CITIES AND THEIR FAMOUS MONUMENTS: Bonjour, Paris!

As we established last week, Paris continues to remain a historic city with a treasured past. It can be divided into four architectural periods- Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, and Classical.

Roman architecture is recognized with its columns offering a dominating, majestic feeling. The city in the medieval period followed the Renaissance style of architecture with no proper layout plan and narrow, unplanned streets. The proper Parisian architectural style began to take shape when elegant and uniform styles of both ancient and renaissance were introduced. French Classism was established in the 1600s that struck a balance between tradition and innovation and ultimately made Paris renowned for its architecture.

Some of the other noted monuments of the city will be covered this week that always manage to take one's breath away!

The Pantheon

Jacques-Germain Soufflot began the construction in 1757 of the Pantheon to replace a much older church in the name of Sainte-Genevieve. Pantheon was designed and constructed to pay homage to the memory of the great Frenchmen during the French Revolution. Great names in Science, arts, politics, and the army are buried here. some notable names being Marie Curie (physicists), Louis Braille (creator of the reading system for the blind), and the architect Soufflot himself. The Pantheon is much more than a mosoleium, designed combining the styles of Gothic and Greek architecture.

The impressive Greco-Roman facade has 22 Corinthian columns supporting a triangular pediment by David of Angers. the vast gothic interior has the shape of a Greek Cross and the center is marked by an 83-meter high dome. The 110X84 meter wide mausoleum houses 100 corinthian columns and numerous artworks. The reproduction of pure lines and the scale of Greek buildings is exemplified by the neoclassical return to the architectural details. The crucified form of the building has a high dome over the crossing and lower saucer-shaped domes covered by the sloping roofs over the four arms.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Considered to be an epitome in French Gothic Architecture style, its construction began in 1163. The cruciform plan of the cathedral is roughly 128X12 meters wide in the nave. Though the tower and the elevated nave follow Romanesque architecture, the pointed arches and the rib vaulting are strictly Gothic. An introduction of the 'Flying buttresses' was first used in this building as stress fractures started to appear in the upper thin walls under the weight of the vault.

Notre Dame is also known for the external statues and gargoyles arranged in the face to serve as extra column supports and drainage pipes. The extra support provided by the buttresses and piers enabled the main walls to become non-structural, which inspired the great stained glass in the greater wall area. The enlarged nave and the stained glass lets in more light to the interiors.

The facade is detailed with stone sculptures around the central portal. The facade design balances the tall height of the twin towers with the horizontal banding of decorated galleries. This offers a dominating western elevation front to the building.

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

Arc De Triumph is a monumental triumphal arch built in honor of those who fought for France during the French revolution. The monument stands at 162 ft tall, 150 ft wide and 72 ft deep. The design is Neoclassical version of the Roman architecture initially designed by Chalgrin. He was the cheif architect of the projects and took inspiration from Roman and Greek columns. There are some notable names represented in the sculptures at Arc De Triumph. Six reliefs sculpted above the pillars depict the important moments from their historic wars. The walls of the arches are engraved with the names of the soldiers and the generals who fought for France while the inscriptions on the ground commemorate the more recent events of the 1870s.

Details in elements

Palais de Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Palace was originally constructed according to the designs done by the French architect, Salomone de Brosse in1645. Post the French Revolution, the building was transformed into a legislative assembly by another architect, Jean Chalgrin by 1805.

The garden of the palace, is the largest public park in all of Paris. The palace follows a typical layout used in designing manors. The wings of the buildings surround a main court with the cheif living in the quarters and chapel facing the garden as usually seen in the French Palaces.

Palais de Luxembourg

Salomone de Brosse deisgned the structure in the French Boroque style. It continued to flourish in the 17th and the 18th century. This style liberally expresses the lavish ornamentation and the bold contrast and embellishments. The palace embodies detailed elements of the Boroque style of architecture through the use of form, light and shadow. In addition to this, the external facade is characterized by a dramatic central projection as seen prominently in Palais de Luxembourg.

Palace Plan

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Resources:

• https://kidskonnect.com/geography/arc-de-triomphe/

• https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/exploringarchitectureandlandscape/chapter/notre-dame-de-paris/

• http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/notre-dame-paris.htm

• http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Pantheon_in_Paris.html

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pantheon-building-Paris-France

• http://architectureofparis.blogspot.com/2010/12/palais-du-luxembourg-et-jardin.html