1.
Petit Luxembourg
–
The Petit Luxembourg is a French hôtel particulier, currently the residence of the president of the French Senate. It is located at 17–17 bis, rue de Vaugirard, just west of the Senates main building, originally built around 1550 to the designs of an unknown architect, it is especially noted for the surviving Rococo interiors designed in 1710–1713 by the French architect Germain Boffrand. Further west, at 19 rue de Vaugirard, is the Musée du Luxembourg, Marie de Médicis purchased the hôtel in 1612 when she began acquiring property for the construction of the adjacent Luxembourg Palace. The old hôtel soon became known as the Petit Luxembourg to distinguish it from the larger building, richelieu left the Petit Luxembourg to his niece, the Duchess of Aiguillon. It was inherited in turn by the Grand Condé, who left it to his son, the latters widow, Anne of Bavaria, Princess Palatine, engaged the architect Germain Boffrand to enlarge and redecorate it between 1710 and 1713. Boffrand demolished the buildings to the west of the courtyard. The new wing preserved the style of the old corps de logis to the east and incorporated vestiges of the Couvent des Filles-du-Calvaire and these can still be seen in the winter garden and the Mannerist interior of the Queens Chapel. Between the street and the courtyard Boffrand added a screen which connected the old to the new. Its portal is flanked by Tuscan columns on the courtyard side. The upper floor contains a corridor connecting the east and west wings, although Boffrand preserved the façades of the older wing, he completely redesigned the interior. A modest vestibule with Ionic columns leads directly to a grand two-storey stair hall decorated on the floor with pilasters of the Composite order, elaborate carvings. The staircase, much admired in its day, sweeps up to the piano nobile in a flight, its grandeur enhanced with balustrades of stone. The princesss apartments lead directly off the landing, the first room no longer has the original décor, but the next still has Boffrands ceiling, cornices, and frieze. The following room, the Grand Salon also retains these elements, in large rooms, such as the stair hall and the Grand Salon, Boffrands unit of design was not the wall, but rather the entire room. Each wall consisted of an arcade, which pulled the space together and subordinated doors, windows. The focus of the décor was high in the spandrels between the arches, not in the panels as seen with Lepautre. This principle, first employed by J. H. Mansart at the Grand Trianon, kept the main part of the surface free for hangings, such as tapestries. The band of ornate spandrels running around the room achieves a unity, Boffrands decorative motifs, the linked C-scrolls entwined with palmettes and festoons, are more similar to those of Jean Bérain than Lepautre
Petit Luxembourg
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Courtyard and entrance from the street
Petit Luxembourg
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Winter garden
Petit Luxembourg
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Chapel (1622–1631)
Petit Luxembourg
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Grand staircase, reflected in a mirror
2.
6th arrondissement of Paris
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The 6th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, France. Sulpice Church and square, the Pont des Arts and the Jardin du Luxembourg and it is a major locale for art galleries and one of the most fashionable districts of Paris as well as Paris most expensive area. The new Palace turned the neighborhood into a district for French nobility. The land area of the arrondissement is 2.154 km², in 1999, the population was 44,919 inhabitants while the arrondissement provided 43,691 jobs. Toei Animation Europe has its office in the arrondissement. The company, which opened in 2004, serves France, Germany, Italy, Spain, 6th arrondissement travel guide from Wikivoyage
6th arrondissement of Paris
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The "Deux Magots" cafe
6th arrondissement of Paris
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Palace Hôtel Lutetia at night
6th arrondissement of Paris
6th arrondissement of Paris
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Le Café de Flore in
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
3.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
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In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
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Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
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The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
4.
Henry IV of France
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Henry IV, also known by the epithet Good King Henry, was King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon, baptised as a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother Jeanne dAlbret, Queen of Navarre, he inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on the death of his mother. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomews Day massacre, and later led Protestant forces against the royal army. Henry, as Head of the House of Bourbon, was a direct descendant of Louis IX of France. Upon the death of his brother-in-law and distant cousin Henry III of France in 1589 and he initially kept the Protestant faith and had to fight against the Catholic League, which denied that he could wear Frances crown as a Protestant. To obtain mastery over his kingdom, after four years of stalemate, as a pragmatic politician, he displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the era. Notably, he promulgated the Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants and he was assassinated in 1610 by François Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII. Considered a usurper by some Catholics and a traitor by some Protestants, an unpopular king immediately after his accession, Henrys popularity greatly improved after his death, in light of repeated victories over his enemies and his conversion to Catholicism. The Good King Henry was remembered for his geniality and his concern about the welfare of his subjects. He was celebrated in the popular song Vive le roi Henri, Henry was born in Pau, the capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality of Béarn. His parents were Queen Joan III of Navarre and her consort, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, although baptised as a Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother, who had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in the French Wars of Religion, on 9 June 1572, upon his mothers death, he became King of Navarre. At Queen Joans death, it was arranged for Henry to marry Margaret of Valois, daughter of Henry II, the wedding took place in Paris on 18 August 1572 on the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral. On 24 August, the Saint Bartholomews Day Massacre began in Paris, several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henrys wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout the country in the days that followed. Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and he was made to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5 February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism at Tours and he named his 16-year-old sister, Catherine de Bourbon, regent of Béarn. Catherine held the regency for nearly thirty years, Henry became heir presumptive to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of Francis, Duke of Anjou, brother and heir to the Catholic Henry III, who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574. Because Henry of Navarre was the senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX, King Henry III had no choice
Henry IV of France
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Henry IV
Henry IV of France
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Henry III of France on his deathbed designating Henry IV of Navarre as his successor in 1589.
Henry IV of France
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Henry at the
Battle of Arques
Henry IV of France
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Henry IV at the
Battle of Ivry, by
Peter Paul Rubens
5.
Luxembourg Palace
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The Luxembourg Palace is located at 15 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the residence of the regent Marie de Medici. After the Revolution it was refashioned by Jean Chalgrin into a legislative building, since 1958 it has been the seat of the French Senate of the Fifth Republic. Immediately west of the palace on the rue de Vaugirard is the Petit Luxembourg, now the residence of the Senate President, and slightly further west, the Musée du Luxembourg, in the former orangery. On the south side of the palace, the formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues, after the death of Henry IV in 1610, his widow, Marie de Médicis, became regent to her son, Louis XIII. Marie de Médicis desired to make a similar to her native Florences Palazzo Pitti. Marie de Médicis bought the Hôtel de Luxembourg and its fairly extensive domain in 1612 and commissioned the new building, the suites of paintings she commissioned, in the subjects of which she expressed her requirements through her agents and advisers, are scattered among museums. Marie de Médicis installed her household in 1625, while work on interiors continued, the apartments in the right wing on the western side were reserved for the Queen and the matching suite to the east, for her son, Louis XIII, when he was visiting. The 24 Marie de Medici cycle canvases, a series commissioned from Peter Paul Rubens, were installed in the Galerie de Rubens on the floor of the western wing. A series of paintings executed for her Cabinet doré was identified by Anthony Blunt in 1967, Louis XIII commissioned further decorations for the Palace from Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne. In 1642, Marie bequeathed the Luxembourg to her second and favourite son, Gaston, duc dOrléans, who called it the Palais dOrléans, but by popular will it was still known by its original name. Upon Gastons death, the passed to his widow, Marguerite de Lorraine, then to his elder daughter by his first marriage, Anne, duchesse de Montpensier. In 1660, Anne de Montpensier sold the Luxembourg to her younger half-sister, Élisabeth Marguerite dOrléans, duchesse de Guise who, in turn, gave it to her cousin, King Louis XIV, in 1694. In 1715, the became the residence of Marie Louise Elisabeth dOrleans. The widowed Duchess was notoriously promiscuous, having the reputation of a French Messalina, the Luxembourg palace and its gardens thus became stages where the radiantly beautiful princess acted out her ambitions, enthroned like a queen surrounded by her court. According to various songs which scurrilously evoked her amours the Lady of the Luxembourg hid several pregnancies. Her taste for strong liquors and her sheer gluttony also scandalised the court, on 21 May 1717, Madame de Berry received Peter the Great at the Luxembourg. On 28 February 1718, the Duchess of Berry threw a magnificent party for her visiting aunt, the entire palace and its gardens were elaborately illuminated
Luxembourg Palace
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Luxembourg Palace garden façade
Luxembourg Palace
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The Luxembourg Palace was modeled after
Palazzo Pitti in
Florence at the request of
Marie de Médicis.
Luxembourg Palace
–
Ceiling of the Salle du Livre d'Or
6.
French Senate
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The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. Indirectly elected by elected officials, it represents territorial collectivities of the Republic, the Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly, debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally receive less media coverage. Frances first experience with a house was under the Directory from 1795 to 1799. With the Restoration in 1814, a new Chamber of Peers was created, at first it contained hereditary peers, but following the July Revolution of 1830, it became a body to which one was appointed for life. The Second Republic returned to a system after 1848, but soon after the establishment of the Second French Empire in 1852. In the Fourth Republic, the Senate was replaced by the Council of the Republic, with the new constitution of the Fifth Republic enforced on 4 October 1958, the older name of Senate was restored. In 2011, the Socialist Party won control of the French Senate for the first time since the foundation of the French Fifth Republic, in 2014, the centre-right Gaullists and its allies won back the control of the Senate. Until September 2004, the Senate had 321 senators, each elected to a nine-year term and that month, the term was reduced to six years, while the number of senators progressively increased to 348 in 2011, in order to reflect the countrys population growth. Senators were elected in every three years, this was also changed to one-half of their number every three years. Senators are elected indirectly by approximately 150,000 officials, including regional councilors, department councilors, mayors, city councilors in large towns, however, 90% of the electors are delegates appointed by councilors. This system introduces a bias in the composition of the Senate favoring rural areas, the Senate has also been accused of being a refuge for politicians that have lost their seats in the National Assembly. The senators elect a President from among their members, the current incumbent is Gérard Larcher. This happened twice for Alain Poher—once at the resignation of Charles de Gaulle, under the Constitution, the Senate has nearly the same powers as the National Assembly. Bills may be submitted by the administration or by either house of Parliament, because both houses may amend the bill, it may take several readings to reach an agreement between the National Assembly and the Senate. This does not happen frequently, usually the two eventually agree on the bill, or the administration decides to withdraw it. The power to pass a vote of censure, or vote of no confidence, is limited, as was the case in the Fourth Republics constitution, new cabinets do not have to receive a vote of confidence. Also, a vote of censure can occur only after 10 percent of the sign a petition, if rejected. If the petition gets the support, a vote of censure must gain an absolute majority of all members
French Senate
French Senate
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Senate Sénat
French Senate
–
The Palais du Luxembourg
7.
Medici Fountain
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The Medici Fountain is a monumental fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. It was built in about 1630 by Marie de Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France and it was moved to its present location and extensively rebuilt in 1864-66. The new palace was modeled after the Palazzo Pitti in her native Florence, the Palace was the work of architect Salomon de Brosse, but the fountain and grotto was most probably the work of Tommaso Francini, the Intendant General of Waters and Fountains of the King. The first difficulty of construction was the lack of water in the Left Bank of Paris, as a result, the city had expanded far from the Right Bank of the Seine, but had hardly grown at all on the Left Bank. This problem was solved by the construction of the aqueduct of Arcueil. After the death of Marie de Medici, the Palace and fountain went through a series of owners, by the middle of the 18th century, when the fountains of Versailles and the Garden à la française were in fashion, the Medici Fountain fell into disrepair. In 1864, during the Second French Empire, Baron Haussmann planned to build the rue de Medicis through the occupied by the fountain. The lateral arcades of the fountain and the crumbling old orangerie behind it had already torn down in 1855. From 1858 to 1864, The new architect, Alphonse de Gisors, moved the fountain thirty meters to make room for the street, since the fountain no longer stood against a wall, the Fontaine de Léda, displaced from another neighborhood, was placed directly behind it. He replaced the two statues of nymphs at the top of the statue with two new statues, representing the Rivers Rhone and Seine. He restored the coat of arms of the Medici family over the fountain and he inserted two statues into the niches, one representing a faun and the other a huntress, above which are two masks, one representing comedy and the other tragedy. He removed the simple basin and water spout which had been in the niche and that is the fountain as it appears today. The fountain which Gisors placed behind the Medici Fountain had a history of its own, the Fontaine de Léda had been constructed in 1806-1809, during the First Empire, at the corner of rue Vaugirard and rue du Regard. It was the work of architect François-Jean Bralle and sculptor Achille Valois. The bas-relief of the fountain depicts the story of Leda and the Swan, Leda holds the swan on her knees, water flowed from the beak of the swan down to a hemispherical basin at the foot of the fountain. Since it was a fountain, it had to be attached to something, so he placed it on the back of the Medici Fountain. LArt des jardins en Europe, Yves-Marie Allain and Janine Christiany, Citadelles & Mazenod, Paris,2006
Medici Fountain
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The Medici Fountain
Medici Fountain
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Architectural drawings of the fountain from
Blondel's Architecture françoise, vol. 2 (1752)
Medici Fountain
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The Medici Fountain as it appeared in about 1820, after the modifications made by
Jean Chalgrin, architect of the Arc de Triomphe. (Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris)
Medici Fountain
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Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea, by sculptor Auguste Ottin, was added to the fountain in 1866.
8.
Louis XIII
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Louis XIII was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1610 to 1643 and King of Navarre from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. Shortly before his birthday, Louis became king of France. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during his minority, Louis XIII, taciturn and suspicious, relied heavily on his chief ministers, first Charles dAlbert, duc de Luynes then Cardinal Richelieu, to govern the kingdom of France. King and cardinal are remembered for establishing the Académie française, the reign of Louis the Just was also marked by the struggles against Huguenots and Habsburg Spain. This battle marked the end of Spains military ascendancy in Europe and foreshadowed French dominance in Europe under Louis XIV, his son, born at the Château de Fontainebleau, Louis XIII was the oldest child of King Henry IV of France and his second wife Marie de Medici. As son of the king, he was a Fils de France and his father Henry IV was the first French king of the House of Bourbon, having succeeded his ninth cousin, Henry III of France, in application of Salic law. Louis XIIIs paternal grandparents were Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme and his maternal grandparents were Francesco I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Eleonora de Medici, his aunt, was his godmother. His mother Marie de Medici acted as Regent until 1617, although Louis XIII became of age at thirteen, his mother did not give up her position as Regent until 1617. Marie maintained most of her husbands ministers, with the exception of Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully and she mainly relied on Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy, Noël Brûlart de Sillery, and Pierre Jeannin for political advice. Marie pursued a policy, confirming the Edict of Nantes. She was not, however, able to prevent rebellion by nobles such as Henri, Prince of Condé second in line to the throne after Maries second surviving son Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Condé squabbled with Marie in 1614, and briefly raised an army, but he found support in the country. Nevertheless, Marie agreed to call an Estates General assembly to address Condés grievances, the assembly of this Estates General was delayed until Louis XIII formally came of age on his thirteenth birthday. Although Louiss coming-of-age formally ended Maries Regency, she remained the de facto ruler of France, the Estates General accomplished little, spending its time discussing the relationship of France to the Papacy and the venality of offices, but reaching no resolutions. Beginning in 1615, Marie came to rely increasingly on the Italian Concino Concini, Concini was widely unpopular because he was a foreigner. This further antagonised Condé, who launched another rebellion in 1616, Huguenot leaders supported Condés rebellion, which led the young Louis XIII to conclude that they would never be loyal subjects. Eventually, Condé and Queen Marie made peace via the Treaty of Loudun, which allowed Condé great power in government, but did not remove Concini
Louis XIII
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Louis XIII
Louis XIII
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Half Louis d'Or (1643) depicting Louis XIII
Louis XIII
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Louis XIII in 1611 by
Frans Pourbus the Younger (
Palazzo Pitti)
Louis XIII
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Louis XIII, young King, by
Frans Pourbus the younger, 1620
9.
Pitti Palace
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The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the side of the River Arno. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the residence of Luca Pitti. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a base by Napoleon. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, the palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. The principal palazzo block, often in a building of design known as the corps de logis, is 32,000 square metres. It is divided into several principal galleries or museums detailed below, the construction of this severe and forbidding building was commissioned in 1458 by the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, a principal supporter and friend of Cosimo de Medici. The early history of the Palazzo Pitti is a mixture of fact, Pitti is alleged to have instructed that the windows be larger than the entrance of the Palazzo Medici. Besides obvious differences from the architects style, Brunelleschi died 12 years before construction of the palazzo began. The design and fenestration suggest that the architect was more experienced in utilitarian domestic architecture than in the humanist rules defined by Alberti in his book De Re Aedificatoria. Though impressive, the original palazzo would have no rival to the Florentine Medici residences in terms of either size or content. Whoever the architect of the Palazzo Pitti was, he was moving against the flow of fashion. The rusticated stonework gives the palazzo a severe and powerful atmosphere, reinforced by the series of seven arch-headed apertures. The Roman-style architecture appealed to the Florentine love of the new style allantica, work stopped after Pitti suffered financial losses following the death of Cosimo de Medici in 1464. Luca Pitti died in 1472 with the building unfinished, the building was sold in 1549 by Buonaccorso Pitti, a descendant of Luca Pitti, to Eleonora di Toledo. Raised at the court of Naples, Eleonora was the wife of Cosimo I de Medici of Tuscany
Pitti Palace
–
Early,
tinted 20th-century photograph of the Palazzo Pitti, then still known as La Residenza Reale following the residency of
King Victor Emmanuel II between 1865 and 1871, when Florence was the capital of Italy.
Pitti Palace
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Luca Pitti (1398–1472) began work on the palazzo in 1458.
Pitti Palace
–
Eleonora di Toledo,
Duchess of Florence, bought the palazzo from the Pitti in 1549 for the Medici. Portrait after
Bronzino.
Pitti Palace
–
A
lunette painted in 1599 by
Giusto Utens, depicts the palazzo before its extensions, with the
amphitheatre and the Boboli Gardens behind. The red stone excavated from the site was used in extensions to the palazzo.
10.
Florence
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Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
Florence
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A collage of Florence showing the
Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the
Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the
Fountain of Neptune in the
Piazza della Signoria
Florence
–
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
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The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
–
Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
11.
Petit-Luxembourg
–
The Petit Luxembourg is a French hôtel particulier, currently the residence of the president of the French Senate. It is located at 17–17 bis, rue de Vaugirard, just west of the Senates main building, originally built around 1550 to the designs of an unknown architect, it is especially noted for the surviving Rococo interiors designed in 1710–1713 by the French architect Germain Boffrand. Further west, at 19 rue de Vaugirard, is the Musée du Luxembourg, Marie de Médicis purchased the hôtel in 1612 when she began acquiring property for the construction of the adjacent Luxembourg Palace. The old hôtel soon became known as the Petit Luxembourg to distinguish it from the larger building, richelieu left the Petit Luxembourg to his niece, the Duchess of Aiguillon. It was inherited in turn by the Grand Condé, who left it to his son, the latters widow, Anne of Bavaria, Princess Palatine, engaged the architect Germain Boffrand to enlarge and redecorate it between 1710 and 1713. Boffrand demolished the buildings to the west of the courtyard. The new wing preserved the style of the old corps de logis to the east and incorporated vestiges of the Couvent des Filles-du-Calvaire and these can still be seen in the winter garden and the Mannerist interior of the Queens Chapel. Between the street and the courtyard Boffrand added a screen which connected the old to the new. Its portal is flanked by Tuscan columns on the courtyard side. The upper floor contains a corridor connecting the east and west wings, although Boffrand preserved the façades of the older wing, he completely redesigned the interior. A modest vestibule with Ionic columns leads directly to a grand two-storey stair hall decorated on the floor with pilasters of the Composite order, elaborate carvings. The staircase, much admired in its day, sweeps up to the piano nobile in a flight, its grandeur enhanced with balustrades of stone. The princesss apartments lead directly off the landing, the first room no longer has the original décor, but the next still has Boffrands ceiling, cornices, and frieze. The following room, the Grand Salon also retains these elements, in large rooms, such as the stair hall and the Grand Salon, Boffrands unit of design was not the wall, but rather the entire room. Each wall consisted of an arcade, which pulled the space together and subordinated doors, windows. The focus of the décor was high in the spandrels between the arches, not in the panels as seen with Lepautre. This principle, first employed by J. H. Mansart at the Grand Trianon, kept the main part of the surface free for hangings, such as tapestries. The band of ornate spandrels running around the room achieves a unity, Boffrands decorative motifs, the linked C-scrolls entwined with palmettes and festoons, are more similar to those of Jean Bérain than Lepautre
Petit-Luxembourg
–
Courtyard and entrance from the street
Petit-Luxembourg
–
Winter garden
Petit-Luxembourg
–
Chapel (1622–1631)
Petit-Luxembourg
–
Grand staircase, reflected in a mirror
12.
Salomon de Brosse
–
Salomon de Brosse was an influential early 17th-century French architect, a major influence on François Mansart. He was established in practice in Paris in 1598 and was promoted to court architect in 1608, the impetus for the plan is often traced to Palazzo Pitti, Florence, where the Medici queen had spent her youth, but the formal plan of Anet could also be adduced. He clad the building wholly in stone, avoiding the lively contrast of brick, other buildings that he designed include, the château de Montceaux-en-Brie the château of Coulommiers-en-Brie, for Catherine Gonzaga, duchesse de Longueville. The facade of the Church of Saint-Gervais, Paris the Luxembourg Palace, Paris the Parlement de Bretagne Rennes the aqueduct of Arcueil the château of Blérancourt De Brosse died, aged 55, Architecture françoise, reimpression of 1904, vol. Salomon de Brosse and the Development of the Classical Style in French Architecture from 1565 to 1630, University Park, The Pennsylvania State University Press. Brosse, Solomon de in The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner, reprinted with corrections in 1998. Un architecte français au commencement du XVIIe siècle, Salomon de Brosse, Paris, Libraire centrale dArt et dArchitecture
Salomon de Brosse
–
Presumed portrait of Salomon de Brosse by
Peter Paul Rubens (1622)
Salomon de Brosse
–
State in 2007
Salomon de Brosse
–
Original design
Salomon de Brosse
–
The Parlement de Bretagne, Rennes (1618)
13.
Tommaso Francini
–
Tommaso Francini and his younger brother Alessandro Francini were Florentine hydraulics engineers and garden designers. Francesco de Medicis heir, his brother Ferdinando, was persuaded to part with the Francini brothers in 1597 by his niece Maria, married to Henri IV of France. Their first project, begun in 1598, was to provide fountains, grottoes, waterworks and, above all, the main feature there was a great fountain, from which water was channeled and conducted in siphon tubes to the reservoir in the vaulted area that supported the terrace. From there, through a series of tubes, the water had sufficient head to operate grotto fountains. Not all of Tommaso Francinis mechanisms for courtly entertainments were garden features, in the reign of Louis XIII, Francini remained in the employ of the Marie de Medici, the Queen Mother. Alessandro Francini engraved views of the fountains and brought out a Livre darchitecture in 1631 that featured many fantastically rusticated doorways, the Francini brothers founded a dynasty of French fountain engineers, a younger Francini worked on fountains in the early stages of Versailles, especially the Grotto of Thetis. Members of the Francini clan were still at work in the eighteenth century, grottos and fountains, engraved in 1614 by Alexandre Francini. In gardens laid out by Jean Thiriot to designs of Jacques Lemercier, Francinis Grand Cascade completed about 1638 for the Cardinal de Richelieu and it has been suggested that Rueils cascade and gardens were inspired by those of the Villa Aldobrandini at Frascati. The French Garden 1500–1800 Marie, Alfred 1955, Francine, Alexandre, –1648 at Library of Congress Authorities, with 3 catalogue records Works by or about Francine, Alexandre –1648 in libraries
Tommaso Francini
–
Abraham Bosse after Francini, one of the (unbuilt?) fountains of St-Germain-en-Laye, 1624.
14.
Jacques Boyceau
–
Ensemble divers desseins de parterres, pelouzes, bosquets et autres ornements was published in 1638. Its sixty engravings after Boyceaus designs make it one of the milestones in tracing the history of the Garden à la française and his nephew Jacques de Menours, who produced the volume, included an engraved frontispiece with the portrait of Boyceau. A few of the show formally planted bosquets, but the majority are of designs for parterres. Boyceau was made a gentilhomme de la chambre du roi and ennobled for his efforts. Boyceaus book is the first French work to treat the esthetic of gardening, an engraving reproduced in Boyceaus Traité du jardinage depicts his parterre design centered on the garden front of the Luxembourg Palace. Basically a square within a square, it was crowned at the far end by a circle the width of the inner square. The compartments, all filled with fine rinceaux executed in clipped boxwood, the parterre was much modified by 1652 as evidenced by the map of Gomboust, and even further after 1693 in favour of the broader, simpler parterre of Claude Desgotz. Notes Sources F Hamilton Hazlehurst,1966, at the Architectura website, Laurent Paya on Jacques Boyceau and the 1638 edition of Traité du jardinage
Jacques Boyceau
–
Jacques Boyceau
Jacques Boyceau
–
Boyceau's design
15.
Tuileries
–
The Tuileries Palace was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henry IV to Napoleon III, built in 1564, it was gradually extended until it closed off the western end of the Louvre courtyard and displayed an immense façade of 266 metres. After the accidental death of Henry II of France in 1559 and she sold the medieval Hôtel des Tournelles, where her husband had died, and began building the palace of Tuileries in 1564, using architect Philibert de lOrme. The name derives from the tile kilns or tuileries which had occupied the site. The palace was formed by a range of long, narrow buildings. During the reign of Henry IV, the building was enlarged to the south, so it joined the long gallery, the Grande Galerie. During the reign of Louis XIV major changes were made to the Tuileries Palace, from 1659 to 1661 it was extended to the north by the addition of the Théâtre des Tuileries. From 1664 to 1666 the architect Louis Le Vau and his assistant François dOrbay made other significant changes, a new grand staircase was installed in the entrance of the north wing of the palace, and lavishly decorated royal apartments were constructed in the south wing. The kings rooms were on the floor, facing toward the Louvre. At the same time, Louis gardener, André Le Nôtre, the Court moved into the Tuileries Palace in November 1667, but left in 1672, and soon thereafter went to the Palace of Versailles. The Tuileries Palace was virtually abandoned and used only as a theatre, the boy-king Louis XV was moved from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace on 1 January 1716, four months after ascending to the throne. He moved back to Versailles on 15 June 1722, three months before his coronation, both moves were made at the behest of the Regent, the duc dOrléans. The king also resided at the Tuileries for short periods during the 1740s, on 6 October 1789, during the French Revolution, Louis XVI and his family were forced to leave Versailles and brought to the Tuileries where they were kept under surveillance. For the next two years the palace remained the residence of the king. The Tuileries covered riding ring, the Salle du Manège, home to the royal equestrian academy, the royal family tried to escape after dark, on 20 June 1791, but were captured at Varennes and brought back to the Tuileries. The Paris National Guard defended the King, but the daughter of King Louis XVI claimed that many of the guard were already in favor of the revolution, in November 1792, the Armoire de fer incident took place at the Tuileries palace. This was the discovery of a place at the royal apartments. The incident created a scandal that served to discredit the King
Tuileries
–
The Tuileries Palace and the
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel circa 1860. The
Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile can be seen in the background.
Tuileries
–
The Tuileries Palace in the 1600s
Tuileries
–
The old medieval Louvre (background) and the Tuileries (foreground) linked by the Grande Galerie along the River Seine, in 1615
Tuileries
–
The Tuileries Palace and the
Louvre on the 1739
Turgot map of Paris, during the reign of
Louis XV
16.
Palace of Versailles
–
The Palace of Versailles, Château de Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. Versailles is therefore not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. First built by Louis XIII in 1623, as a lodge of brick and stone. The first phase of the expansion was designed and supervised by the architect Louis Le Vau and it culminated in the addition of three new wings of stone, which surrounded Louis XIIIs original building on the north, south, and west. After Le Vaus death in 1670, the work was taken over and completed by his assistant, charles Le Brun designed and supervised the elaborate interior decoration, and André Le Nôtre landscaped the extensive Gardens of Versailles. Le Brun and Le Nôtre collaborated on the fountains, and Le Brun supervised the design. During the second phase of expansion, two enormous wings north and south of the wings flanking the Cour Royale were added by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. He also replaced Le Vaus large terrace, facing the garden on the west, with became the most famous room of the palace. The Royal Chapel of Versailles, located at the end of the north wing, was begun by Mansart in 1688. One of the most baffling aspects to the study of Versailles is the cost – how much Louis XIV, owing to the nature of the construction of Versailles and the evolution of the role of the palace, construction costs were essentially a private matter. Initially, Versailles was planned to be a residence for Louis XIV and was referred to as the kings house. Once Louis XIV embarked on his campaigns, expenses for Versailles became more of a matter for public record. To counter the costs of Versailles during the years of Louis XIVs personal reign. Accordingly, all materials that went into the construction and decoration of Versailles were manufactured in France, even the mirrors used in the decoration of the Hall of Mirrors were made in France. While Venice in the 17th century had the monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors, to meet the demands for decorating and furnishing Versailles, Colbert nationalised the tapestry factory owned by the Gobelin family, to become the Manufacture royale des Gobelins. In 1667, the name of the enterprise was changed to the Manufacture royale des Meubles de la Couronne, the Comptes meticulously list the expenditures on the silver furniture – disbursements to artists, final payments, delivery – as well as descriptions and weight of items purchased. Entries for 1681 and 1682 concerning the silver used in the salon de Mercure serve as an example. 5 In anticipation, For the silver balustrade for the bedroom,90,000 livres II
Palace of Versailles
–
Aerial view of the Palace from above the
Gardens of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
–
Bust of Louis XIV by
Bernini in the
Diana Salon of the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
–
View of the Palace from the garden
Palace of Versailles
–
Marble Court
17.
Paris observatory
–
The Paris Observatory is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its historic building is to be found on the Left Bank of the Seine in central Paris, administratively, it is a grand établissement of the French Ministry of National Education, with a status close to that of a public university. Its missions include, research in astronomy and astrophysics, education, diffusion of knowledge to the public and it maintains a solar observatory at Meudon and a radio astronomy observatory at Nançay. It was also the home to the International Time Bureau until its dissolution in 1987 and its foundation lies in the ambitions of Jean-Baptiste Colbert to extend Frances maritime power and international trade in the 17th century. Louis XIV promoted its construction, which was started in 1667 and it thus predates by a few years the Royal Greenwich Observatory in England, which was founded in 1675. The architect of the Paris Observatory was Claude Perrault whose brother, Charles, was secretary to Colbert, optical instruments were supplied by Giuseppe Campani. The buildings were extended in 1730,1810,1834,1850, the last extension incorporates the spectacular Meridian Room designed by Jean Prouvé. The worlds first national almanac, the Connaissance des temps, was published by the observatory in 1679, in 1863, the observatory published the first modern weather maps. In 1882, a 33 cm astrographic lens was constructed, an instrument that catalysed what proved to be the over-ambitious international Carte du Ciel project. The Meudon great refractor was a 83 cm aperture refractor, which with September 20,1909 observations by E. M. Antoniadi helped disprove the Mars canals theory and it was a double telescope completed in 1891, with secondary having 62 cm aperture lens for photography. It was one of the largest active telescopes in Europe, the title of Director of the Observatory was officially given for the first time to César-François Cassini de Thury by a Royal brevet dated November 12,1771. However, the important role played by his grandfather and father in this institution during its first century actually gives them somewhat the role of director, a coronograph was in operation there for ten years, the dome was moved there from the Perrault building of the Observatoire de Paris. Nowadays, the AstroQueyras amateur astronomy association operates the facility, using a 60 cm telescope on loan from the Observatoire de Haute Provence, numerous asteroids have been discovered there. Paris Observatory, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Deluxe CDROM edition Aubin, D, the fading star of the Paris Observatory in the nineteenth century, astronomers urban culture of circulation and observation. History of the Bureau International de lHeure, polar Motion, Historical and Scientific problems. Paris Observatory Paris Observatory History Location in Paris Publications of the Observatoire de Paris in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF
Paris observatory
–
Paris Observatory
Paris observatory
–
Meridian Room (or Cassini Room) at the Paris Observatory. The
Paris Meridian is traced on the floor.
Paris observatory
–
Solar Observatory Tower
18.
Louis XVIII
–
Louis XVIII, known as The Desired, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1814 to 1824 except for a period in 1815 known as the Hundred Days. Until his accession to the throne of France, Louis held the title of Count of Provence as brother of King Louis XVI, on 21 September 1792, the National Convention abolished the monarchy and deposed King Louis XVI, who was later executed by guillotine. When the young Louis XVII, Louis XVIs son, died in prison in June 1795, during the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, Louis XVIII lived in exile in Prussia, the United Kingdom and Russia. When the Sixth Coalition finally defeated Napoleon in 1814, Louis was placed in what he, Napoleon escaped from his exile in Elba, however, and restored his French Empire. Louis XVIII fled and a Seventh Coalition declared war on the French Empire, defeated Napoleon, Louis XVIII ruled as king for slightly less than a decade. The Bourbon Restoration regime was a constitutional monarchy, as a constitutional monarch, Louis XVIIIs royal prerogative was reduced substantially by the Charter of 1814, Frances new constitution. Louis had no children, therefore, upon his death, the passed to his brother, Charles. Louis XVIII was the last French monarch to die while reigning, as his successor Charles X abdicated and both Louis Philippe I and Napoléon III were deposed. Louis Stanislas Xavier, styled Count of Provence from birth, was born on 17 November 1755 in the Palace of Versailles, the son of Louis, Dauphin of France and he was the grandson of the reigning King Louis XV. As a son of the Dauphin he was a Fils de France, Louis Stanislas was christened Louis Stanislas Xavier six months after his birth in accordance with Bourbon family tradition, being nameless before his baptism. By this act, he also a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit. The former died in 1761, leaving Louis Auguste as heir to their father until the Dauphins own premature death in 1765, the two deaths elevated Louis Stanislas to second in the line of succession, while Louis Auguste acquired the title Dauphin. Louis Stanislas found comfort in his governess, Madame de Marsan, Governess of the Children of France, as he was her favourite among his siblings. Louis Stanislas was taken away from his governess when he turned seven, Antoine de Quélen de Stuer de Caussade, Duke of La Vauguyon, a friend of his father, was named his governor. Louis Stanislas was an intelligent boy, excelling in classics and his education was of the same quality and consistency as that of his older brother, Louis Auguste, despite the fact that Louis Auguste was heir and Louis Stanislas was not. Louis Stanislas education was religious in nature, several of his teachers were men of the cloth. La Vauguyon drilled into young Louis Stanislas and his brothers the way he thought princes should know how to withdraw themselves, to like to work, and to know how to reason correctly. In the same month his household was founded, Louis was granted titles by his grandfather, Louis XV, Duke of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Perche
Louis XVIII
–
Portrait by
Robert Lefèvre, c.1822
Louis XVIII
–
Signature
Louis XVIII
–
Portrait of the young Count of Provence
Louis XVIII
–
Louis, Count of Provence
19.
French Revolution
–
Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
French Revolution
–
The
August Insurrection in 1792 precipitated the last days of the monarchy.
French Revolution
–
The French government faced a fiscal crisis in the 1780s, and King Louis XVI was blamed for mishandling these affairs.
French Revolution
–
Caricature of the Third Estate carrying the First Estate (clergy) and the Second Estate (nobility) on its back.
French Revolution
–
The meeting of the Estates General on 5 May 1789 at Versailles.
20.
French Directory
–
It gave its name to the final four years of the French Revolution. The Directory was continually at war with foreign coalitions which at different times included Britain, Austria, Prussia, the Kingdom of Naples, Russia and it annexed Belgium and the left bank of the Rhine, while Bonaparte conquered a large part of Italy. The Directory established six short-lived sister republics modelled after France, in Italy, Switzerland, the conquered cities and states were required to send to France huge amounts of money, as well as art treasures, which were used to fill the new Louvre museum in Paris. An army led by Bonaparte conquered Egypt and marched as far as Saint-Jean-dAcre in Syria, the French economy was in continual crisis during the Directory. At the beginning, the treasury was empty, the money, the Assignat, had fallen to a fraction of its value. The Directory stopped printing assignats and restored the value of the money, but this caused a new crisis, prices and wages fell, and economic activity slowed to a standstill. The Jacobin political club was closed and the government crushed an uprising planned by the Jacobins. The Jacobins took two seats in the Directory, hopelessly dividing it. In 1799, after several defeats, French victories in the Netherlands and Switzerland restored the French military position, Bonaparte returned from Egypt in October, and was engaged by the Abbé Sieyès and other moderates to carry out a parliamentary coup détat on 8–9 November 1799. The coup abolished the Directory, put the French Consulate led by Bonaparte in its place, Robespierre and his leading followers were declared outside the law, and on 28 July were arrested, and guillotined the same day. The Terror quickly came to a halt, the Revolutionary Tribunal, which had sent thousands to the guillotine, ceased meeting and its head, Fouquier-Tinville, was arrested and imprisoned, and after trial was himself guillotined. More than five hundred suspected counter-revolutionaries awaiting trial and execution were immediately released, in the wake of these events, the members of the Convention began planning an entirely new form of government. They wished to continue the Revolution, but without its excesses and this executive will have a force concentrated enough that it will be swift and firm, but divided enough to make it impossible for any member to even consider becoming a tyrant. A single chief would be dangerous, each member will preside for three months, he will have during this time the signature and seal of the head of state. By the slow and gradual replacement of members of the Directory, you will preserve the advantages of order and continuity and will have the advantages of unity without the inconveniences. To assure that the Directors would have some independence, each would be elected by one portion of the legislature, the members of this legislature had a term of three years, with one-third of the members renewed every year. The Ancients could not initiate new laws, but could veto those proposed by the Council of Five Hundred, the new Constitution required the Council of 500 to prepare, by secret ballot, a list of candidates for the Directory. The Council of the Ancients then chose, again by secret ballot, the Constitution required that Directors be at least forty years old
French Directory
–
Paul Barras, the only Director to serve during the entire term of the Directory
French Directory
–
The
War in the Vendée was a royalist uprising that was suppressed by the republican forces in 1796.
French Directory
–
Lucien Bonaparte, President of the
Council of 500, who engineered the coup that brought his brother to power.
French Directory
–
First Republic (1792–1804)
21.
Carthusian
–
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of Saint Bruno, is a Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084, the order has its own Rule, called the Statutes, rather than the Rule of Saint Benedict, and combines eremitical and cenobitic life. The name Carthusian is derived from the Chartreuse Mountains, Saint Bruno built his first hermitage in the valley of these mountains in the French Alps, the word charterhouse, which is the English name for a Carthusian monastery, is derived from the same source. The same mountain range lends its name to the alcoholic cordial Chartreuse produced by the monks since 1737 which itself gives rise to the name of the colour. The motto of the Carthusians is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, in 1084 Bishop Hugh of Grenoble offered Bruno, the former Chancellor of the Diocese of Reims, a solitary site in the mountains of his diocese, in the valley of Chartreuse. Six years later, Brunos former pupil, Pope Urban II requested his services. He would only live in Rome for a few months however, before leaving to establish a new hermitage in the forests of Calabria, in the south of Italy. He died there on 6 October 1101, in 1132, an avalanche destroyed the first hermitage, killing 7 monks under the snow. The fifth prior of Chartreuse, Guiges, rebuilt the hermitage, there were twelve Carthusian monasteries in the British Isles before the Reformation. The first was founded by Henry II in 1181 at Witham Friary, Hugh of Lincoln was its first prior. The third Charterhouse built in Britain was Beauvale Charterhouse remains of which can still be seen in Beauvale, Greasley parish, the Carthusians, as with all Catholic religious orders, were variously persecuted and banned during the Protestant Reformation. The abolition of their priories, which were sources of charity in England and this was followed by the French Revolution which had a similar effect in France. A few fragments remain of the Charterhouse in Coventry, mostly dating from the 15th century, the area, about a mile from the centre of the city, is a conservation area, but the buildings are in use as part of a local college. Inside the building is a wall painting, alongside many carvings. Nearby is the river Sherbourne that runs underneath the centre of the city, the best preserved remains of a medieval Charterhouse in the UK are at Mount Grace Priory near Osmotherley, North Yorkshire. One of the cells has been reconstructed to illustrate how different the lay-out is to monasteries of most other Christian orders, which are normally designed with communal living in mind. The London Charterhouse gave its name to a square and several streets in the City of London, as well as to the Charterhouse School which used part of its site before moving out to Godalming, Surrey. Perth Charterhouse, the single Carthusian Priory founded in Scotland during the Middle Ages, was located in Perth and it stood just west of the medieval town and was founded by James I in the early 15th century
Carthusian
–
Painting by
Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734) depicting the founder of the Carthusians,
Bruno of Cologne (c1030-1101), revering the
Virgin Mary and adoring the
Infant Christ, with
Hugh of Lincoln (1135-1200) looking on in the background.
Carthusian
–
Carthusian Order
Carthusian
–
The
Grande Chartreuse is the head
monastery of the Carthusian order.
Carthusian
–
Painting from the Carthusian cloister of
Nuestra Señora de las Cuevas in
Seville by
Francisco de Zurbarán. The scene depicts
Hugh of Grenoble in a Carthusian monastery.
22.
Jean Chalgrin
–
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris. His time in Rome coincided with a fervent new interest in Classicism among the young French pensionnaires, under the influences of Piranesi, in this church, which was built 1772-84, he revived a basilica plan that had not been characteristic of French ecclesiastical architecture since the sixteenth century. In 1775 he was appointed First Architect to the comte de Provence, brother of Louis XVI, in 1779 he was appointed overseer of the building projects of another brother of the king, the comte dArtois. In 1777 Chalgrin partly remodelled the interior of Church of Saint-Sulpice and he also designed the case for the great organ. After the Revolution Chalgrin extended the Collège de France and made alterations in the Palais du Luxembourg to suit it to its new use as the seat of the Directoire, the Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate the victorious armies of the Empire. The project was under way when Chalgrin died, and it was completed by Jean-Nicolas Huyot, Chalgrin married Émilie, a daughter of the painter Joseph Vernet. Louis Hautcoeur, Histore de larchitecture classique en France, vol, IV second moitié du XVIIIe siècle 1952. Michel Gallet, Demeures parisiennes, époque Louis XVI1964
Jean Chalgrin
–
Chalgrin's drawing of the Arc de Triomphe, 1806.
Jean Chalgrin
–
Interior of St. Philippe-du-Roule
23.
Arc de Triomphe
–
The Arc de Triomphe should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I and it set the tone for public monuments with triumphant patriotic messages. Inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus, the Arc de Triomphe has an height of 50 metres, width of 45 m. The smaller transverse vaults are 18.68 m high and 8.44 m wide, three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the archs primary vault, with the event captured on newsreel. Pariss Arc de Triomphe was the tallest triumphal arch until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938, the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, completed in 1982, is modelled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at 60 m. The Arc is located on the bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes, the architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811 and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. On 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena, prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was displayed under the Arc during the night of 22 May 1885. The sword carried by the Republic in the Marseillaise relief broke off on the day, it is said, the relief was immediately hidden by tarpaulins to conceal the accident and avoid any undesired ominous interpretations. On 7 August 1919, Charles Godefroy successfully flew his biplane under the Arc, Jean Navarre was the pilot who was tasked to make the flight, but he died on 10 July 1919 when he crashed near Villacoublay while training for the flight. Following its construction, the Arc de Triomphe became the point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns. Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945. A United States postage stamp of 1945 shows the Arc de Triomphe in the background as victorious American troops march down the Champs-Élysées, after the interment of the Unknown Soldier, however, all military parades have avoided marching through the actual arch. The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb, both Hitler in 1940 and de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom. By the early 1960s, the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot and automobile exhaust, and during 1965–1966 it was cleaned through bleaching. In the prolongation of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a new arch, after the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de lÉtoile, the Grande Arche is the third arch built on the same perspective. In 1995, the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria placed a bomb near the Arc de Triomphe which wounded 17 people as part of a campaign of bombings, the astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin, in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture. Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe, Jean-Pierre Cortot, François Rude, Antoine Étex, James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire
Arc de Triomphe
–
The Arc de Triomphe from the Champs-Élysées
Arc de Triomphe
–
A colourised aerial photograph of the southern side (published in 1921)
Arc de Triomphe
–
Free French forces on parade after the
liberation of Paris (1944)
Arc de Triomphe
–
Avenues radiate from the Arc de Triomphe in
Place Charles de Gaulle, the former Place de l'Étoile.
24.
Statue of Liberty
–
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was dedicated on October 28,1886. The Statue of Liberty is a female figure representing Libertas. She holds a torch above her head, and in her left arm carries a tabula ansata inscribed July 4,1776, a broken chain lies at her feet. The statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, due to the post-war instability in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue, Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions. The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World started a drive for donations to complete the project attracted more than 120,000 contributors. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, the statues completion was marked by New Yorks first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland. The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War, public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916. The project is traced to a conversation between Édouard René de Laboulaye, a staunch abolitionist and Frédéric Bartholdi, a sculptor. The National Park Service, in a 2000 report, however, deemed this a legend traced to an 1885 fundraising pamphlet, in order to honor these achievements, Laboulaye proposed that a gift be built for the United States on behalf of France. Laboulaye hoped that by calling attention to the recent achievements of the United States, according to sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who later recounted the story, Laboulayes comment was not intended as a proposal, but it inspired Bartholdi. Given the repressive nature of the regime of Napoleon III, Bartholdi took no action on the idea except to discuss it with Laboulaye. Sketches and models were made of the work, though it was never erected. There was a precedent for the Suez proposal, the Colossus of Rhodes. This statue is believed to have been over 100 feet high, any large project was further delayed by the Franco-Prussian War, in which Bartholdi served as a major of militia. In the war, Napoleon III was captured and deposed, Bartholdis home province of Alsace was lost to the Prussians, and a more liberal republic was installed in France
Statue of Liberty
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Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
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Bartholdi's design patent
Statue of Liberty
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Bartholdi's
Lion of Belfort
Statue of Liberty
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Detail from a fresco by
Constantino Brumidi in the
U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., showing two early symbols of America:
Columbia (left) and the Indian princess
25.
Ossip Zadkine
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Ossip Zadkine was a Russian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings, Zadkine was born on 4 July 1890 as Yossel Aronovich Tsadkin in the city of Vitsebsk, part of the Russian Empire. He was born to a Jewish father and a mother of Scottish origin, after attending art school in London, Zadkine settled in Paris in 1910. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts for six months, in 1911 he lived and worked in La Ruche. While in Paris he joined the Cubist movement, working in a Cubist idiom from 1914 to 1925 and he later developed his own style, one that was strongly influenced by African and Greek art. 1921 he obtained obtain French citizenship, Zadkine served as a stretcher-bearer in the French Army during World War I, and was wounded in action. He spent World War II in the US, in August 1920, Zadkine married Valentine Prax, an Algerian-born painter of Sicilian and French Catalan descent. Zadkine was a friend of Henry Miller and was represented by the character Borowski in Millers Tropic of Cancer, the artists only child, Nicolas Hasle, was the result of his affair with a Danish woman, Annelise Hasle. Zadkine died in Paris in 1967 at the age of 77 after undergoing surgery and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse. His former home and studio is now the Musée Zadkine, there is also a Musée Zadkine in the village of Les Arques in the Midi-Pyrénées region. Zadkine lived in Les Arques for a number of years, and while there, carved an enormous Christ on the Cross, yamanashi Kenritsu Bijutsukan, Ossip Zadkine, Tokyo, Yomiuri Shinbunsha,1989
Ossip Zadkine
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Zadkine in 1914
Ossip Zadkine
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Ossip Zadkine, 1913, Maternité, painted elmwood, 81 cm, exhibited at the 1914
Salon des Indépendants, Paris, Published in Montjoie, 1914
Ossip Zadkine
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Ossip Zadkine, 1918, Femme au violon (Woman with a Violin), photograph by Pierre Choumoff
Ossip Zadkine
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Venus, 1920, published in Action: Cahiers individualistes de philosophie et d’art, Volume 1, Number 4, July 1920
26.
Gabriel Davioud
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Jean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud was a French architect. Davioud was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Léon Vaudoyer, after winning a Second Grand Prix de Rome, he was named inspector general for architectural works in Paris, and chief architect for its parks and public spaces. His mandate was interrupted when he was appointed capitaine du génie during the Franco-Prussian War, noted for his work in Paris, he built a single villa in Houlgate, La Brise, on the Route de Caumont. Placzek, Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, Collier Macmillan,1982, structurae entry Marcel Miocque, Huguette Vernochet, Alain Bertaud, Lise Dassonville-Agron
Gabriel Davioud
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The
Fontaine Saint-Michel in
Paris, designed by Davioud, 1855-60.
Gabriel Davioud
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Fontaine Saint-Michel in Paris
27.
English garden
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The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. The work of Lancelot Capability Brown was particularly influential, by the end of the 18th century the English garden was being imitated by the French landscape garden, and as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia, in Pavlovsk, the gardens of the future Emperor Paul. It also had a influence on the form of the public parks. These parks featured vast lawns, woods, and pieces of architecture and these gardens, modelled after the gardens of Versailles, were designed to impress visitors with their size and grandeur. William Kent was an architect, painter and furniture designer who introduced Palladian style architecture to England and his gardens were designed to complement the Palladian architecture of the houses he built. He collaborated with Kent on several major gardens, providing the botanical expertise which allowed Kent to realize his architectural visions, Kent created one of the first true English landscape gardens at Chiswick House for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington. Between 1733 and 1736, he redesigned the garden, adding lawns sloping down to the edge of the river, for the first time the form of a garden was inspired not by architecture, but by an idealized version of nature. Rousham House in Oxfordshire is considered by some as the most accomplished, the patron was General Dormer, who commissioned Bridgeman to begin the garden in 1727, then brought in Kent to recreate it in 1737. Bridgeman had built a series of gardens, including a grotto of Venus, on the slope along the river Cherwell, finally, he added cascades modelled on those of the garden of Aldobrandini and Pratolino in Italy, to add movement and drama. Stowe, in Buckinghamshire, was a more radical departure from the formal French garden. In the early 18th century, Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, had commissioned Charles Bridgeman to design a formal garden, bridgemans design included an octagonal lake and a Rotunda designed by Vanbrugh. In the 1730s, William Kent and James Gibbs were appointed to work with Bridgeman, Kent remade the lake in a more natural shape, and created a new kind of garden, which took visitors on a tour of picturesque landscapes. The garden attracted visitors from all over Europe, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and it became the inspiration for landscape gardens in Britain and on the Continent. Stourhead, in Wiltshire, created by banker Henry Hoare, was one of the first picturesque gardens, Hoare had travelled to Italy on the Grand Tour and had returned with a painting by Claude Lorrain. He sought to create an ideal landscape out of the English countryside and he created artificial lakes and used dams and canals to transform streams or springs into the illusion that a river flowed through the garden. He compared his own role as a designer to that of a poet or composer. Here I put a comma, there, when its necessary to cut the view, I put a parenthesis, there I end it with a period, the most important were, Petworth in 1752, Chatsworth in 1761, Bowood in 1763, Blenheim Palace in 1764. Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, to help clients visualize his designs, Repton produced Red Books with explanatory text and watercolors with a system of overlays to show before and after views
English garden
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Rotunda at Stowe Garden (1730-38)
English garden
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The paintings of Claude Lorrain inspired Stourhead and other English landscape gardens
English garden
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Castle Howard (1699-1712), a predecessor of the English garden modelled on the
gardens of Versailles.
English garden
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Ionic Temple at Chiswick House
28.
Parterre
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A parterre is a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of plant beds, typically in symmetrical patterns, which are separated and connected by paths. The borders of the plant beds may be formed with stone or tightly pruned hedging, the paths are constituted with gravel or turf grass. French parterres originated in the gardens of the French Renaissance of the 15th century, later, during the 17th century Baroque era, they became more elaborate and stylised. The French parterre reached its greatest development at the Palace of Versailles, claude Mollet, the founder of a dynasty of nurserymen-designers that lasted into the 18th century, developed the parterre in France. His inspiration in developing the 16th-century patterned compartimens, i. e. C, clipped boxwood met with resistance from horticultural patrons for its naughtie smell as the herbalist Gervase Markham described it. By the 1630s, elaborate parterres de broderie appeared at Wilton House in Wilton, England that were so magnificent that they were engraved, which engraving is the only remaining trace of them. Parterres de pelouse or parterres de gazon denominate cutwork parterres of low growing herbs, e. g. camomile, the separation of plant beds of a pareterre is denominated an alley of compartiment. Parterre gardens lost favour in the 18th century and were superseded by naturalistic English landscape gardens, level substrates and a raised vantage point from which to view the design were required, and so the parterre was revived in a modified style. At Kensington Palace the planting of the parterres was by Henry Wise, whose nursery was nearby at Brompton, subsidiary wings have subsidiary parterres, with no attempt at overall integration. To either side, walls with busts on herm pedestals backed by young trees screen the parterre from the garden spaces. Formal baroque patterns have given way to symmetrical paired free scrolling rococo arabesques, little attempt seems to have been made to fit the framework to the shape of the parterre. Beyond paired basins have central jets of water, in the UK, modern parterres exist at Trereife Park in Penzance, at Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire and at Bodysgallen Hall near Llandudno. Examples can also be found in the Republic of Ireland, such as at Birr Castle, sentinel pyramids of yew stand at the corners. Some early knot gardens have been covered over by lawn or other landscaping, an example of this phenomenon is the early 17th-century garden of Muchalls Castle in Scotland. At Charlecote Park in Warwickshire the original parterre from the 1700s has been recreated on the terrace overlooking the river, making of a modern parterre This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chambers, Ephraim, ed. article name needed. Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, james and John Knapton, et al
Parterre
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Kensington Palace engraved by
Jan Kip for Britannia Illustrata, 1707/8
Parterre
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The left hand side of the completely symmetrical parterre at
Waddesdon Manor, England
Parterre
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Modern parterre at
Birr Castle, Ireland
Parterre
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The parterre at Cliveden from the terrace, with the newly restored 19th-century style planting.
29.
Balustrade
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Multiplied in this way, they form a balustrade. Individually, a baluster shaft may describe the form taken by a brass or silver candlestick. According to OED, baluster is derived through the French, balustre, from Italian, balaustro, from balaustra, pomegranate flower, from Latin balaustium, from Greek βαλαύστιον. The earliest examples are shown in the bas-reliefs representing the Assyrian palaces. The application to architecture was a feature of the early Renaissance, late fifteenth-century examples are found in the balconies of palaces at Venice and these quattrocento balustrades are likely to be following yet-unidentified Gothic precedents. They form balustrades of colonnettes as an alternative to miniature arcading, sangallo passed the motif to Bramante and Michelangelo, through whom balustrades gained wide currency in the 16th century. Because of its low center of gravity, this vase-baluster may be given the modern term dropped baluster. The baluster, being a structure, tends to follow design precedents that were set in woodworking and ceramic practices, where the turners lathe. The profile a baluster takes is often diagnostic of a style of architecture or furniture. Some complicated Mannerist baluster forms can be read as a vase set upon another vase, modern baluster design is also in use for example in designs influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement in a 1905 row of houses in Etchingham Park Road Finchley London England. The modern term baluster shaft is applied to the shaft dividing a window in Saxon architecture, in the south transept of the Abbey in St Albans, England, are some of these shafts, supposed to have been taken from the old Saxon church. Norman bases and capitals have been added, together with plain cylindrical Norman shafts, balusters are normally separated by at least the same measurement as the size of the square bottom section. Placing balusters too far apart diminishes their aesthetic appeal, balustrades normally terminate in columns, building walls or more properly in heavy newel posts because otherwise they will not be structurally strong enough. Balusters may be formed in several ways, wood and stone can be shaped on the lathe, wood can be cut from square or rectangular section boards, while concrete, plaster, iron, and plastics are usually formed by molding and casting. Turned patterns or old examples are used for the molds, Cast iron Cast stone Hardwoods and softwoods Plaster Polymer stone Polyurethane/polystyrene Wrought iron The word banister refers to the balusters of a stairway. According to many dictionaries - a, a handrail, especially on a staircase. Such a handrail together with its supporting structures, the Renaissance baluster and Palladio in Palladio and English Palladianism
Balustrade
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Swelling form of the half-open flower of
Punica granatum, in Italian balaustra (See "etymology")
Balustrade
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Baluster
Balustrade
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Stone balusters in the
Basilica of San Zeno, Verona
Balustrade
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A vasiform balustrade crowns
Michelangelo 's
Palazzo degli Conservatori on the Campidoglio, Rome.
30.
Terrace (gardening)
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In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the materials of the architecture and softer ones of the garden. Such a terrace had its origins in the far older practice of terracing a sloping site. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon must have built on an artificial mountain with stepped terraces. At Praeneste during the early Imperial period, the sanctuary of Fortuna was enlarged and elaborated, the imperial villas at Capri were built to take advantage of varied terraces. At the seaside Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, the gardens of Julius Caesars father-in-law fell away in a series of terraces, giving pleasant. Only some of them have been excavated, at Villa of Livia, probably part of Livia Drusillas dowry brought to the Julio-Claudian dynasty, rooms in the cryptoporticus beneath terracing were frescoed with trees in bloom and fruit. At the influential Cortile del Belvedere at the Vatican Palace, perfected under a series of popes from the earliest 16th century, the view in this case was from the Stanze of Raphael on an upper floor of the Palace. They are often discussed in conjunction with roof gardens, although they are not always true roof gardens, instead being balconies and these outdoor spaces can become lush gardens through the use of container gardening, automated drip irrigation and low-flow irrigation systems, and outdoor furnishings
Terrace (gardening)
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Transverse view along a narrow terrace,
Villa Carlotta on
Lake Como,
Tremezzo, Italy: stairs from an upper level are inset into the
retaining wall.
Terrace (gardening)
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Steep ground at
Powys Castle, Mid Wales, falls away in a series of terraces, some supported on
vaulted undercrofts.
