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An impressive etched panorama of Barcelona, drawn by the military engineer Guillaume de Saulieu and engraved by Nicolas Perelle, issued in Paris by Pierre Mariette likely in the late 1640s or early 1650s. The view presents the Catalan capital from the south-southeast, with the lantern tower known as the Fanal du Molle positioned prominently in the foreground, marking the vantage point from the coastal edge of the harbor.
The composition captures the city arrayed along the waterfront, bounded by Montjuïc to the left and the open plain to the right, where the future Ciutadella would later be built. Perelle enlivens the foreground with a roiling sea and several vessels, while the city’s fortified walls and densely clustered rooftops rise behind the harbor. The skyline is anchored by the cathedral, the Royal Palace, Santa Maria del Mar, and the towers of major religious houses. Each of the twenty-three numbered landmarks is identified in a detailed key engraved along the lower margin, blending French and Catalan usage.
The view is dedicated to Michel Le Tellier, Secretary of State for War under the young Louis XIV, and a principal architect of France’s military strategy during the final decades of the Thirty Years’ War. The timing and context of the print suggest it was created during the French occupation of Barcelona (1641–1652), when the city served as a strategic outpost in France’s alliance with Catalan rebels during the Reapers’ War (Guerra dels Segadors). Le Tellier’s dedication places the print squarely in the world of military topography and state propaganda. The precision of Saulieu’s draughtsmanship, combined with Perelle’s fluid and dramatic engraving, establishes the sheet’s dual function as both a record of occupation and a celebration of French control.
