Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Item

Title
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Alternative Title
Arc de Triomphe
Creator
Charles Percier (French architect, 1764-1838)
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (French architect, 1762-1853)
City
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Country
France
Date Created
1806-1807 (creation)
Century
19th century
Classification
Architecture and City Planning
Style/Period
Empire
Nineteenth century
Cultural Context
French
Materials
stone
Techniques
carving (processes)
construction
Description
View of arch looking down primary axis toward the Louvre Palace and I.M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid, The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is a triumphal arch in Paris, France. It is located on the Place du Carrousel, just to the west of the Louvre. Designed by Charles Percier and Pierre Léonard Fontaine, the arch was made between 1806-1808 by the Emperor Napoleon I on the model of the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome. It was commissioned to commemorate France's military victories in 1805. It was originally surmounted by the famous horses of Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice, captured by Napoleon, but these were returned to Venice in 1815. They were replaced by a quadriga sculpted by Baron François Joseph Bosio, depicting Peace riding in a triumphal chariot, led by gilded Victories on either side
the composition commemorates the Restoration of the Bourbons following Napoleon's downfall. The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is at the easternmost end of the so-called "Axe historique" ("grand historic axis") of Paris, a nine-kilometre long linear route which dominates central and western Paris created under the (later) city planning of Baron Haussmann. Looking west towards , the arch is perfectly aligned with the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe and (although it is not directly visible from the Place du Carrousel) the Grande Arche de la Defense. The axis thus begins and ends with an arch today.
Source
Javier Gomez
Photographer
Javier Gomez
Rights Holder
© Javier Gomez
Texas Tech University Libraries
Access Rights
Users must request permission from the copyright holder for all use in publications, including theses and dissertations.

Charles Percier (French architect, 1764-1838) and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (French architect, 1762-1853), “Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel”, Arch Design Images, accessed November 13, 2024, https://exhibits.lib.ttu.edu/s/archlib/item/37568