicts the ceremonial entry of King Henri IV into Paris, based on an original painting by François Gérard (1770–1837). The image was reproduced as part of Galeries historiques de Versailles, a monumental publication directed by Charles Gavard and commissioned under the reign of King Louis-Philippe I. In the 1830s, Louis-Philippe transformed the Palace of Versailles into a museum dedicated to French history and commissioned artworks to glorify national memory. Charles Gavard, engineer and lithographer, developed a unique reproduction technique known as the diagraphe to faithfully document these artworks in print form. This engraving belongs to the second series of the publication, which covers French history from Clovis to 1643.