Paris Observatory. This observatory, in Paris, France, was funded by King Louis XIV and built during the period 1667 to 1672. Its first director was the Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625-1712). The original architect was Claude Perrault (1613-1688), but the building was enlarged in 1730 and 1810, before the artwork seen here was published in 1829. The director at the time was the French astronomer Alexis Bouvard (1767-1843). Discoveries made here include Cassini's work on the rings and satellites of Saturn. This 1829 artwork is by the artist Joseph Nash (1809-1878), directed by Augustus Charles Pugin (1762-1832).