Arc de Triomphe Carrousel. Arc de Triomphe at Place Carrousel in Paris (France) Arc de Triomphe at Carrousel

The Arc de Triomphe on Place Carrousel is the first of three famous structures that stretch a distinct optical axis across the whole of Paris. At any point on this axis you can see the arches lying on a nine-kilometer straight line - the Carrousel, the Triumphal on Charles de Gaulle Square and the Grande La Défense.

The arch in front of the Tuileries Palace was ordered to be built by Napoleon Bonaparte in memory of his own victories of 1806-1808. The project was entrusted to the architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, whom the emperor trusted: they were tastemakers, leading masters of the Empire style. This style embodied a sense of imperial power and military strength. It was ideal for celebrating the successes of the empire.

When working on the project, Percier and Fontaine were inspired by ancient models: the Romans were the first to build triumphal gates for their victors. The Arch of Titus (81), the Arch of Septimius Severus (205) and the Arch of Constantine (315), located in Rome, are famous. Napoleonic architects took the arch of Septimius Severus as a model, but slightly reduced the size (height 19 meters versus 21 meters in the Eternal City). However, the Parisian building turned out to be no less solemn and ceremonial.

The facades of Carruzel are richly decorated with sculptures. The subjects for the compositions were selected by Dominique Vivant-Denon, a talented amateur Egyptologist appointed by Napoleon as director of the Louvre. The reliefs depict Napoleon's entry into Munich and Vienna, the Battle of Austerlitz, the Congress of Tilsit, and the fall of Ulm. The arch is also decorated with the heraldry of the French Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.

The arch was crowned by the quadriga of St. Mark, made of gilded bronze. It is believed that Lysippos himself sculpted it in the 4th century BC. e. At one time, four bronze horses adorned the hippodrome of Constantinople; during the Fourth Crusade, Doge Dandolo took it to Venice and installed it in the Basilica of San Marco. Napoleon, having conquered Italy, took the quadriga to France to decorate the Carruzel arch with it. After the fall of Bonaparte, the French returned the sculpture to the Italians. Now on the arch there is a composition depicting the triumph of the Bourbons (authors - Francois-Frederic Lemo and Francois Joseph Bosio).

Place du Carrousel is located in the first arrondissement of Paris between the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden.

A look into the past

Place Carrousel appeared on the map of Paris in 1662. It was created by order of King Louis XIV to hold celebrations on the occasion of the birth of the heir. the program of which included a demonstration of the skills of cavalrymen during equestrian dressage - carrousel. Until this time, on the vacant lot between the Tuileries Palace and the wall of Charles V, the palace of the Duchess of Montpensier had been located since 1600, demolished in 1655.

During the Great French Revolution of the late 18th century. Place Carrousel became the site of public executions. For several years during these turbulent days it was renamed Brotherhood Square. A guillotine was installed on it, on which dozens of people were executed, including the writer J. Cazotte and the minister of the government of Louis XVI A. de Laporte.

At the beginning of the 19th century. under Napoleon I the area was expanded after the demolition of old houses. A few decades later, during the Second Empire under the reign of Napoleon III, the square became even more spacious.

During the Paris Commune of 1871, the Tuileries Palace, built for Catherine de Medici, was set on fire by the rebels. The fire almost completely destroyed it and after the suppression of the uprising the palace was not restored, but in 1883 the boundaries of the square were again expanded to the west.

Architectural ensemble of the square

On the eastern side of the square is the Royal Palace Museum (Musée du Louvre), in front of which in Napoleon's courtyard is the famous glass pyramid built by the architect Yo Ming Pei. On the north and south sides it is also partially framed by two wings of the royal palace of Denon and Richelieu.

In the center of the square since 1989, in the middle of a circular area with hedges of bushes, there is an inverted one (La Pyramide inversée du Louvre), most of which is hidden underground. This structure, designed by Yo Ming Pei, measures 16 m on sides and is 7 m high and weighs about 160 tons.

In 1807-1809, to commemorate the French victory at Austerlitz, it was erected on Place Carrousel. Its project was jointly developed by architects C. Percier and P. Fontaine. Bas-reliefs and mosaics placed on its walls and vault illustrate the events of the military campaign of 1805. One of the main images is the scene of the surrender in Ulm.

Behind the arch on the western side, the Carruzel Garden (jardin Carruzel) adjoins the square. It is located on a slight hill and is separated by Avenue Du General Lemonnier from the garden. The Carrousel Garden was laid out on the site of the demolished Tuileries Palace in 1883. In 1964, 20 statues by sculptor A. Maillol were installed in the garden: Pain, Summer, Flora, Night, Pomona and many others.

Between the museum and the Arc de Triomphe on the square there are two statues in the classicist style, made by the sculptor A-F. Gerard. Two female figures symbolize the History of France and its military victories.


Near Place Carrousel there is a large underground shopping center

Description

In the French capital of Paris, on Place Carrousel, there is a triumphal arch built in the 19th century on the orders of Napoleon to perpetuate his military achievements.

For the first time in the history of France, architects did not create anything new, even if based on the classics. They practically copied someone else's masterpiece, the arch of Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor of the late 2nd - early 3rd centuries.

The architects' skill was enough to reproduce the work of others, but not enough to demonstrate their own taste. The arch overloaded with bas-reliefs rather testifies to their ability to decorate furniture and interiors than to their ability to create masterpieces worthy of the center of Paris. However, over two hundred years, the Carousel Arch has firmly grown into the surrounding landscape and become an integral part of it.

Under Napoleon, it was crowned with the four horses removed from St. Mark's Basilica in Venice after the fall of the Venetian Republic. In this story one can see a kind of historical justice. The famous quadriga, presumably the work of Pheidias or Lysippos, was stolen by the Venetians themselves during the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204.

However, after Napoleon's abdication, the horses had to be returned to Venice. Now they are hidden under the roof of the local cathedral on the top floor, and copies have taken their former place on the facade.

The Carruzel Arch is crowned by another copy, improved. The carriage is driven by a symbolic figure of Peace, flanked by gilded statues of Victory. All together is intended to glorify the Restoration - the restoration of the Bourbons to the French throne. Nevertheless, bas-reliefs and inscriptions in honor of Napoleon’s victories were preserved under the Bourbons.

Eight soldiers, reminiscent of Lermontov’s lines: “Uhlans with colorful badges, dragoons with horse tails,” depict the branches of Napoleonic troops. On the side of the Louvre, standing from left to right are a cuirassier, a dragoon, a cavalryman and a carabineer. The inscription above them reads: “The French army landing at Boulogne threatened England. Then a third coalition will be formed on the continent. The French are rushing from the ocean to the Danube, Bavaria is liberated, the Austrian army is captured in Ulm. Napoleon enters Vienna and wins at Austerlitz. In less than a hundred days, the coalition dissolves.”

On the opposite side are a grenadier, an infantryman, a gunner and a sapper. Behind them is written: “At the behest of the winner of Austerlitz, the German Empire collapses, the Confederation of the Rhine is born, the Bavarian and Westphalian kingdoms are created, Venice is annexed to the Iron Crown, all of Italy accepts the laws of its liberator.”

Two more inscriptions are carved on the narrow side facades of the arch. On the southern one, facing the Seine, it is written: “Glory to the great army, winner of Austerlitz and Moravia! The second of December 1805 is the anniversary of Napoleon’s coronation.” In the north: “The ruler of the states of his enemy, Napoleon returns them to him. He signs peace on December 27, 1805 in the capital of Hungary, occupied by the victorious army.”

Today, the Carrousel arch stands alone almost in an open field, and at one time it served as a solemn frame for the main entrance to the Tuileries Palace, which the emperor chose as his residence.