Arc+de+Triomphe+du+Carrousel


 * Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel**
 * Paris, France**
 * By: Allison Leiser**




 * __ History __ **

The Arc de Triomph du Carrousel was built in 1806 to commemorate Napoleon I's military victories from the previous year. The construction started on February 12, 1806 when Napoleon I called upon Pierre-Francois Fontaine at eleven o’clock at night to have 500 workers at the Palace du Carrousel the next morning at five. The decision to build the arch was sudden; no architectural plans had been established prior to Napoleon’s request. Pierre-Francois Fontaine was hired as the architect of the project and Baron Vivant Denon, the director of the Imperial Museum at the time, was appointed to make sculptural decoration decisions. History painter Charles Meynier, was in charge of furnishing drawings for both statues and bas-reliefs. A vast collection of artists were also assembled to create the arch. On July 7, 1806 the first stone was laid. The arch was finished in 1808, a year ahead of schedule. The inspiration behind the Arc de Triomph du Carrousel is the Arch of Septimus Severus in Rome. The Roman inspiration came about from Fontaine’s previous studies in Italy and Napoleon’s pleasure in elaborate triumphs.

When the arch was first built, bronze horses Napoleon’s troops stole from St. Mark’s in Venice ornamented the top. In 1815, however, the Austrian Army, victorious over Napoleon, removed the horses as well as breaking the attendant figures of “Winged Victories,” and throwing down the bas-reliefs. The Austrians returned the horses to St. Mark’s, but left the arch quite damaged. It remained damaged until 1827 when the horses were replaced with plaster replicas and the arch was restored as a royal monument.


 * __Critique __**

The Arc de Triomph de Carrousel was Roman inspired. The Romans, along with having their own distinct style, incorporate Greek architecture into their buildings. The columns on the Arc de Triumph are an example of the Greek Corinthian style. The column’s details contain the rosette, volute, and boss often seen in the Corinthian style. Further up above the columns are the dentils which neither the Doric nor Ionic style columns have. The shape of the column is also skinner and straighter than the Doric or Ionic columns often seen in Greek architecture. Not only are the columns an example of the Corinthian style, the flat top differentiates it from the Doric and Ionic styles. The Corinthian style is the most elaborate of the three. The Arc de Triomph was heavily inspired by the Arch de Septimus Severus which also used Corinthian style columns. The architect’s choice to use that particular arch as an inspiration for Arc de Triomph shows the fondness for elaborate design. Napoleon wanted a statement to show his power and triumph. The design of the arch shows both Napoleon’s and the architect’s belief that an elaborate design makes the more powerful statement. The architect made the triumphant statement Napoleon was longing for in the arch through the extensive detail and being aware of the style Napoleon gravitates towards.

__Books __
 * __Sources __**

Sutcliffe, Anthony. //Paris: An Architectural History.// Yale University Press, 1996.

Fogg Art Museum, Agnès Mongan, Miriam Stewart. //David to Corot: French drawings in the Fogg Art Museum.// Harvard University Press, 1996.

__Pictures __

McKay, Dan. //The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, a triumphal arch in Paris, France.// Photograph. 12 June 2006. 3 April 2011 [].

Brown, Robert W. //University of North Carolina at Pembroke.// Photograph. 11 September 2009. 3 April 2011 [].

Lendering, Jona. //Rome: Arch of Severus 1.// Photograph. 13 December 2008. 3 April 2011 [].