Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris: France

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (architects Percier and Fontaine) was built between 1806 and 1808 by Napoleon I following the model of the Arch of Constantine in Rome. The two arches conceived by Napoleon, Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, were erected to commemorate his victories, and the grand armies he had commanded. The bronze horses which originally perched on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel were taken from Saint-Marc of Venice. These were later returned after WWII.

The monument is richly decorated in rose marble on the columns and the front paneling. It is part of the so-called Grand Axis of Paris - or Voie Triomphale - which consists of the Grande Arche de la Defense to the west, the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile at place du General Charles de Gaulle, the boulevard Champs-Elysees, the Obelisque de Luxor at the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Gardens, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and the Palais du Louvre (Louvre Museum) culminating at the eastern end.
Physical Description

The Arc du Carrousel is composed of three arches: a big one and two little ones. While the principal structure is 63 feet high, 75 feet wide, and 24 feet deep, the ceiling of the big arch is 21 feet high and 9 feet wide, and the two small arches are each 14 feet, 16 inches high and 9 feet wide. The arc is surmounted by a group of men on horses underneath which one finds the names of the battles and treaties of Napoleon.

Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile: France

The arch was commissioned by Napoleon as a tribute to the French army. The original architect was Chalgrin; after his death, the work was continued by Joust (or Goust) from 1811-14 until it stopped after the defeat of Napoleon. In 1833 work was begun again. The name of Blouet, who had the honor of completing the monument, is engraved on it.

The inscription (translated) reads: “This monument which was begun in 1806 to honour the great army, was left unfinished for many years, was continued in 1823 with a new purpose, and was completed in 1836 in the reign of King Louis-Philippe I who dedicated it to the glory of France’s armed forces. G. A. Blouet, architect” (Dillange 7). Completed under the new king Louis-Philippe and his minister of the interior, Adolphe Thiers, the arch was a way of illustrating the new government’s efforts at national unity and reconciliation.

S ince 1920, the tomb of France’s Unknown Soldier has been sheltered underneath the arch. Its eternal flame commemorates the dead of the two world wars, and is rekindled every evening at 6:30. Here, on every Armistice Day (November 11), the President of the Republic lays a ceremonial wreath. On July 14, the French National Day (also known as Bastille Day), a military parade starts at the arch and proceeds down the Champs Elysees. For important occasions of state, and on national holidays, a huge French tricolor is unfurled and hung from the vaulted ceiling inside of the Arch. The last leg of the Tour de France bicycle race also culminates here on the third or fourth Sunday in July.

Physical Description

At the bases of the Arc’s pillars are four huge relief sculptures, commemorating The Triumph of 1810 (by Cortot); Resistance, and Peace (both by Etex); and The Departure of the Volunteers, more commonly known as La Marseillaise (by François Rude). On the day the Battle of Verdun started (1916), the sword carried by the figure representing the Republic broke off from La Marseillaise. The relief was immediately hidden to conceal the accident, so that it would not be interpreted as a bad omen.

E ngraved around the top of the Arch are the names of major victories won during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. The names of less important victories, as well as those of 558 generals, can be found on the inside walls. (Generals whose names are underlined died in action.) (more…)

Guimet Museum: France

The Guimet Museum (French: Musee Guimet) is a museum of Asian art located in Paris, France. It has the largest collection of Asian art outside Asia.

The museum which was first located at Lyons in 1879 and was handed over to the state and transferred to Paris in 1885, was founded by Emile Etienne Guimet, an industrialist. Devoted to travel, Guimet was in 1876 commissioned by the minister of public instruction to study the religions of the Far East, and the museum contains many of the fruits of this expedition, including a fine collection of Japanese and Chinese porcelain and many objects relating not merely to the religions of the East but also to those of Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume: France

The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art in the north-west corner of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.

The building was built in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III. It originally housed tennis courts; the name is from the precursor of tennis, the jeu de paume.

It was used from 1940 to 1944 to store Jewish cultural property looted by the Nazi regime in France.

Before 1986, it contained the Musee du Jeu de Paume, which held many important impressionist works now in the Musee d’Orsay.

Musee Rodin: France

The Musee Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919 in the Hotel Biron and surrounding grounds. It displays works by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Rodin used the Hotel Biron as his residence from 1908, and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures (along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired) to the French State on the condition that they turn the building into a museum dedicated to his works.

The Musee Rodin contains most of Rodin’s significant creations, including The Thinker and The Kiss. Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum’s extensive garden.

The museum has also a room dedicated to works of Camille Claudel.

Centre Georges Pompidou: France

The Centre Georges Pompidou (constructed 1971-1977 and known as the Pompidou Centre in English) is a building in the Beaubourg area of the IVe arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles and the Marais. Designed by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, it houses the Bibliotheque publique d’information, a vast public library, and the Musee National d’Art Moderne. Because of its location, the Centre is known locally as Beaubourg.

Museum

Some of the art movements represented in the Musee National d’Art Moderne are Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. The museum has 50,000 works of art (including painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography), of which 1,500 to 2,000 are on public display.

Design

The building structure is very distinctive: it has been described by critics as “an oil refinery in the centre of the city”. The coloured external piping is the special feature of the building. Air conditioning ducts are blue, water pipes are green and electricity lines are yellow. Escalators are red. White ducts are ventilation shafts for the underground areas. Even the steel beams that make up the Pompidou Centre’s framework are on the outside.

The intention of the architects was to place the various service elements (electricity, water etc.) outside of the building’s framework and therefore turn the building “inside out”. The arrangement also allows an uncluttered internal space for the display of art works, drawing on ideas promulgated by Cedric Price’s Fun Palace project (1964).

Access and surrounding area

The Place Georges Pompidou in front of the museum is noted for the presence of street performers such as mimes and jugglers.

The nearby Stravinsky Fountain (or Fontaine des automates) near the Centre Pompidou, features works by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle.

Public transport: metro Rambuteau, Les Halles, metro and RER Chatelet - Les Halles.

The museum is on the fourth and fifth floor.

The library is on the first three floors.