Page:EB1911 - Volume 20.djvu/870

Rh of the buildings surrounding the courtyard date from the reigns of Louis XIII. and XIV., the most noteworthy feature being the colonnade (1666–1670) of the east façade designed by Claude Perrault. The two wings projecting westwards from the corners of the quadrangle, each consisting of two parallel galleries with pavilions at intervals, were built under Napoleon III., with the exception of the Grande Galerie and at right angles to it the Pavillon Henry IV., containing the Apollo gallery, which were erected on the river front by Cathérine de Medici and Henry IV. Of these two wings that on the north is occupied by the ministry of finance. The history of the palace of the Tuileries (so called in allusion to the tile kilns which occupied its site) is intimately connected with that of the Louvre, its origin being due to Cathérine de Medici and Henry IV. The latter built the wing, rebuilt under Napoleon III., which united it with the Grande Galerie, the corresponding wing on the north side dating from various periods of the 19th century. The palace itself was burnt by the Communists in 1871, with the exception of the terminal pavilion on the south (Pavillon de Flore); only the northern terminal pavilion (Pavillon de Marsan, now occupied by the museum of decorative arts) was rebuilt.

Next in importance to the Louvre is the Palais de Justice (law courts), a huge assemblage of buildings covering the greater part of the Île de la Cité to the west of the Boulevard du Palais. During the Gallo-Roman period the site was occupied by a citadel which became the palace of the Merovingian kings and afterwards of the Capetian kings. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was altered and enlarged by the latter, and during part of that period was also occupied by the parlement of Paris, to which it was entirely made over under Charles V. In 1618, 1737 and 1776 the building was ravaged by fire, and in its present state is in great part the outcome of a systematic reconstruction begun in 1840. In the interior the only medieval remains are the Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, an old prison where Marie Antoinette and other illustrious victims of the Revolution were confined, and some halls and kitchens of the 13th century. All these are on the ground floor, a portion of which is assigned to the police. The courts, which include the Cour de Cassation, the supreme tribunal in France, the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, are on the first floor, the chief feature of which is the fine Salle des Pas Perdus, the successor of the Grand' Salle, a hall originally built by Philip the Fair and rebuilt after fires in 1618 and 1871. The Sainte-Chapelle, one of the most perfect specimens of Gothic art, was erected from 1245 to 1248 by St Louis as a shrine for the crown of thorns and other relics now at Notre-Dame, and was restored in the 19th century. It comprises a lower portion for the use of the servants and retainers and the upper portion or royal chapel, the latter richly decorated and lighted by lofty windows set close together and filled with beautiful stained glass. The Palais de Justice presents towards the west a Greek façade by J. L. Duc (d. 1879), which is reckoned among the finest achievements of modern art. The façade towards the Seine embodies four towers which date in parts from the reconstruction under the Capetian dynasty. That at the east angle (the Tour de l'Horloge) contains a clock of 1370, said to be the oldest public clock in France. A handsome iron railing of 1787 separates the courtyard on the east side from the Boulevard du Palais.

About a quarter of a mile south of the Palais de Justice adjoining the Jardin de Cluny lies the Hôtel de Cluny, acquired in 1833 by the antiquarian A. du Sommerard as a repository for his collections and now belonging to the state. It is a graceful and well-preserved building in late Gothic style distinguished for the beautiful carving of the doors, dormer windows and open-work parapet. The mansion, which contains a rich Gothic chapel, was erected at the end of the 15th century by Jacques d'Amboise, abbot of Cluny. It stands on the site of a Roman palace said to have been built by the emperor Constantius Chlorus (d. 306), and ruins of the baths are still to be seen adjoining it.

The other civil buildings of Paris are inferior in interest and attraction. The Hôtel des Invalides on the left bank of the Seine opposite the Champs Élysées dates from the reign of Louis XIV.; by whom it was founded as a retreat for wounded and infirm soldiers, its inmates are few in number, and the building also serves as headquarters of the military governor of Paris. A garden and a spacious esplanade stretching to the Quai d'Orsay precede the north façade; the entrance to this opens into the Cour d'Honneur, a courtyard enclosed by a moat above which is a battery of cannon used for salutes on important occasions. On either side of the Cour d'Honneur lie the museums of military history and of artillery (weapons and armour). The parish church of St Louis, decorated with flags captured in the wars of the Second Empire, closes the south Side of the Cour d'Honneur, while behind all rises a magnificent gilded dome sheltering another church, the Église royale, built by J. H. Mansart from 1693 to 1706. The central crypt of this church contains a fine sarcophagus of red porphyry in which lie

the remains of Napoleon I., brought from St Helena in 1840, while close by are the tombs of his friends Duroc and Bertrand.

The Panthéon, on the left bank near the Luxembourg garden, was built to the plans of J. G. Soufflot in the last half of the 18th century under the name of Ste Geneviève, whose previous sanctuary it replaced. In 1791 the Constituent Assembly decreed that it should be no longer a church but a sepulchre for great Frenchmen. Voltaire and Mirabeau were the first to be entombed in the Panthéon as it then came to be called. Reconsecrated and resecularized more than once during the 19th century, the building finally regained its present name in 1885, when Victor Hugo was buried there. The Panthéon is an imposing domed building in the form of a Greek cross. The tympanum above the portico by David d'Angers and, in the interior, paintings of the life of Ste Geneviève by Puvis de Chavannes are features of its artistic decoration.

Various public bodies occupy mansions and palaces built under the ancient régime. The Palais Royal, built by Richelieu about 1630 and afterwards inhabited by Anne of Austria, the regent Philip II. of Orleans and Philippe Égalité, is now occupied by the Council of State and the Théâtre Français. The Palace of the Luxembourg stands on the site of a mansion belonging to Duke Francis of Luxembourg, which was rebuilt by Marie de Medici, wife of Henry IV. The architect, Salomon Debrosse, was ordered to take the Pitti Palace at Florence as his model, but notwithstanding the general plan of the building is French. The south façade facing the Luxembourg garden was rebuilt in the original style under Louis Philippe. The residence of various royal personages during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Luxembourg became during the revolutionary period the palace of the Directory and later of the Consulate. In the 19th century it was occupied by the senate of Napoleon I., by the chamber of peers under Louis Philippe, by the senate under Napoleon III., and since 1879 by the republican senate. The chamber of deputies meets in the Palais Bourbon, built in the 18th century for members of the Bourbon-Condé family. The façade, which faces the Pont de la Concorde, is in the style of an ancient temple and dates from the early years of the 19th century, when the corps legislatif held their sittings in the building. The Palais de l'Élysée, the residence of the president of the republic, was built in 1718 for Louis d'Auvergne, count of Evreux, and was afterwards acquired by Madame de Pompadour; during the 19th century Napoleon I., Napoleon III., and other illustrious persons resided there. The building has been often altered and enlarged. The hôtel-de-ville (1873–1882), on the right bank of the Seine opposite the Île de la Cité, stands on the site of a town hall built from 1535 to 1628, much enlarged towards 1840, and destroyed by the Communists in 1871. It is an isolated building in the French Renaissance style, the west façade with its statuary, pilasters, high-pitched roofs and dormer windows being specially elaborate. The interior has been decorated by many prominent artists.

Certain of the schools and museums of Paris occupy buildings of architectural interest. The Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, a technical school and museum of machinery, &c., founded by the engineer Vaucanson in 1775, is established in the old Cluniac priory of St Martin-des-Champs, enlarged in the 19th century. The refectory is a fine hall of the 13th century; the church with an interesting choir in the Transition style dates from the 11th to the 13th centuries. The Musée Carnavalet was built in the 16th century for François de Kernevenoy, whence its present name, and enlarged in 1660; Mme de Sévigné afterwards resided there. The national archives are stored in the Hôtel Soubise, a mansion of the early 18th century with 19th-century additions, standing on the site of a house built by Olivier de Clisson in 1370. It was afterwards added to by the family of Guise and rebuilt by François de Rohan, duke of Soubise. The palace of Cardinal Mazarin, augmented in modern times, contains the Bibliothèque Nationale. The Palais de l'Institut, formerly the Collège Mazarin, dates from the last half of the 17th century; it is the seat of the academies (except the Academy of Medicine, which occupies a modern building close to the École des Beaux-Arts) and of the Bureau des Longitudes, the great national astronomical council. The Military School overlooking the Champ de Mars is a fine building of the 18th century. The huge Sorbonne buildings date from the latter years of the 19th century with the exception of the church, which belonged to the college as reconstructed by Richelieu. The astronomical observatory, through the centre of which runs the meridian of Paris, is a splendidly equipped building erected under Louis XIV., according to the designs of Claude Perrault. The École des Beaux-Arts (facing the Louvre on the left bank of the Seine), with its interesting collections, partly occupies the site of an Augustine convent and comprises the old Hôtel Chimay. It was erected from 1820 to 1838 and added to later. The most striking feature is the façade of the principal building designed by F. L. J. Duban. The courtyard contains part of the façade of the Norman château of Gaillon (16th century), which was destroyed at the Revolution, and the portal of the château of Anet (erected by Philibert Delorme in 1548) has been adapted as one of the entrances. The Grand Palais des Beaux-Arts, where horse-shows, &c., as well as annual exhibitions of paintings and sculptures are held, and the Petit Palais des Beaux-Arts, which contains art collections belonging to the city, date from