1.
Place de la Concorde (painting)
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Place de la Concorde or Viscount Lepic and his Daughters Crossing the Place de la Concorde is an 1876 oil painting by Edgar Degas. It depicts the cigar-smoking Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic, his daughters, his dog, the Tuileries Gardens can be seen in the background, behind a stone wall. Many art historians believe that the amount of negative space, the cropping. The painting was considered lost for four decades following World War II, until Russian authorities put it on exhibition at the Hermitage Museum in Russia, during the Soviet occupation of Germany, the work was moved from the collection of Otto Gerstenberg to the Hermitage. Degas also painted Ludovic Lepic and His Daughters in a separate painting, hermitages interactive page about the painting Olgas Gallery biography of Degas Mari Kálmán Meller. Degass Place de la Concorde, Vicomte Lepic and His Daughters, Degas - Place de la Concorde Painting A video discussion about the painting from Smarthistory, Khan Academy. Degas, The Artists Mind, exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art fully available online as PDF, which contains material on Place de la Concorde
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Arrondissements of Paris
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The city of Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements municipaux, administrative districts, more simply referred to as arrondissements. These are not to be confused with departmental arrondissements, which subdivide the 101 French départements, the word arrondissement, when applied to Paris, refers almost always to the municipal arrondissements listed below. The number of the arrondissement is indicated by the last two digits in most Parisian postal codes, the twenty arrondissements are arranged in the form of a clockwise spiral, starting from the middle of the city, with the first on the Right Bank of the Seine. The French cities of Lyon and Marseille have, more recently, in French, notably on street signs, the number is often given in Roman numerals. For example, the Eiffel Tower belongs to the VIIe arrondissement while Gare de lEst is in the Xe arrondissement, with the Bois de Vincennes 2. Without the Bois de Vincennes 3, with the Bois de Boulogne 4. Without the Bois de Boulogne 5,2005 is the year of the most recent official estimate, population of these arrondissements may still be growing Each arrondissement is subdivided administratively into four quartiers. Paris thus has eighty quartiers administratifs, each containing a police station, for a table giving the names of the eighty quartiers, see Quarters of Paris. On 11 October 1795, Paris was divided into twelve arrondissements and they were numbered from west to east, with the numbers 1-9 situated on the Right Bank of the Seine and the numbers 10-12 on the Left Bank. Each arrondissement was subdivided into four quartiers, which corresponded to the 48 original districts created in 1790, emperor Napoleon III and the Prefect of the Seine Baron Haussmann developed a plan to incorporate several of the surrounding communes into the Paris jurisdiction in the late 1850s. Parliament passed the legislation in 1859, and the expansion took effect when the law was promulgated on 3 November 1859. The previous twelve arrondissements were reorganized from twelve arrondissements into twenty, the mayor of Passy, Possoz, devised the idea of a numbering the arrondissements in a spiral pattern beginning with the first centered on the imperial palaces, which put Passy in the sixteenth. In historical records, when it is important to distinguish between two systems, the original arrondissements are indicated by adding the term ancienne, for example, arrondissement, for other uses of the term. Paris districts Paris, je taime, film composed of sequences on each arrondissement Cobb, Richard, Breach. Official Paris website Diagrams of each arrondissement showing its quartiers administratifs
4.
8th arrondissement of Paris
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The 8th Arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. Situated on the bank of the River Seine and centred on the Champs-Élysées. According to the 1999 census, it was the place of employment of people than any other single arrondissement of the capital. The land area of the arrondissement is 3.881 km2, the arrondissement had its highest population of 107,485 in 1891. In 1999, it had almost a third of that number and it is one of Pariss least densely populated arrondissements and contains 1. 8% of the total population of Paris. The head offices of AXA, Bouygues, Électricité de France, Eurazeo, Sanofi-Aventis, GDF Suez, HSBC France, standard & Poors France office is located in the 8th arrondissement. Air China and China Southern Airlines have their Paris offices in the arrondissement, at one time the head office of Union des Transports Aériens was located in this arrondissement. The predecessor airline Union Aéromaritime de Transport also had its office in the 8th arrondissement. When Suez existed, its office was in the 8th arrondissement. When Unibail existed, its office was in the arrondissement. At one time Groupe Danone had its office in the 8th arrondissement. At one time Alcatel-Lucents head office was located in the arrondissement, at one time Northwest Airlines had its Paris offices in the Madeleine station. At one time All Nippon Airways operated an office in the arrondissement. The classes are held at the École Maternelle et Primaire Saint Francois dEylau in the 16th arrondissement, intégrale, Institut denseignement supérieur privé has also one of its campus in the 8th arrondissement. 8th arrondissement travel guide from Wikivoyage
5.
Quarters of Paris
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Below are a few quarters that have developed or retained a character of their own, usually identifiable by their commercial or cultural activity, and often named for a neighbourhood landmark. Paris islands were once many, but over the centuries have been united or joined to the mainland, today there are but two adjacent islands forming the centre of Paris, the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis. The westernmost of two islands, the Île de la Cité, is Paris heart and origin. Only the westernmost and north-eastern extremities of the island remain residential today, purely residential in nature, this islands first use was for the grazing of market cattle and the stocking of wood. One of Frances first examples of urban planning, it was mapped and built from end to end during the 17th-century reigns of Henri IV, a peaceful oasis of calm in the busy Paris centre, this island has but narrow one-way streets and no metro station. Paris Rive Droite, formerly a marshland between two arms of the Seine river, remained uninhabited until the early 11th century. Once growth began there it soon eclipsed that of both the island and its Rive Gauche combined, and has remained Paris densest area ever since. Le Châtelet, a stronghold/gatehouse guarding the northern end of a bridge from the Cité island, was the origin of Paris first real Rive Droite growth. As Les Halles is a Metro and RER hub for connecting all suburban regions around the capital. Fast-food is the restaurant staple of this quarters most central region, one of the regions most prominent landmarks is the 1976-built Centre Georges Pompidou. Recently renovated, it houses the BPI, one of the citys largest libraries and places of study. The wide square in front is a place for street performers. Just to the east of the Place du Châtelet lies Pariss Hôtel de Ville and it stands on the almost exact location of a 12th-century house of columns belonging to the citys Prévôt des Marchands, then a later version built in 1628 whose shell is still the same today. Just across the street to the north of rue de Rivoli is the large 1870s-built BHV household shopping centre, the Louvre, once Paris second Royal Palace, is today a museum, garden, and, more recently, a shopping mall and Fashion show centre. This quarter in general has many 17th- and 18th-century buildings of large standing, as well as some of Paris more grandiose constructions, namely along the avenue de lOpéra, from the Haussmann era. Centred on Paris Opéra Garnier, completed in 1882, this quarter houses at once central Paris largest shopping centres and is an important banking centre. The streets behind both sides of the avenue de lOpéra have many Japanese restaurants, and most of the avenues in this area duty-free stores selling luxury brands, the rue Saint Honoré is known for its luxury boutiques selling all fashion labels of international renown. The Place Vendôme, around its famous Hôtel Ritz, is the centre of the Paris Triangle dOr of jewellers, there are many major banks and offices in this area as well
6.
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
7.
French Revolution
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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
8.
Ange-Jacques Gabriel
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Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the most prominent French architect of his generation. Ange-Jacques Gabriel was born on October 23,1698 to a Parisian family of architects and he was initially trained by the royal architect Robert de Cotte and his father Jacques Gabriel, whom he assisted in the creation of the Place Royale in Bordeaux. He was made a member of the Académie royale darchitecture in 1728, gabriels symmetrical palace-like façades for the hôtels particuliers that enclose the north side of the Place Louis XV, Paris, were begun in 1754 and completed in 1763. That on the right housed the storerooms for the furnishings, with luxurious apartments for the intendant. His sober rationality in planning and detail promoted the transition from Rococo to Neoclassicism, for forty years, Gabriel supplied all designs not only for exterior construction and also for the constant remodeling of interiors at Versailles. His Petit Trianon at Versailles is one of the gems of French Classicism and he died in Paris in 1782. Extension and transformations at the Château de Choisy, 1740–1777 Château de Compiègne,1750 onwards The Pavillon du Butard,1750 at La Celle-Saint-Cloud, the Architecture of the French Enlightenment, pp. 38–44. Les architectes parisiens du XVIIIe siècle, dictionnaire biographique et critique, Architecture in France in the Eighteenth Century, pp. 145–160. 2, pp. 133–144, in Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects,4 volumes,11, pp. 882–884, in The Dictionary of Art,34 volumes, edited by Jane Turner. Ange-Jacques Gabriel at Great Buildings Online
9.
Octagon
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In geometry, an octagon is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A regular octagon has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a truncated square, t. A truncated octagon, t is a hexadecagon, t, the sum of all the internal angles of any octagon is 1080°. As with all polygons, the external angles total 360°, the midpoint octagon of a reference octagon has its eight vertices at the midpoints of the sides of the reference octagon. A regular octagon is a figure with sides of the same length. It has eight lines of symmetry and rotational symmetry of order 8. A regular octagon is represented by the Schläfli symbol, the internal angle at each vertex of a regular octagon is 135°. The area of an octagon of side length a is given by A =2 cot π8 a 2 =2 a 2 ≃4.828 a 2. In terms of the circumradius R, the area is A =4 sin π4 R2 =22 R2 ≃2.828 R2. In terms of the r, the area is A =8 tan π8 r 2 =8 r 2 ≃3.314 r 2. These last two coefficients bracket the value of pi, the area of the unit circle. The area can also be expressed as A = S2 − a 2, where S is the span of the octagon, or the second-shortest diagonal, and a is the length of one of the sides, or bases. This is easily proven if one takes an octagon, draws a square around the outside and then takes the corner triangles and places them with right angles pointed inward, the edges of this square are each the length of the base. Given the length of a side a, the span S is S = a 2 + a + a 2 = a ≈2.414 a. The area is then as above, A =2 − a 2 =2 a 2 ≈4.828 a 2, expressed in terms of the span, the area is A =2 S2 ≈0.828 S2. Another simple formula for the area is A =2 a S, more often the span S is known, and the length of the sides, a, is to be determined, as when cutting a square piece of material into a regular octagon. From the above, a ≈ S /2.414, the two end lengths e on each side, as well as being e = a /2, may be calculated as e = /2. The circumradius of the octagon in terms of the side length a is R = a
10.
Tuileries Garden
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The Tuileries Garden is a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Created by Catherine de Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in 1667. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, strolled and she decided that she would build a new palace there for herself, separate from the Louvre, with a garden modeled after the gardens of her native Florence. At the time there was an empty area bordered by the Seine on the south, the rue Saint-Honoré on the north, the Louvre on the east, since the 13th century this area was occupied by workshops, called tuileries, making tiles for the roofs of buildings. Some of land had been acquired early in the 16th century by King Francois I, Catherine acquired more land and began to build a new palace and garden on the site. The garden of Catherine de Medicis was a space five hundred metres long. The Tuileries was the largest and most beautiful garden in Paris at the time, Catherine used it for lavish royal festivities honoring ambassadors from Queen Elizabeth I of England and the marriage of her daughter, Marguerite de Valois, to the future Henry IV. King Henry III was forced to flee Paris in 1588, and he also built a rectangular basin 65 metres by 45 metres with a fountain supplied with water by the new pump called La Samaritaine, which had been built in 1608 on the Pont Neuf. The area between the palace and the moat of Charles V was turned into the New Garden with a large fountain in the center. Though Henry IV never lived in the Tuilieries Palace, which was continually under reconstruction, he did use the gardens for relaxation, in 1610, at the death of his father, Louis XIII, age nine became the new owner of the Tuileries Gardens. It became his enormous playground - he used it for hunting, on the north side of the gardens, Marie de Medicis established a school of riding, stables, and a covered manege for exercising horses. When the King and court were absent from Paris, the gardens were turned into a spot for the nobility. In 1630 a former rabbit warren and kennel at the west rampart of the garden were made into a flower-lined promenade, in 1652 La Grande Mademoiselle was expelled from the chateau and garden for having supported an uprising, the Fronde, against her cousin, the young Louis XIV. The new king quickly imposed his own sense of order on the Tuileries Gardens and his architects, Louis Le Vau and Francois dOrbay, finally finished the Tuileries Palace, making a proper royal residence. Thereafter the square was known as the Place du Carrousel, in 1664, Colbert, the superintendent of buildings of the King, commissioned the landscape architect André Le Nôtre, to redesign the entire garden. Le Nôtre was the grandson of Pierre Le Nôtre, one of the gardeners of Catherine De Medici, Le Nôtres were designed to be seen from above, from a building or terrace. He eliminated the street which separated the palace and the garden, in the centre of the parterres he placed three basins with fountains. In front of the center first fountain he laid out the grand allée and he built two other alleys, lined with chestnut trees, on either side
11.
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
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Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was a French sculptor. Pigalle was born in Paris, the child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the Prix de Rome, after a struggle he entered the Académie Royale. Pigalle taught the sculptor Louis-Philippe Mouchy, who married his niece, and his name is most commonly known today because of the Pigalle red-light district in Paris, located around the square of the same name. Pigalle died in Paris on 20 August 1785, media related to Jean-Baptiste Pigalle at Wikimedia Commons Virtual Gallery Jean-Baptiste Pigalle in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website
12.
Louis Quinze
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The Louis XV style or Louis Quinze was a French Rococo style in the decorative arts, and, to a lesser degree, architecture. Datable to the reign of Louis XV, the style was characterised by supreme craftsmanship and the integration of the arts of cabinetmaking, painting. French furniture of the period—which typically came in two sets, a summer and a highly ornamental, yet elegant, and designed to mesh with the rest of the home decor. Orientalia—themes from the Far East—and the fabulous were the principle thematic expressions, among the ébénistes who served under Louis XV were Jean-François Oeben, Roger Vandercruse Lacroix, Gilles Joubert, Antoine Gaudreau, and Martin Carlin. Madame de Pompadour, the mistress, was one of the chief patrons of the artists of the period. Retrieved 2 May 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
13.
Louis XV of France
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Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five, Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinals death in 1743, at which time the young king took sole control of the kingdom. During his reign, Louis returned the Austrian Netherlands, territory won at the Battle of Fontenoy of 1745, Louis also ceded New France in North America to Spain and Great Britain at the conclusion of the Seven Years War in 1763. He incorporated the territories of Lorraine and Corsica into the kingdom of France and he was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI in 1774. French culture and influence were at their height in the first half of the eighteenth century, however, many scholars believe that Louis XVs decisions damaged the power of France, weakened the treasury, discredited the absolute monarchy, and made it more vulnerable to distrust and destruction. Evidence for this view is provided by the French Revolution, which broke out 15 years after his death, norman Davies characterized Louis XVs reign as one of debilitating stagnation, characterized by lost wars, endless clashes between the Court and Parliament, and religious feuds. A few scholars defend Louis, arguing that his negative reputation was based on propaganda meant to justify the French Revolution. Jerome Blum described him as a perpetual adolescent called to do a mans job, Louis XV was born in the Palace of Versailles on 15 February 1710 during the reign of Louis XIV. His grandfather, Louis Le Grand Dauphin, had three sons with his wife Marie Anne Victoire of Bavaria, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, and Charles, Duke of Berry. Louis XV was the son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. At birth, Louis XV received a title for younger sons of the French royal family. In April 1711, Louis Le Grand Dauphin suddenly died, making Louis XVs father, the Duke of Burgundy, at that time, Burgundy had two living sons, Louis, Duke of Brittany and his youngest son, the future Louis XV. A year later, Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Burgundy, contracted smallpox and her husband, said to be heartbroken by her death, died the same week, also having contracted smallpox. Within a week of his death, it was clear that the two children had also been infected. The elder son was treated by bloodletting in an unsuccessful effort to save him. Fearing that the Dauphin would die, the Court had both the Dauphin and the Duke of Anjou baptised, the Dauphin died the same day,8 March 1712. His younger brother, the Duke of Anjou, was treated by his governess, Madame de Ventadour. The two year old Dauphin survived the smallpox, on 1 September 1715, Louis XIV died of gangrene, having reigned for 72 years
14.
Guillotine
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A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame in which a weighted and angled blade is raised to the top, the condemned person is secured with stocks at the bottom of the frame, positioning the neck directly below the blade. The blade is released, to fall swiftly and forcefully decapitating the victim with a single pass so that the head falls into a basket below. The name dates from period, but similar devices had been used elsewhere in Europe over several centuries. The guillotine continued to be used long after the revolution and remained Frances standard method of execution until the abolition of capital punishment in 1981. The last person to be executed in France was Hamida Djandoubi, the use of beheading machines in Europe long predates such use in the French revolution in 1792. An early example of the principle is found in the High History of the Holy Grail, although the device is imaginary, its function is clear. The text says, Within these three openings are the set for them. And behold what I would do to them if their three heads were therein, even thus will I cut off their heads when they shall set them into those three openings thinking to adore the hallows that are beyond. The Halifax Gibbet was a structure of two wooden uprights, capped by a horizontal beam, of a total height of 4.5 metres. The blade was an axe head weighing 3.5 kg, attached to the bottom of a wooden block that slid up. This device was mounted on a square platform 1.25 metres high. It is not known when the Halifax Gibbet was first used, the first recorded execution in Halifax dates from 1280, the machine remained in use until Oliver Cromwell forbade capital punishment for petty theft. It was used for the last time, for the execution of two criminals on a day, on 30 April 1650. Holinsheds Chronicles of 1577 included a picture of The execution of Murcod Ballagh near to Merton in Ireland 1307 showing a similar execution machine, the Maiden was constructed in 1564 for the Provost and Magistrates of Edinburgh, and was in use from April 1565 to 1710. One of those executed was James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, in 1581, Schmidt recommended using an angled blade as opposed to a round one. On 10 October 1789, physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed to the National Assembly that capital punishment always take the form of decapitation by means of a simple mechanism, sensing the growing discontent, Louis XVI banned the use of the breaking wheel. A committee was formed under Antoine Louis, physician to the King, Guillotin was also on the committee
15.
Execution of Louis XVI
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The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. It was an event of the Revolution. He was convicted in a vote and condemned to death by a large majority. He heard his last Mass, served by Cléry, and received Communion, the Mass requisites were provided by special direction of the authorities. Upon Father Edgeworths advice he avoided a last farewell scene with his family, at 7 oclock he confided his last wishes to the priest. His Royal seal was to go to the Dauphin and his ring to the Queen. After receiving the blessing he went to meet Antoine Joseph Santerre. A green carriage was waiting in the second court and he seated himself in it with the priest, with two militiamen sitting opposite them. The carriage left the Temple at approximately 9 oclock, in the neighbourhood of the present rue de Cléry, the Baron de Batz, a supporter of the Royal family who had financed the flight to Varennes, had summoned 300 Royalists to enable the Kings escape. Louis was to be hidden in a house in the rue de Cléry belonging to the Count of Marsan, the Baron leaped forward calling Follow me, my friends, let us save the King. But his associates had been denounced and only a few had been able to turn up, three of them were killed, but de Batz managed to escape. The 13 February issue of the Thermomètre du jour, a moderate Republican newspaper, citing as its source the executioner, Charles Henri Sanson. Charles Sanson responded to the story by offering his own version of events in a letter dated 20 February 1793, I remain strongly convinced that he derived this firmness from the principles of the religion by which he seemed penetrated and persuaded as no other man. In his Causeries, Alexandre Dumas refers to a meeting circa 1830 with Henri Sanson, eldest son of Charles Sanson, now then, you were saying you wanted something, Monsieur Dumas. You know how much playwrights need accurate information, Monsieur Sanson, the moment may come for me to put Louis XVI on the stage. How much truth is there in the story of the bout between him and your fathers assistants at the foot of the scaffold. Oh, I can tell you that, Monsieur. I know, thats why it is you Im asking. Well listen, the King had been driven to the scaffold in his own carriage and his hands were free. So one assistant waited with a rope, while another said to him It is necessary to tie your hands, on hearing these unexpected words, at the unexpected sight of that rope, Louis XVI made an involuntary gesture of repulsion
16.
Marie Antoinette
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Marie Antoinette (/ˈmæriˌæntwəˈnɛt/, /ˌɑ̃ːntwə-/, /ˌɑ̃ːtwə-/, US /məˈriː-/, French, born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna, was the last Queen of France and Navarre before the French Revolution. She was born an Archduchess of Austria, and was the fifteenth and second youngest child of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, in April 1770, upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne, she became Dauphine of France. After eight years of marriage, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the Diamond Necklace affair damaged her reputation further. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced the family to take refuge at the Assembly. On 21 September 1792, the monarchy was abolished, after a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason, and executed by guillotine on Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793. Maria Antonia was born on 2 November 1755, at the Hofburg Palace and she was the youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, ruler of the Habsburg Empire, and her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Her godparents were Joseph I and Mariana Victoria, King and Queen of Portugal, Archduke Joseph, shortly after her birth, she was placed under the care of the Governess of the Imperial children, Countess von Brandeis. Maria Antonia was raised with her older sister Maria Carolina. As to her relationship with her mother, it was difficult, despite the private tutoring she received, results of her schooling were less than satisfactory. At the age of ten she could not write correctly in German or in any language used at court, such as French. Under the teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Maria Antonia developed into a good musician and she learned to play the harp, the harpsichord and the flute. During the familys gatherings in the evenings, she would sing and she also excelled at dancing, had an exquisite poise, and loved dolls. Following the Seven Years War and the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, Empress Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her longtime enemy, on 14 May she met her husband at the edge of the forest of Compiègne. Upon her arrival in France, she adopted the French version of her name, a further ceremonial wedding took place on 16 May 1770 in the Palace of Versailles and, after the festivities, the day ended with the ritual bedding. The lack of consummation of the marriage plagued the reputation of both Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette for the seven years. The initial reaction to the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste was mixed, on the one hand, the Dauphine was beautiful, personable and well-liked by the common people. Her first official appearance in Paris on 8 June 1773 was a resounding success, on the other hand, those opposed to the alliance with Austria, and others, for personal reasons, had a difficult relationship with Marie Antoinette. Madame du Barry, for example, was Louis XVs mistress and had political influence over him
17.
Charlotte Corday
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Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday dArmont, known as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the French Revolution. Marat had played a role in the political purge of the Girondins. His murder was memorialized in the painting The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David, in 1847, writer Alphonse de Lamartine gave Corday the posthumous nickname lange de lassassinat. Born in Saint-Saturnin-des-Ligneries, a hamlet in the commune of Écorches, in Normandy and she was a fifth-generation matrilineal descendant of the dramatist Pierre Corneille. While Corday was a girl, her older sister and their mother, Charlotte Marie Jacqueline Gaultier de Mesnival. After 1791, she lived in Caen with her cousin, Madame Le Coustellier de Bretteville-Gouville, the two developed a close relationship, and Corday was the sole heir to her cousins estate. After the revolution radicalized further and headed towards terror, Charlotte Corday began to sympathize with the Girondins and she admired their speeches and grew fond of many of the Girondist groups whom she met while living in Caen. She respected the principles of the Girondins and came to align herself with their thinking. She regarded them as a movement that would ultimately save France, the Gironde represented a more moderate approach to the revolution and they, like Corday, were skeptical about the direction the revolution was taking. The opposition to this thinking, coupled with the influence of the Gironde, ultimately led Corday to carry out her plan to murder the most radical of them all. Cordays action aided in restructuring the private versus public role of the woman in society at the time, the idea of women as worthless beings was challenged, and Corday was considered a hero to those who were against the teachings of Marat. There have been suggestions that her act incited the banning of political clubs. The influence of Girondin ideas on Corday is evident in her words at her trial, I have killed one man to save a hundred thousand. As the revolution progressed, the Girondins had become progressively more opposed to the radical, violent propositions of the Montagnards such as Marat, Jean-Paul Marat was a member of the radical Jacobin faction which had a leading role during the Reign of Terror. As a journalist, he exerted power and influence through his newspaper, Cordays decision to kill Marat was stimulated not only by her revulsion at the September Massacres, for which she held Marat responsible, but by her fear of an all-out civil war. She believed that Marat was threatening the Republic, and that his death would end violence throughout the nation and she also believed that King Louis XVI should not have been executed. Corday believed in a structure like that of Ancient Greece or Rome, on 9 July 1793, Corday left her cousin, carrying a copy of Plutarchs Parallel Lives, and went to Paris, where she took a room at the Hôtel de Providence. She bought a knife with a six-inch blade
18.
Madame du Barry
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Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry was the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Jeanne Bécu was born at Vaucouleurs, in the present-day Meuse department in Lorraine, France, as the daughter of Anne Bécu. Jeannes father was possibly Jean Baptiste Gormand de Vaubernier, a known as frère Ange. Little Jeanette was well liked by Dumonceauxs mistress Francesca, who pampered her in all luxury, dumonceaux funded Jeanettes education at the Couvent de Saint-Aure. At the age of fifteen, Jeanne left the convent, for she had come of age, for some reason – possibly due either to La Frédériques jealousy of the formers beauty or because Dumonceauxs passion for Anne revived – both mother and daughter were thrown out. They then moved into the small household of Annes husband. Jeanne had to some sort of income to help herself live. Later, Jeanne worked as a assistant in a haberdashery shop named À la Toilette, owned by Madame Labille. Labilles daughter, the famed painter Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, became a good friend of Jeanne. As reflected in art from the time, Jeanne was an attractive blonde woman with thick golden ringlets. Her beauty came to the attention of Jean-Baptiste du Barry, a high-class pimp/procurer nicknamed le roué, Du Barry owned a casino, and Jeanne came to his attention in 1763 when she was entertaining in Madame Quisnoys brothel-casino. She introduced herself as Jeanne Vaubernier, Du Barry installed her in his household and made her his mistress. As Mademoiselle Lange, Jeanne immediately became a sensation in Paris and she had many lovers from the kings ministers to his courtiers. The dashing yet old Maréchal de Richelieu became one of her recurring lovers, because of this, Jean du Barry saw her as a means of influence over Louis XV, who became aware of her in 1768 while she was on an errand at Versailles. The errand involved the duc de Choiseul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in any case, Jeanne could not qualify as a maîtresse-en-titre unless she had a title, this was solved by her marriage on 1 September 1768 to du Barrys brother, Comte Guillaume du Barry. The marriage ceremony included a false birth certificate created by Jean du Barry himself, Jeanne was now installed above the Kings quarters in Lebels former rooms. She lived a life, unable to be seen with the King since no formal presentation had taken place as yet. Comte du Barry constantly pestered Jeanne and urged her to speak of presentation with the king, Louis XV, in turn, asked her to find a proper sponsor to be able to have one
19.
Georges Danton
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Georges Jacques Danton was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution, in particular as the first president of the Committee of Public Safety. He was guillotined by the advocates of revolutionary terror after accusations of venality, Danton was born in Arcis-sur-Aube in northeastern France to Jacques Danton and Mary Camus, a respectable, but not wealthy family. As a child, he was attacked by animals, resulting in the disfigurement and scarring of the skin on his face. After obtaining an education he became an Advocate in Paris. He married Antoinette Gabrielle Charpentier on 14 June 1787 at the church of Saint-Germain-lAuxerrois in Paris, Danton was considered a very mischievous boy. Due to this, he went to different schools, also, he had a very high natural IQ. As a result, he was bored and disinterested in his classes. His first teacher was his grandfather and he was able to pass his classes with little effort, when he was 9, he was sent to a boys school. This is where Danton learned Latin and he was later sent to a school in Troyes for a year due to his mother thinking that he hasnt given up his mischievous ways as a child. Later, he attended a boarding house taught by Oratorians until he was 17, here, he learned more Latin and about the Bible, mainly the Acts of the Apostles and about Christian beliefs. He didnt really take to them, however, as early as age 12, he had already acquired the skills to become a leader. He led fellow classmates to either rebel or riot and this showed his leadership skills and how much his classmates already respected him at such a young age. He also consistently questioned authority, which will be seen later during the French revolution when he openly disrespected and called out Lafayette as a traitor during a meeting. At a young age, he had amazing writing and speech skills, as later during a competition, he took all the prizes for French discourse, Latin narration. Was highly influenced by thinkers of the time, such as Montesquieu. Studied at Reim University where he became a lawyer, later become bored of the career and became an orator. Was seen as a man of the people by then because he pleaded for the poor. Both his classmates, teachers and grandfather revered him as a prodigy and his amazing writing and speaking skills later made people give him the nickname “The Thunderer”
20.
Camille Desmoulins
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Lucie Simplice Camille Benoît Desmoulins, a journalist and politician, played an important role in the French Revolution. He was a friend of Maximilien Robespierre and a close friend and political ally of Georges Danton. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Danton when the Committee of Public Safety reacted against Dantonist opposition, Desmoulins was born at Guise, Aisne, in Picardy. His father, Jean Benoît Nicolas Desmoulins, was a rural lawyer, through the efforts of a friend, he obtained a scholarship for the fourteen-year-old Camille to enter the Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Desmoulins proved an exceptional student even among such notable contemporaries as Maximilien Robespierre and he excelled in the study of Classical literature and politics, and gained a particular affinity for Cicero, Tacitus and Livy. Thus stymied, he turned towards writing as an outlet for his talents. In March 1789, Jean Benoît Nicolas Desmoulins was nominated as deputy to the Estates-General from the bailliage of Guise, however, due to illness, he failed to take his seat. Camille Desmoulins, himself limited to the role of spectator at the procession of the Estates-General on 5 May 1789, wrote a response to the event, Ode aux Etats Generaux. Owing to his difficulties in establishing a career as a lawyer, Desmoulins position in Paris was a precarious one, however, he was greatly inspired and enthused by the current of political reform that surrounded the summoning of the Estates-General. The sudden dismissal of popular finance minister Jacques Necker by King Louis XVI on 11 July 1789 proved the spark that lit the fuse of Desmoulins fame. On 12 July, spurred by the news of this politically unsettling dismissal, Desmoulins leapt onto a table outside the Cafe du Foy and delivered an impassioned call to arms. The stationing of a number of troops in Paris, many foreign, had led Desmoulins. This was an idea that his audience also found plausible and threatening, the cockades worn by the crowd were initially green, a color associated with liberty, and made at first from the leaves of the trees that lined the Palais Royal. The forces semi-organized under this banner attacked the Hôtel des Invalides to gain arms and, on 14 July, in May and June 1789, Desmoulins had written a radical pamphlet entitled La France Libre, which his publisher at that time had refused to print. The rioting surrounding the storming of the Bastille, however, and especially Desmoulins personal and publicized involvement in it, on 18 July, Desmoulinss work was finally issued. The politics of the pamphlet ran considerably in advance of public opinion, in it, Desmoulins called explicitly for a republic, popular and democratic government is the only constitution which suits France, and all those who are worthy of the name of men. La France Libre also examined and criticized in detail the role and rights of kings, of the nobility, a famous Revolutionary song, the Ça ira, also immortalizes this lantern, in the lines, Les aristocrates à la lanterne. This hard-edged fervor found an audience in Paris, and Desmoulins, as a result of the pamphlet
21.
Antoine Lavoisier
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Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier was a French nobleman and chemist central to the 18th-century chemical revolution and had a large influence on both the history of chemistry and the history of biology. He is widely considered in popular literature as the father of modern chemistry and it is generally accepted that Lavoisiers great accomplishments in chemistry largely stem from his changing the science from a qualitative to a quantitative one. Lavoisier is most noted for his discovery of the role oxygen plays in combustion and he recognized and named oxygen and hydrogen and opposed the phlogiston theory. Lavoisier helped construct the system, wrote the first extensive list of elements. He predicted the existence of silicon and was also the first to establish that sulfur was an element rather than a compound and he discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. Lavoisier was a member of a number of aristocratic councils. All of these political and economic activities enabled him to fund his scientific research, at the height of the French Revolution, he was accused by Jean-Paul Marat of selling adulterated tobaccoand of other crimes, and was eventually guillotined a year after Marats death. Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier was born to a family of the nobility in Paris on 26 August 1743. The son of an attorney at the Parliament of Paris, he inherited a fortune at the age of five with the passing of his mother. Lavoisier began his schooling at the Collège des Quatre-Nations, University of Paris in Paris in 1754 at the age of 11, in his last two years at the school, his scientific interests were aroused, and he studied chemistry, botany, astronomy, and mathematics. Lavoisier entered the school of law, where he received a degree in 1763. Lavoisier received a law degree and was admitted to the bar, however, he continued his scientific education in his spare time. Lavoisiers education was filled with the ideals of the French Enlightenment of the time and he attended lectures in the natural sciences. Lavoisiers devotion and passion for chemistry were largely influenced by Étienne Condillac and his first chemical publication appeared in 1764. From 1763 to 1767, he studied geology under Jean-Étienne Guettard, in collaboration with Guettard, Lavoisier worked on a geological survey of Alsace-Lorraine in June 1767. In 1768 Lavoisier received an appointment to the Academy of Sciences. In 1769, he worked on the first geological map of France, on behalf of the Ferme générale Lavoisier commissioned the building of a wall around Paris so that customs duties could be collected from those transporting goods into and out of the city. Lavoisier attempted to introduce reforms in the French monetary and taxation system to help the peasants, Lavoisier consolidated his social and economic position when, in 1771 at age 28, he married Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, the 13-year-old daughter of a senior member of the Ferme générale
22.
Maximilien Robespierre
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Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was a French lawyer and politician. He was one of the best-known and most influential figures associated with the French Revolution, as a member of the Estates-General, the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club, Robespierre was an outspoken advocate for the poor and for democratic institutions. He campaigned for universal suffrage in France, price controls on basic food commodities. But although he was an ardent opponent of the penalty, he played an important role in arranging the execution of King Louis XVI. He is perhaps best known for his role in the French Revolutions Reign of Terror and he was named as a member of the powerful Committee of Public Safety launched by his political ally Georges Danton and exerted his influence to suppress the left-wing Hébertists. The Terror ended a few later with Robespierres arrest and execution in July. Robespierres personal responsibility for the excesses of the Terror remains the subject of debate among historians of the French Revolution. Influenced by 18th-century Enlightenment philosophes such as Rousseau and Montesquieu, Robespierre was a capable articulator of the beliefs of the left-wing bourgeoisie and his steadfast adherence and defense of the views he expressed earned him the nickname lIncorruptible. Robespierres reputation has gone through cycles of re-appraisal. During the Soviet Era, Robespierre was used as an example of a Revolutionary figure and his reputation peaked in the 1920s with the influence of French historian Albert Mathiez. In more recent times, his reputation has suffered as historians have associated him with an attempt at a radical purification of politics through the killing of enemies, Maximilien Robespierre was born in Arras in the old French province of Artois. His family has been traced back to the 12th century in Picardy and it has been suggested that he was of Irish descent, his surname possibly a corruption of Robert Speirs. His paternal grandfather, also named Maximilien de Robespierre, established himself in Arras as a lawyer and his father, François Maximilien Barthélémy de Robespierre, was a lawyer at the Conseil dArtois. He married Jacqueline Marguerite Carrault, the daughter of a brewer, Maximilien was the oldest of four children and was conceived out of wedlock. His siblings were Charlotte, Henriette, and Augustin, on 7 July 1764, Madame de Robespierre gave birth to a stillborn son, she died nine days later. Devastated by his wifes death, François de Robespierre subsequently left Arras, the children would visit each other on Sundays. Already literate at age 8, Maximilien started attending the collège of Arras, in October 1769, on the recommendation of the bishop, he received a scholarship at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, University of Paris in Paris. Robespierre studied there until age 23, receiving his training as a lawyer, upon his graduation, he received a special prize of 600-livre for twelve years of exemplary academic success and personal good conduct
23.
Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
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Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just was a military and political leader during the French Revolution. The youngest of the elected to the National Convention in 1792, Saint-Just rose quickly in their ranks. He spearheaded the movement to execute King Louis XVI and later drafted the radical French Constitution of 1793 and he became a close friend of Maximilien Robespierre, and served with him as one of the commissioners of the powerful Committee of Public Safety. Back in Paris, he supervised the consolidation of Robespierres power through a ruthless, in his relatively brief time on the historical stage, he became the enduring public face of the Reign of Terror and was dubbed the Angel of Death by later writers. Saint-Just organized the arrests and prosecutions of many of the most famous figures of the Revolution, Saint-Just was arrested in the violent episode of 9 Thermidor and executed the next day with Robespierre and their allies. In many histories of the Revolution, their deaths at the mark the end of the Reign of Terror. Louis Antoine de Saint-Just was born at Decize in the former Nivernais province of central France and he had two younger sisters, born in 1768 and 1769. A year after the move, Louis Antoines father died leaving his mother with the three children and she saved diligently for her only sons education, and in 1779 he was sent to the Oratorian school at Soissons. After a promising start, Saint-Just acquired a reputation as a troublemaker, augmented by infamous stories of how he led a students rebellion, nonetheless, he earned his graduation in 1786. His restive nature, however, did not diminish, as a young man, Saint-Just was wild, handsome, transgressive. Well-connected and popular, he showed a special affection toward a woman of Blérancourt. She was the daughter of another notary, a powerful and autocratic figure in the town. He is said to have proposed marriage to her, she is said to have desired it, though no hard evidence exists regarding their relationship, official records show that on 25 July 1786, Thérèse was married to Emmanuel Thorin, the scion of a prominent local family. Saint-Just was out of town and unaware of the event, and his venture turned short when his mother had him seized by police and sent to a reformatory where he stayed from September 1786 to March 1787. Chastened, Saint-Just attempted to begin anew, he enrolled as a student at the School of Law, after a year, however, he drifted away from law school and returned to his mothers home in Blérancourt penniless, without any occupational prospects. At a young age Saint-Just had shown a fascination with literature and he published it anonymously more than two years later, in May 1789, at the very outbreak of the Revolution. The 21-year-old Saint-Just thereby added his own touch to the tumult of the times with Organt. The poem, an epic fantasy, relates the quest of young Antoine Organt
24.
Olympe de Gouges
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Olympe de Gouges, born Marie Gouze, was a French playwright and political activist whose feminist and abolitionist writings reached a large audience. She began her career as a playwright in the early 1780s, as political tension rose in France, Olympe de Gouges became increasingly politically engaged. She became an advocate for improving the condition of slaves in the colonies of 1788. At the same time, she began writing political pamphlets, today she is perhaps best known as an early feminist who demanded that French women be given the same rights as French men. In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, she challenged the practice of male authority and she was executed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror for attacking the regime of the Revolutionary government and for her close relation with the Girondists. Marie Gouze was born into a bourgeois family in 1748 in Montauban, Quercy. In 1765 she married Louis Aubry, a caterer, who came from Paris with the new Intendant of the town and this was not a marriage of love. Gouze said in a novel, I was married to a man I did not love. I was sacrificed for no reason that could make up for the repugnance I felt for this man and her husband died a year later, and in 1770 she moved to Paris with her son, Pierre, and took the name of Olympe de Gouges. In 1773, according to her biographer Olivier Blanc, she met a man, Jacques Biétrix de Rozières. She was received in the artistic and philosophical salons, where she met many writers, including La Harpe, Mercier and she usually was invited to the salons of Madame de Montesson and the Comtesse de Beauharnais, who also were playwrights. She also was associated with Masonic Lodges among them, the Loge des Neuf Sœurs that was created by her friend Michel de Cubières, in 1784, she wrote the anti-slavery play Zamore and Mirza. For several reasons, the play was not performed until 1789, De Gouges published it, however, as Zamore et Mirza, ou lheureux naufrage in 1788. It was performed as LEsclavage des nègres in December 1789, subsequently, it was published in 1792 under the title LEsclavage des noirs. She also wrote on such gender-related topics as the right of divorce, as an epilogue to the 1788 version of her play Zamore et Mirza, she published Réflexions sur les hommes nègres. In 1790 she wrote a play, Le Marché des Noirs which was rejected by the Comédie Française, in 1808 the Abbé Grégoire included her on his list of the courageous people who pleaded the cause of les nègres. A passionate advocate of human rights, Olympe de Gouges greeted the outbreak of the Revolution with hope and joy, in 1791, she became part of the Society of the Friends of Truth, an association with the goal of equal political and legal rights for women. Also called the Social Club, members sometimes gathered at the home of the womens rights advocate
25.
Fontaines de la Concorde
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The Fontaines de la Concorde are two monumental fountains located in the Place de la Concorde in the center of Paris. They were designed by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, and completed in 1840 during the reign of King Louis-Philippe, the south fountain commemorates the maritime commerce and industry of France, and the north fountain commemorates navigation and commerce on the rivers of France. Gabriel did complete the building of the Ministry of the Navy overlooking the square - its presence later influenced the choice of themes for the Fontaines de la Concorde, in 1795, after the Reign of Terror ended, the square was renamed the Place de la Concorde. After the restoration of the Monarchy in 1816 the square was renamed in the Memory of King Louis XVI. The completion of the Canal de lOurcq in 1824, bringing water from outside the city to the Center of Paris, made it possible to build new fountains in the Place de la Concorde. In 1829, during the rule of King Charles X, the city sponsored a competition for a new plan for the square, which was to include no less than four fountains. One of the entrants in the competition was Jacques Ignace Hittorff, a German by birth, who had previously designed decorations for festivals, funerals, the plan of Hittorff featured four fountains in four quadrants surrounding an equestrian statue of Louis XVI. After the 1830 July Revolution, the new King, Louis-Philippe, renamed the square Place de la Concorde, shortly afterwards Louis-Philippe gave him a commission to redesign the entire square. Hittorff worked on the design for the square and for four fountains from 1833 to 1840, consulting closely with Claude Philibert Barthelot Rambuteau, another influence was Piazza Navona in Rome, where two fountains were placed on either side of an obelisk. Twelve different sculptors worked on the statuary of the fountains, closely supervised by Hittorff, a prominent feature of the design of both fountains was a mushroom-shaped cap above the central vasque. Water was to jet from the top of the cap and then downward into a circular vasque. The major figures of the fountains were made of cast iron, florentined, or painted with bronze, the smaller figures of the tritons and nereids were made of bronze. Between 1833 and 1840, Hittdorff modified the plans several times, in 1835, when a government committee reported that the water supply would not be sufficient for four new fountains, he reduced the number to two. The obelisk was put in place on the square on October 25,1836, both fountains were completed in May,1840. In 1862–63, the fountains were restored, and the bronze, the Maritime Fountain, to the south, closer to the River Seine, represents the maritime spirit of France. Large semi-nude figures supporting the vasque represent the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, other figures beneath the vasque represent the industries of the sea, coral, fish, shells and pearls. The figures are seated in the prow of a ship, the symbol of the City of Paris, above the vasque, supporting the mushroom-shaped cap, are figures representing the spirits of Maritime Navigation, Astronomy and Commerce. Next to them are swans which spout water into the basin below, in the basin, tritons and nereids hold fish which spout water upwards to the rim of the vasque
26.
Louis XVI of France
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Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste, was the last King of France and Navarre before the French Revolution, during which he was also known as Louis Capet. In 1765, at the death of his father, Louis, Dauphin of France, son and heir apparent of Louis XV of France, Louis XVI was guillotined on 21 January 1793. The first part of his reign was marked by attempts to reform France in accordance with Enlightenment ideas and these included efforts to abolish serfdom, remove the taille, and increase tolerance toward non-Catholics. The French nobility reacted to the reforms with hostility. Louis implemented deregulation of the market, advocated by his liberal minister Turgot. In periods of bad harvests, it would lead to food scarcity which would prompt the masses to revolt, from 1776, Louis XVI actively supported the North American colonists, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain, which was realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The ensuing debt and financial crisis contributed to the unpopularity of the Ancien Régime and this led to the convening of the Estates-General of 1789. In 1789, the storming of the Bastille during riots in Paris marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Louiss indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to view him as a symbol of the tyranny of the Ancien Régime. The credibility of the king was deeply undermined, and the abolition of the monarchy, Louis XVI was the only King of France ever to be executed, and his death brought an end to more than a thousand years of continuous French monarchy. Louis-Auguste de France, who was given the title Duc de Berry at birth, was born in the Palace of Versailles. Out of seven children, he was the son of Louis, the Dauphin of France. His mother was Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. A strong and healthy boy, but very shy, Louis-Auguste excelled in his studies and had a taste for Latin, history, geography, and astronomy. He enjoyed physical activities such as hunting with his grandfather, and rough-playing with his brothers, Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence. From an early age, Louis-Auguste had been encouraged in another of his hobbies, locksmithing, upon the death of his father, who died of tuberculosis on 20 December 1765, the eleven-year-old Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin. His mother never recovered from the loss of her husband, and died on 13 March 1767, throughout his education, Louis-Auguste received a mixture of studies particular to religion, morality, and humanities. His instructors may have also had a hand in shaping Louis-Auguste into the indecisive king that he became
27.
French Directory
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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
28.
Bourbon Restoration
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The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history following the fall of Napoleon in 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830. The brothers of executed Louis XVI of France reigned in highly conservative fashion, and they were nonetheless unable to reverse most of the changes made by the French Revolution and Napoleon. At the Congress of Vienna they were treated respectfully, but had to give up all the gains made since 1789. King Louis XVI of the House of Bourbon had been overthrown and executed during the French Revolution, a coalition of European powers defeated Napoleon in the War of the Sixth Coalition, ended the First Empire in 1814, and restored the monarchy to the brothers of Louis XVI. The Bourbon Restoration lasted from 6 April 1814 until the uprisings of the July Revolution of 1830. There was an interlude in spring 1815—the Hundred Days—when the return of Napoleon forced the Bourbons to flee France, when Napoleon was again defeated by the Seventh Coalition they returned to power in July. During the Restoration, the new Bourbon regime was a monarchy, unlike the absolutist Ancien Régime. The period was characterized by a conservative reaction, and consequent minor but consistent occurrences of civil unrest. It also saw the reestablishment of the Catholic Church as a power in French politics. The eras of the French Revolution and Napoleon brought a series of changes to France which the Bourbon Restoration did not reverse. First of all, France became highly centralized, with all decisions made in Paris, the political geography was completely reorganized and made uniform. France was divided more than 80 departments, which have endured into the 21st century. Each department had an administrative structure, and was tightly controlled by a prefect appointed by Paris. The Catholic Church lost all its lands and buildings during the Revolution, the bishop still ruled his diocese, and communicated with the pope through the government in Paris. Bishops, priests, nuns and other people were paid salaries by the state. All the old rites and ceremonies were retained, and the government maintained the religious buildings. The Church was allowed to operate its own seminaries and to some extent local schools as well, bishops were much less powerful than before, and had no political voice. However, the Catholic Church reinvented itself and put a new emphasis on personal religiosity that gave it a hold on the psychology of the faithful, education was centralized, with the Grand Master of the University of France controlling every element of the entire educational system from Paris
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July Revolution
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Supporters of the Bourbon would be called Legitimists, and supporters of Louis Philippe Orléanists. On 16 September 1824, Charles X ascended to the throne of France and he was the younger brother of Louis XVIII, who, upon the defeat of Napoleon I, and by agreement of the Allied powers, had been installed as King of France. Both Louis and Charles ruled by right rather than Revolution. Upon the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, continental Europe, the Congress of Vienna met to redraw the continents political map. Another very influential person at the Congress was Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, although France was considered an enemy state, Talleyrand was allowed to attend the Congress because he claimed that he had only cooperated with Napoleon under duress. Talleyrand proposed that Europe be restored to its borders and governments. France returned to its 1789 borders and the House of Bourbon, the Congress however forced Louis to grant the Charte constitutionnelle française, the French Constitution otherwise known as La Charte. This document was the trigger of the July Revolution. On 16 September 1824, after an illness of several months. Therefore, his brother, Charles, aged 66, inherited the throne of France. On 27 September Charles X as he was now known, made his entry into Paris to popular acclaim. But eight months later, the mood of the capital had sharply worsened in its opinion of the new king, the causes of this dramatic shift in public opinion were many, but the main two were, The imposition of the death penalty for anyone profaning the Eucharist. The provisions for financial indemnities for properties confiscated by the 1789 Revolution and these indemnities to be paid to any one, whether noble or non-noble, who had been declared enemies of the Revolution. Critics of the first accused the king and his new ministry of pandering to the Catholic Church, the second matter, that of financial indemnities, was far more opportunistic than the first. But opponents, many of whom were frustrated Bonapartists, began a campaign that Charles X was only proposing this in order to shame those who had not emigrated. Both measures, they claimed, were nothing more than clever subterfuge meant to bring about the destruction of La Charte and this, too, was about to change. On 12 April, propelled by both genuine conviction and the spirit of independence, the Chamber of Deputies roundly rejected the proposal to change the inheritance laws. The popular newspaper Le Constitutionnel pronounced this refusal a victory over the forces of counter-revolutionaries, the popularity of both the Chamber of Peers and the Chamber of Deputies skyrocketed, and the popularity of the king and his ministry dropped
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Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
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The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media. It is located in the corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. In 2004, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Centre National de la Photographie, the rectangular building was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III. It originally housed real tennis courts, the name of this game in French is jeu de paume, Jeu de Paume was used from 1940 to 1944 to store Nazi plunder looted by the regimes Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce in France. Hermann Göring commanded that the loot would first be divided between Adolf Hitler and himself, for this reason, from the end of 1940 to the end of 1942 he traveled twenty times to Paris. So called degenerate art was banned from entering Germany. Much of Paul Rosenbergs professional dealership and personal collection were subsequently so designated by the Nazis, with much of the looted degenerate art sold onwards via Switzerland, Rosenbergs collection was scattered across Europe. Unsold art was destroyed on a bonfire in the grounds of the Jeu de Paume on the night of 27 July 1942, however, the Nazis had burned nearly 4000 works of German degenerate art in Berlin in 1939. Between 1947 and 1986, it contained the Musée du Jeu de Paume, widely considered as the most famous museum of impressionist painting in the world, the rooms bore names such as Salle Degas, Salle Cézanne, or Salle Monet. The top floor features a series of skylighted galleries, in 1991, the Jeu de Paume reopened as Frances first national gallery of contemporary art, with an exhibition devoted to Jean Dubuffet. Subsequent retrospectives were dedicated to artists such as Marcel Broodthaers, Robert Gober, Ellsworth Kelly, Helio Oiticica. In 1999, the museum chose American architect Richard Meier as the subject of its first-ever architectural exhibition, in 2004, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Centre National de la Photographie and Patrimoine Photographique merged to form the Association de Préfiguration for the Etablissement Public Jeu de Paume. It has since developed into a centre for modern and postmodern photography and media, mounting survey exhibitions on Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Martin Parr, in 2016 it will receive the anthological solo exhibition of contemporary photograph Helena Almeida. On April 27,2005, a plaque honoring the work of Rose Valland to catalogue looted art during the Nazi occupation was placed on the wall of the Jeu de Paume. Today the Jeu de Paume is subsidised by the French Ministry of Culture, attendance increased from 200,000 visitors in 2006 to over 320,000 visitors in 2008. The museums wartime history has been depicted, heavily fictionalized, several times on film, in John Frankenheimers 1964 film The Train, starring Burt Lancaster and Jeanne Moreau, Rose Valland is represented as Mademoiselle Villard, played by Suzanne Flon. In George Clooneys 2014 film The Monuments Men, Valland is represented as Claire Simone, list of museums in Paris Jeu de Paume The Jeu de Paume and the Looting of France – website of the Cultural Property Research Foundation, Inc
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Rue Royale, Paris
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The rue Royale is a short street in Paris, France running between the place de la Concorde and the place de la Madeleine. Among the well-known addresses on this street is that of Maxims restaurant, on 12 August 1843, the Rue Royale was the scene for a bizarre phenomenon, when tens of thousands of butterflies landed, causing chaos and swarming the shops and restaurants. The pillars of the Madeleine were, reportedly, covered, the rue Royale is in the citys 8th arrondissement. There is also a Rue Royale in Brussels, Belgium, near the Royal Palace
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La Madeleine, Paris
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Léglise de la Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The Madeleine Church was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleons army, to its south lies the Place de la Concorde, to the east is the Place Vendôme, and to the west Saint-Augustin, Paris. The closest métro station is Madeleine, the site in the suburban faubourg had been annexed to the city of Paris in 1722. Two false starts were made in building a church on this site, the reconstruction of the older church consecrated to Mary Magdalene was considered. In the meantime, the National Assembly was housed in the Palais Bourbon behind a colonnaded front that was inspired by the completed portico at the far end of the former rue Royale. Two curates who had sworn fealty to the Revolution held a memorial service at the church. With completion of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in 1808, after the fall of Napoleon, with the Catholic reaction during the Restoration, King Louis XVIII determined that the structure would be used as a church, dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Vignon died in 1828 before completing the project and was replaced by Jacques-Marie Huvé, the July Monarchy rededicated the monument of repentance for Revolution as a monument of national reconciliation, and the nave was vaulted in 1831. In 1837 it was suggested that the building might best be utilised as a railway station. The funeral of Chopin at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris was delayed almost two weeks, until October 30,1849, Chopin had requested that Mozarts Requiem be sung. The Requiem had major parts for female voices, but the Church of the Madeleine had never permitted female singers in its choir, the Church finally relented, on condition that the female singers remain behind a black velvet curtain. During the Paris Commune of 1871, the curé of the church, Abbé Deguerry was one of those arrested and he was executed alongside Georges Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris and four other hostages on 24 May, as French government troops were retaking the city. The Madeleine is built in the Neo-Classical style and was inspired by the Maison Carrée in Nîmes and its fifty-two Corinthian columns, each 20 metres high, are carried around the entire building. The pediment sculpture of the Last Judgement is by Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire, and its size is 354 feet long and 141 feet wide. Inside, the church has a nave with three domes over wide arched bays, lavishly gilded in a decor inspired as much by Roman baths as by Renaissance artists. The Madeleine is a parish of the Archdiocese of Paris, masses and other religious services are celebrated daily. Funerals and weddings in Paris are still celebrated here, in the basement of the Church is The Foyer de la Madeleine. For a yearly fee of 5 Euros one can dine under the vaulted ceilings on a three course French meal served by volunteers for the price of 8.50 Euros
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Embassy of the United States, Paris
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The Embassy of the United States in Paris is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the French Republic. The embassy is the oldest diplomatic mission of the United States, benjamin Franklin and some of the other Founding Fathers were the earliest United States Ambassadors to France. It is located at 2 Avenue Gabriel, on the northwest corner of the Place de la Concorde, more details about the last two mansions can be found in the Secretary of State’s Register of Culturally Significant Properties. The four-story chancery, housing the office, faces the Avenue Gabriel. It was built in 1931, following the demolition of an existing structure, most of these offices were moved to the embassy proper. Constructed in 1769 as a residence, the property was acquired in 1812 by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. It was then purchased by the banker James Mayer de Rothschild, whose family, owned it for over a century, until 1950, edmond James de Rothschild acquired the building in 1876. His estate sold it in 1948 to the U. S. government, as of 20 January 2009, fifty-three people had represented, in France, the interests of the U. S. as envoy, minister plenipotentiary, minister, ambassador or chargé daffaires. Diplomatic rank France – United States relations French Embassy, Washington, list of diplomatic missions of the United States Place des États-Unis Official website
34.
Rue de Rivoli
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Rue de Rivoli is one of the most famous streets of Paris, a commercial street whose shops include the most fashionable names in the world. It bears the name of Napoleons early victory against the Austrian army, at the battle of Rivoli, the rue de Rivoli marked a transitional compromise between an urbanism of prestige monuments and aristocratic squares, and the forms of modern town planning by official regulation. The new street that Napoleon Bonaparte pierced through the heart of Paris took for one side the north wing of the Louvre Palace, which Napoleon extended, for the first time ever, a handsome, regular, wide street would face the north wing of the old palace. Napoleons original section of the street opened up eastward from the Place de la Concorde, the result was a pleasing uniformity, and Napoleons planners extended a similar program, which has resulted in the famous arcaded facades that extend for almost a mile. The restored Bourbon King Charles X continued the rue de Rivoli eastwards from the Louvre, finally, Emperor Napoleon III extended it on into the 17th-century quarter of the Marais. Beneath the rue de Rivoli runs one of the main brick-vaulted oval-sectioned sewers of Paris much-imitated system, at the rear of the garden is the older branch of the Bibliothèque Nationale, in rue Richelieu. North of the rue de Rivoli, at the point where the Grands Boulevards crossed a new square. The Opera Garnier is a magnificent monument to the construction of the Second Empire, just behind the opera house can be found the largest department stores, like the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. A little further along, towards the Place de la Concorde and he began the building of the street in 1802, it was completed in 1865. A plaque at no.144 commemorates the assassination there of the Huguenot leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in the St. Bartholomews Day massacre of 1572, webMuseum Paris History, Rue de Rivoli
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Seine
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The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Source-Seine,30 kilometres northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and it is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea. There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the river outside the city, examples in Paris include the Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neuf, the latter of which dates back to 1607. Outside the city, examples include the Pont de Normandie, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world, the Seine rises in the commune of Source-Seine, about 30 kilometres northwest of Dijon. The source has been owned by the city of Paris since 1864, a number of closely associated small ditches or depressions provide the source waters, with an artificial grotto laid out to highlight and contain a deemed main source. The grotto includes a statue of a nymph, on the same site are the buried remains of a Gallo-Roman temple. Small statues of the dea Sequana Seine goddess and other ex voti found at the place are now exhibited in the Dijon archeological museum. The Seine is dredged and oceangoing vessels can dock at Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea, commercial riverboats can use the river from Bar-sur-Seine,560 kilometres to its mouth. At Paris, there are 37 bridges, the river is only 24 metres above sea level 446 kilometres from its mouth, making it slow flowing and thus easily navigable. The Seine Maritime,105.7 kilometres from the English Channel at Le Havre to Rouen, is the portion of the Seine used by ocean-going craft. The tidal section of the Seine Maritime is followed by a section with four large multiple locks until the mouth of the Oise at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Multiple locks at Bougival / Chatou and at Suresnes lift the vessels to the level of the river in Paris, upstream from Paris seven locks ensure navigation to Saint Mammès, where the Loing mouth is situated. Through an eighth lock the river Yonne is reached at Montereau-Fault-Yonne, from the mouth of the Yonne, larger ships can continue upstream to Nogent-sur-Seine. From there on, the river is only by small craft. All navigation ends abruptly at Marcilly-sur-Seine, where the ancient Canal de la Haute-Seine used to allow vessels to continue all the way to Troyes and this canal has been abandoned for many years. The average depth of the Seine today at Paris is about 9.5 metres. Until locks were installed to raise the level in the 1800s, the river was much shallower within the city most of the time, today the depth is tightly controlled and the entire width of the river between the built-up banks on either side is normally filled with water. The average flow of the river is low, only a few cubic metres per second
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Pont de la Concorde (Paris)
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The Pont de la Concorde is an arch bridge across the River Seine in Paris connecting the Quai des Tuileries at the Place de la Concorde and the Quai dOrsay. It is served by the Metro stations Assemblée nationale and Concorde, the architect Jean-Rodolphe Perronet was commissioned in 1787 with this new bridge. It had been planned since 1755, when construction of place Louis XV began, construction continued in the midst of the turmoil of the French Revolution, using the dimension stones taken from the demolished Bastille for its masonry. In 1810, Napoléon I placed along the sides of the bridge the statues of eight French generals killed in battle during the campaigns of the First French Empire. On the Bourbon Restoration these were replaced with twelve monumental marble statues, including four of the grands ministres, four royal generals, however, this collection of statues proved too heavy for the bridge, and Louis-Philippe I had them removed and transferred to Versailles. Traffic across the bridge became congested and the bridge had to be widened on both sides between 1930 and 1932, doubling the width of the original bridge. The engineers Deval and Malet nevertheless took care to preserve the architecture of the original. It was renovated one last time in 1983, today, this bridge bears the brunt of Pariss road traffic. Mayor of Paris page about bridge, in English Structurae, first bridge Structurae, widening in 1932 Satellite image on Google Maps
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Jean-Rodolphe Perronet
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Jean-Rodolphe Perronet was a French architect and structural engineer, known for his many stone arch bridges. His best known work is the Pont de la Concorde, Perronet was born in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris, the son of a Swiss Guardsman. At age 17 he entered the practice of Jean Beausire, first architect to the city of Paris. He was put in charge of the design and construction of Pariss grand sewer, embankment works, in 1735, he was named sous-ingénieur to Alençon and in 1736 entered the Corps des ponts et chaussées. In 1737, he became sous-ingénieur, then engineer to the généralité of Alençon, in 1747, Perronet was named director of the Bureau des dessinateurs du Roi, which had also just put Daniel-Charles Trudaine in charge of producing maps and plans for the kingdom. This first École des ponts et chaussées was based in the hôtel Libéral Bruant in Paris, Perronet was given the task of training bridge and road engineers and of overseeing their work in the généralités in which they worked. The Bureau became the Bureau des élèves des ponts et chaussées and its organiser, inspiration and teacher, Perronet was a true spiritual father to his students and used a new teaching method which seems very contemporary to modern eyes. During this time he became friends with the Swiss bridge-builder Charles Labelye and he was named premier ingénieur du roi in 1763 and became a member of the associate of the Académie des sciences in 1765. Besides his bridges, between 1747 and 1791,2500 km of roads were created or repaired under his direction and he also contributed the article Pompe à feu to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. In 1772, Perronet was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He died in Paris, aged 85 and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1788. He died on 27 February 1794 in Paris, aged 85, Perronet was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1788. French sculptor Adrien Étienne Gaudez created a statue of Perronet that is erected at the northeast end of Puteaux Island on the Seine River near Paris. M. Guillot, Un destin helvétique, Jean-Rodophe Perronet et sa famille suresnoise in Les gardes suisses et leurs familles au XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles en région parisienne, yvon Michel, Jean-Rodolphe Perronet in Monuments Historiques, Paris, April–June 1987, nos 150-151, p. 81-86. Premier inégénieur du Roi et directeur de l’École des ponts et chaussées, Paris, Biography Biography Jean-Rodolphe Perronet, article Pompe à feu in the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers Britannica
38.
Palais Bourbon
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The Palais Bourbon is a government building located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concorde. It is the seat of the French National Assembly, the legislative chamber of the French government. The Palace was originally beginning in 1722 by Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, the duchesse de Bourbon. It was nationalized during the French Revolution, and from 1795 to 1799, during the Directory, it was the place of the Council of Five Hundred. Beginning in 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte added the colonnade, to mirror that of Church of the Madeleine, facing it across the Seine. The Palace complex today includes the Hôtel de Lassay, on the west side of the Palais Bourbon, the palace was built for Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, the duchesse de Bourbon, the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV and Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. Until that time, the area, called the Pré-au-Clercs, an area popular for fighting duels. After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, following the example of the Regent, the Duchesse de Bourbon had been known for frivolity at the Court in Versailles, but by the 1720s she had had seven children and was widowed. The parcel of land for the new palace was large, extending from the Seine to the rue de lUniversité. The original plan called for a country surrounded by gardens, modeled after the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles, designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart. The Italian architect Lorenzo Giardini made the first plan, but he died in 1722, having made little, the project was taken over by Pierre Cailleteau, also known as Lassurance, who had been an assistant to Hardouin-Mansart. Cailleteau had worked on the palace of Versailles and Les Invalides, and knew the style very well. He was replaced by Jean Aubert, also an assistant of Hardouin-Mansart. Aubert had built one of the grandest projects of the time, both buildings were finished in 1728. Both the Palais Bourbon and the Hôtel de Lassay were in the Italian style, with roofs hidden by balustrades, the Palais Bourbon was in a U-shape. The Hôtel de Lassay was rectangular, and more modest in size, the two buildings had identical facades facing the Seine. The facades featured alternating columns and windows, and decoration on the themes of the seasons, the elements, the space between the buildings, and between the buildings and the Seine, was filled with gardens. In addition to the reception rooms, the interior of the house had many small salons which could be arranged for a variety of purposes
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National Assembly (France)
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The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate, the National Assemblys members are known as députés. There are 577 députés, each elected by a constituency through a two-round voting system. Thus,289 seats are required for a majority, the assembly is presided over by a president, normally from the largest party represented, assisted by vice-presidents from across the represented political spectrum. The term of the National Assembly is five years, however and it is guarded by Republican Guards. The Constitution of the French Fifth Republic greatly increased the power of the executive at the expense of Parliament, the President of the Republic can decide to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new legislative elections. This is meant as a way to resolve stalemates where the Assembly cannot decide on a political direction. The National Assembly can overthrow the government by a vote of no confidence. For this reason, the minister and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. The Government used to set the priorities of the agenda for the Assemblys sessions and this, however, was amended on 23 July 2008. Under the amended constitution, the Government sets the priorities for two weeks in a month, another week is designated for the Assemblys control prerogatives. And the fourth one is set by the Assembly, also, one day per month is set by a minority or opposition group. Members of the assembly can ask written or oral questions to ministers, the Wednesday afternoon 3 p. m. session of questions to the Government is broadcast live on television. Like Prime Ministers Questions in Britain, it is largely a show for the viewers, with members of the majority asking flattering questions, while the opposition tries to embarrass the government. Since 1988, the 577 deputies are elected by universal suffrage with a two-round system by constituency, for a five-year mandate. The constituencies each have approximately 100,000 inhabitants, however, districts were not redrawn between 1982 and 2009. As a result of population movements over that period, there were inequalities between the less populous rural districts and the urban districts, the constituencies were redrawn in 2009, but this redistribution was controversial. Among other controversial measures, it created eleven constituencies and seats for French residents overseas, albeit without increasing the overall number of seats beyond 577
40.
Jacques Ignace Hittorff
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Succeeding Bélanger as government architect in 1818, he designed many important public and private buildings in Paris and also in the south of France. He also designed a new building for the Théâtre de lAmbigu-Comique with Lecointe, in 1833 Hittorff was entrusted with redesigning the Place de la Concorde, carried out in stages between 1833 and 1846. In 1836 the obelisk of Luxor was erected and the two Fontaines de la Concorde, one commemorating river navigation and commerce and the ocean navigation. At each angle of the squares extended octagon a statue was erected representing a French city, Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen, in 1833 he was also elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Its 20-sided polygon around a central ring or stage surrounded by steeply tiered seating, is covered by a polygonal roof with no central post to mar the sightlines. A project that failed to please Napoleon III was Hittorffs proposal for the palais de lIndustrie to be constructed in 1853 to house the Exposition Universelle of 1855. On 27 March 1852, the Prince-Président— soon to declare himself Emperor— decreed this exhibition take place in a hall to rival the Crystal Palace of the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. Hittorffs solution, a hall of iron and glass, was too audacious, and the commission passed to other architects. Hittorff was part of the team designed the Grand Hôtel du Louvre in Paris. He worked on this project with Alfred Armand Auguste Pellechet and Charles Rohault de Fleury, list of works by Eugène Guillaume Jacques Ignace Hittorff Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Hittorff, Jacques Ignace. Die Sammlung Jakob Ignaz Hittorff in der Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln The Hittorff-Collection in the University and City Library of Cologne
41.
Brest, France
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Brest is a city in the Finistère département in Brittany in northwestern France. The city is located on the edge of continental Europe. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture of the department is the much smaller Quimper, during the Middle Ages, the history of Brest was the history of its castle. Then Richelieu made it a military harbour, Brest grew around its arsenal, until the second part of the 20th century. Heavily damaged by the Allies bombing raids during World War II, at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the deindustrialization of the city was followed by the development of the service sector. Nowadays, Brest is an important university town with 23,000 students, Brest is also an important research centre, mainly focused on the sea, with among others the largest Ifremer centre, le Cedre and the French Polar Institute. Brest’s history has always been linked to the sea, the Académie de Marine was founded in 1752 in this city, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was built there. Every four years, Brest hosts the festival of the sea, boats and sailors. Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240, when a count of Léon ceded it to John I, in 1342, John IV, Duke of Brittany, surrendered Brest to the English, in whose possession it was to remain until 1397. The importance of Brest in medieval times was great enough to rise to the saying. With the marriage of Francis I of France to Claude, the daughter of Anne of Brittany, the advantages of Brests situation as a seaport town were first recognized by Cardinal Richelieu, who in 1631 constructed a harbor with wooden wharves. This soon became a base for the French Navy, jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister under Louis XIV, rebuilt the wharves in masonry and otherwise improved the harbour. Fortifications by Vauban followed in 1680–1688 and these fortifications, and with them the naval importance of the town, were to continue to develop throughout the 18th century. In 1694, an English squadron under Lord Berkeley, was defeated in its attack on Brest. In 1917, during the First World War, Brest was used as the port for many of the troops coming from the United States. Thousands of such men came through the port on their way to the front lines, the United States Navy established a naval air station on 13 February 1918 to operate seaplanes. The base closed shortly after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, in the Second World War, the Germans maintained a large U-boat submarine base at Brest. In 1944, after the Allied invasion of Normandy, the city was almost totally destroyed during the Battle for Brest, with only a tiny number of buildings left standing
42.
Rouen
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Rouen is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy, formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The population of the area at the 2007 census was 532,559. People from Rouen are known as Rouennais, Rouen and its metropolitan area of 70 suburban communes form the Agglomeration community of Rouen-Elbeuf-Austreberthe, with 494,382 inhabitants at the 2010 census. Rouen was founded by the Gaulish tribe of Veliocasses, who controlled an area in the lower Seine valley. The Gauls named the settlement Ratumacos and the Romans called it Rotomagus, Roman Rotomagus was the second city of Gallia Lugdunensis, after Lugdunum. In the 5th century, it became the seat of a bishopric, in the 10th century Rouen became the capital of the Duchy of Normandy and the residence of the dukes, until William the Conqueror established his castle at Caen. During the early 12th century the population reached 30,000. In 1150, Rouen received its charter, which permitted self-government. During the 12th century, Rouen was probably the site of a Jewish yeshiva, at that time, about 6,000 Jews lived in the town, comprising about 20% of the total population. The well-preserved remains of a medieval Jewish building, that could be a yeshiva, were discovered in the 1970s under the Rouen Law Courts. In 1200, a destroyed part of Rouens Romanesque cathedral, leaving just St Romains tower, the side porches of its front. New work on the present Gothic cathedral of Rouen began, in the nave, transept, choir, on 24 June 1204, Philip Augustus entered Rouen and annexed Normandy to the French Kingdom. The fall of Rouen meant the end of Normandys sovereign status and he demolished the Norman castle and replaced it with his own, the Château Bouvreuil, built on the site of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre. A textile industry developed based on wool imported from England, competing with the northern County of Flanders, the city found its market niche in the Champagne fairs. Rouen also depended on the traffic of the Seine for its prosperity. Wine and wheat were exported to England, with tin and wool received in return, in the late 13th century urban strife threatened the city, in 1291, the mayor was assassinated and noble residences in the city were pillaged
43.
Jean-Pierre Cortot
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Jean-Pierre Cortot was a French neo-classical sculptor. Cortot was born and died in Paris and he was educated at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, and won the Prix de Rome in 1809, residing in the Villa Medici in Rome from 1810 to 1813. Cortot worked in an austere, correct, academic neo-classical style and his art took on a more romantic expression toward the end of his life. Appointed a professor at the École, succeeding Charles Dupaty, he was made a member of the Académie des beaux-arts in 1825 and he was made an Officer of the Légion dhonneur in 1841. Among his students were Joseph-Marius Ramus, Jean-Jacques Feuchère, Pierre-Charles Simart, Jean-Auguste Barre, a street in Montmartre bears his name, and Cortots grave can be found in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Source, WikiPhidias Winning the Prix de Rome entitled him to study at the Académie de France in Rome and he remained in Rome for 5 years. Part of a surtout or table decoration, held by the Sèvres Cité de la Céramique. La contemplation céleste This 1820 piece is held by the Beaux-arts de Paris, part of a surtout or table decoration. Held by the Sèvres Cité de la Céramique, marble work dating to 1819 now held in the Musée des Beaux-arts de Lyon. Marble work dated 1818 held in the Musée des Beaux-arts of Angers, was shown at the Salon des artistes français in 1814 Un jeune pêcheur. Cortot only completed the plaster model, the project was abandoned when the Empire fell. Phaéton se plaignant à sa mère de linsulte quil a reçue dEpaphus, ulysse, sous le costume dun mendiant, racontant ses aventures à Pénélope. Bust of the painter Guillaume Guillon-Lethière, source, WikiPhidias this page translated from its French equivalent accessed 9/14/2010 Jean-Pierre Cortot in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website
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