Paris - Grand Trianon - Versailles

Plate CVIII – Grand Trianon …

One of two chateaux named Trianon and situated in the north western section of the Versailles estates, the Grand Trianon was commissioned by Louis XIV as a residence for his mistress of the time, the later dismissed Madame de Montespan. The architect was again the King’s favourite Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and the Trianon is constructed primarily of pink marble from the Languedoc region of France.

Completed in early 1688 this chateau allowed the King to escape the rigorous formalities and etiquette of the court. The building fell into disrepair during and after the French Revolution, being partially restored and placed back into use by Napoleon during the days of the First Empire.

It is today again being used, by the President of the French Republic to entertain his many international guests.

Paris - Place Hoche - Versailles

Plate CII – Place Hoche …

Perhaps including Versailles in this Paris collection is stretching the city’s boundaries a little, but the Royal town is very clear amongst my memories of the trip. Arriving in Versailles – primarily to visit the Palace I was delighted to find there was more to the town than that one attraction. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the day held great promise. I eagerly anticipated an extensive viewing of not only the palace and its buildings, but also the more or less 800 hectares of Grand Gardens.

Coming from a right hand drive country and not having been man enough to take on the main Parisian traffic, I had put my recently acquired international driver’s licence to use, hiring a Renault Twingo on the outskirts of the city to drive first to Sèvres and now also to Versailles. I almost felt brave enough after the experience to try my luck at Etoile!!

I stopped near Place Hoche with this view of Versailles’ own Notre Dame church behind, to admire the gardens and the statue of the man who, had he lived longer, and but for Napoleon, may have been the leading French military figure of his age. General Lazare Hoche (1768 – 1797), was born in Versailles of poor parents, was largely self educated and became a general of the revolutionary and Napoleonic armies, achieving great accomplishments both in war and in peacemaking in his short 13 year career.

The slightly cloudy but clear weather that greeted my arrival was about to change.

Paris - Sèvres Porcelain Works - Sèvres

Plate CI – Sevres …

It is an obvious segue from Vincennes to Sèvres, for as already mentioned, the manufacturing tradition of Sèvres porcelain started with the migration of workers from Chantilly to the royal porcelain works at the Château de Vincennes in the 1730s.

Whether or not you personally like the baroque and rococo elaborate style of many traditional Sèvres wares with their richly hued decorative work, you cannot fail to be impressed by the mastery of the manufactory’s artists over the centuries. From vases, urns and chalices destined for the earlier French royal patrons to the numerous dinner services commissioned for Presidents in residence at Washington’s White House in the United States, the quality of goods produced is impeccable.

Moved to these larger quarters in Sèvres in 1756 at the instigation Louis XV and his obviously influential mistress Madame de Pompadour, French porcelain set out to better the standards of German competitors at Meissen and Dresden. Highly prized, and highly priced, early production was extremely limited and affordable only by nobility – the King himself conducting major sales from his residence at Versailles. Most early Sèvres works were of a soft bisque type, unable to compete with the kaolin based hard paste output of the Germans. Interrupted by the Revolution, it was Napoleon’s appointed director Alexandre Brogniart who is today attributed with having saved the Sèvres works from extinction. Brogniart held this post some 47 years. The discovery in 1769 of kaolin deposits in the Perigord region at Limoges (another notable though more modern French producing region of porcelain wares) eliminated the making of soft paste products entirely. The factory is today run under the auspices of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication; such is its national importance.

At the Sèvres works is a museum (founded by Brogniart in 1824) devoted to an incredible collection of historic works and designs; a veritable treat for the eye. There is also a Sèvres shop where collector’s pieces, including some reproduction traditional works may be bought. I treated myself to a much prized plain white bisque medallion of the Emperor Napoleon – one of the very few travel ‘souvenirs’ I have acquired - a Napoleon in my pocket. My visit to Sèvres was intended to be a stopover visit en-route to Versailles. That would have been an injustice, and Versailles had to wait for another day.

Paris - Elysee Palace - 8me

Plate LXXVIII – Elysee Palace …

I have great respect, and more than a little sympathy for the guards stationed at Europe’s public buildings. Under the constant gaze of passers-by and often antagonized by tourists who should know better they unblinkingly carry out their duties and provide a continuing link to tradition. As I did here, I have as unobtrusively as possible also captured their presence from Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London to the Royal Palace in Athens – watch out Swiss Guards, I aim to get to the Vatican yet!!!

Built for the court of the Comte d’Evreux as an hôtel particulier in 1718 by Armand-Claude Mollet in the classic Régence style, the residence was acquired by Louis XV for his mistress the Marquise de Pompadour. Signs erected by the citizens of the city were said to proclaim it as the ‘Home of the King’s Whore’. (O.K. - so she could always escape to the peace of her Petit Trianon at Versailles - which we will get to visit later). Sold again to private ownership in 1773 for use as a country residence (still lying well beyond the limits of the city) it was repurchased for the crown by Louis XVI. It was also once home to the Empress Joséphine, and it was here that the defeated Napoleon signed his abdication. Seized during the revolution it has since then remained ‘public property’ being used variously as a furniture warehouse and dance hall, even being occupied by camping Cossack soldiers during the Russian occupation of Paris in 1814. Known until the advent of the second republic as the Hôtel d’Evreux the government renamed it the Elysée National and assigned it as the official residence of the President of the French Republic – a role it fulfils to this day, although some recent incumbents have chosen not to use the private apartments. The president has his office inside the Palace, and it is the meeting place of his Council of Ministers.

Paris - Eglise de la Madeleine - 8me

Plate LXXVI – Eglise de la Madeleine … 

I could not at the time of my visit hear the name Madeleine without hearing also the Jacques Brel song of that title. 
Today, I still think of the tragic disappearance of the McCann’s daughter, for whom the search continues (can you help?) 
But in Paris, La Madeleine refers most often to the more fully titled Eglise de la Sainte Marie-Madeleine.

Providing Neo-Classical symmetry to the fairly distant opposite southern Napoleonic façade of the Palais Bourbon (see previous post) this Roman Catholic church was erected by Napoleon in honour of his Grand Armée. The design commissioned from the architect Vignon in 1806, it was dedicated to St Mary Magdalene in 1814 – with the building standing today being the third attempt to erect a church on the site. Said to be inspired by the Greco-Roman temple like lines of the Maison Carrée at Nîmes, its purpose of glorifying the Armée was somewhat usurped by the completion in 1808 of the Arc de Triomphe, and following Napoleon’s defeat, it was Louis XVIII who determined it would be dedicated as a church. The pediment sculptures designed by Charles Lemaire depict Mary Magdalene’s holy intercession for the Damned. The knave dates from 1831, and despite brief consideration of converting the structure into a railway station in 1837, its final consecration came in 1842. The magnificent bronze doors to the church are bas-relief panels of the Ten Commandments. 
The area of the Faubourg surrounding La Madeleine was earlier known as Ville l’Evêque, having been seized from the Jewish community in 1182 and placed under the care of the bishops of Paris. The short stretch of street known as the Rue Royal and the intersecting Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré are arguably the most fashionable parts of the city, populated with retail houses named after the likes of St Laurent, Cardin, Lanvin and Hermes. Undoubtedly due to this fashion link the church is the popular choice for many Parisian society weddings to this day, the celebrated pipe organ built by Cavaillé-Coll heralding many a  bride’s arrival in Wagnerian triumph.

Paris - Hôtel des Invalides - 7me

Plate LV - Hotel des Invalides, the Army Museum…

I have for some reason always associated Les Invalides with Napoleon and it is here that many relics of Napoleon’s life can be viewed, including many of his uniforms and personal arms, his deathbed and funeral mask - even the stuffed remains of one of his horses.

But, Les Invalides was first instituted by that philanthropic king, Louis XIV as a home for his disabled war veterans, and still today a part of the hôtel still serves its original purpose. It also now includes a modern military hospital.

Admittedly this is not my brightest shot; I was hurried away from my photo position by an oncoming bridal car, as a wedding procession entered the courtyard.

Many of the complex’s buildings now house displays of the Army Museum of Paris - the museum having been originally established in 1871 as one dedicated to artillerie (meaning weaponry). The collections of the, then separate, Historical Army Museum created in 1896 were merged with those of the artillerie in 1905, forming the core of today’s displayed collections - without question the richest in content in the world.

There are some half a million items in the collection and a tour of the permanent displays (allow yourself a good few hours) takes the visitor through chronological collections down the centuries.  

It is a must for boys - of all ages

Paris - Inverted Pyramid - 1er

Plate XV - Inverted Pyramide...

Beneath the forecourt of the Louvre’s Place du Carrousel, also accessed from the Rue de Rivoli, is an exclusive small shopping arcade known as the Carrousel du Louvre. It is here that one can see the Inverse or Upside Down Pyramid, part of Pei’s architectural themed use of the form. The centre houses many fine shops, some dealing in a vast and multilingual selection of Louvre related books and souvenirs. I bought a magnificent 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of David’s painting of Napoleon Crowning Josephine - Le Sacre de Napoléon (the Louvre version – if, as mentioned in an earlier post, I couldn’t get to see the traveling original at least I could piece it together when I got home.) I also believe Apple, in 2009, opened its flagship Paris store in the arcade. 

Beneath the inverted transparent chalice lies a second stone pyramid form, the two almost, but not quite, meeting apex to apex. Readers of Dan Brown’s novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ will recognise this as a significant climactic location of the plot of the story, for this stone form is the artifact he describes in his novel as “...the tiny structure”. Reading this book some years after my initial visit to the city I was amazed at how many of the locations used in Brown’s story of the Rose Line I had visited. 

If I’d only had Brown’s imagination ……

Paris - Grande Louvre - 1er

Plate XI - The Grande Louvre...

The Louvre became a royal residence in Paris in the fourteenth century when Charles V converted the original fortress buildings into a royal home. Its french Renaissance appearance is attributed to Francis 1. Here the court remained until the move to the adjacent Tuileries Palace, with Louis XIV finally relocating to his new construction in Versailles.

Today the Louvre is arguably the most famous art gallery and museum in the world. It is, to be smart about it, the Louvre of art galleries. If I were to hazard a guess at the whereabouts of almost any well-known classical work of art, my first choice would default to the Louvre. Since the 1990s the courtyard area of the old palace has been undergoing a major transformation in a scheme simply known as the Grand Louvre.
One of the more controversial aspects of this transformation was the construction of the Pyramids designed by the architect I. M. Pei. Unquestionably in a modern idiom both in terms of design and materials used I believe they greatly enhance the area. In truth, all the buildings of the Grand Louvre are not a unified single construction, in a single architectural style. In that regard Pei’s Grande Pyramid (an obvious reference to the nearby Place des Pyramides celebrating Napoleon’s Egyptian victories) adds a twentieth century element to the area. I believe time will bring full acceptance to the decreasing number of critics of its placement. In the gallery below this entrance the well-known electronics giant recently opened an Apple Store. Unquestionably this is the grandest entrance to any flagship store anywhere.

Paris – Carrousel Arch - 1er

Carrousel Arch (detail)

Before proceeding into the Louvre museum, which lies just beyond, it is worth taking the time to explore the workmanship of this arch.

The rose marble bas-relief carvings decorating the Carrousel Arch commemorate various Napoleonic victories, both military and diplomatic. The main reliefs depict the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon entering Vienna, the Peache of Pressburg, the Tilsit Conference, and the surrender of Ulm. Hundreds of carved rosettes adorn the interior friezes of the three arches that form the whole edifice. C’est magnifique!

Paris - Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel - 1er

Plate IX - Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

I am constantly surprised by how few first time visitors to Paris are aware that there are two Napoleonic triumphal arches in the city. I have overheard travelers commenting on how little the Arc de Triomphe is when viewing this, the smallest of the three arches along the historical axis. I have taken some delight in pointing along the Champs Elysées to the ‘real’ Arc de Triomphe, which at over twice the size of this one, I can assure them will meet their size expectations!!!

What I cannot assure them of is that the more famous Arc de Triomphe up the road can match this one in sheer beauty. Surrounding the exterior of the Carrousel Arch are eight granite Corinthian columns mounted by soldiers of the Napoleonic Empire. Reputedly modeled on the Roman Constantine Arch, the Carrousel Arch was completed in 1808 and was designed by Charles Percier and Pierre Léonard Fontaine. Decorative bas-relief friezes are carved in rose marble, and the work on the interior of the arches is breathtaking. Prior to their return to Venice in 1815 the arch was surmounted by the horses of Saint Mark’s Cathedral (a Napoleonic conquest). These were replaced by a Francois Joseph Bosio sculpture of  a chariot-riding Peace led on either side by golden Victories. Ironically the piece recognises the fall of Napoleon, and the brief restoration of the monarchy.