Paris trip report, Day 2 b: Ponte Alexander III. Invalides, Rodin museum

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6274408331432194066

is the video which contains our Paris day 2. Sacre Coeur, Musee d’orsay, Musee de l’Orangerie, Invalides, Rodin museum, Nissim Camondo Museum

Ponte Alexander III

After Musee de l’Orangerie, next on our agenda was Invalides, Chapel and Napoleon’s tomb, and Rodin museum .

We walked past the beautiful Ponte Alexander III, celebrating Franco Russian alliance. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892.

It’s a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a 6 m (20 ft) high single span steel arch.

17 m (56 ft) high corner pillars, bearing the gilded bronze equestrian groups which represent Pegasus held by Fame, provide stabilizing counterweight for the arch...

The golden dome of Invalides is in the background...

At the center of the bridge are two compositions in copper that (upstream) represent the nymphs of the Seine, and (downstream) the nymphs of the Neva [that flows through St Petersburg, Russia]

Dynamics of movement so well captured...want to tickle the toes..

In the summer of 2012, we had been to the lovely Basilica of Savior on Spilled blood in Petersburg, Russia which had been built by Alexander III on the very spot his father had been assassinated… when the imperial train derailed in an accident Tsar Alexander III had held the collapsing roof of the dining car till his children escaped! Of course his fabled gifts of Faberge eggs to his wife from their 20^th anniversary onward are well known! We had seen an extensive collection of the awesome Faberge eggs in Russia as well as at the MET, NY.

Kind of connected the dots, when we walked through a bridge named after the Russian Tsar.

The walk was pleasant, loads of local families were lying on the grass enjoying the weekend.

Les Invalides

We entered the large complex of the Invalides.

Les Invalides, Musée de l'Armée (1671) is in the 7th arrondissement, contains museums and monuments relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose.

The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the burial site for some of France's war heroes, notably Napoleon Bonaparte

Veterans Chapel at Invalides ( Église Saint-Louis des Invalides)

 We decided to skip the armory section of the army museum and went straight for the chapel.

The cornice of the Veteran's Chapel is decorated with some hundred trophies taken from the enemy, from 1805 to the 19th century.

These trophies were hung on the vault of Notre Dame Cathedral up until the French Revolution.

Those which escaped destruction were transferred to the Hôtel des Invalides from 1793

This is Winged Victory with laurel wreath in one hand and flag in another; names of the departed generals are listed...

Royal chapel

Shortly after the veterans' chapel was completed, Louis XIV commissioned a separate private royal chapel referred to as the Église du Dôme from its most striking feature.

It is inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the original for all Baroque domes.

The interior of the dome (107 meter of height) is painted with a Baroque illusion of space (sotto in su) seen from below. The painting was completed in 1705

NAPOLEON'S TOMB

The most notable tomb at Les Invalides is that of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821).

Napoleon rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. 

He was the de facto leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in 1815.

 Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures to this day, as a highly celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many liberal reforms that have persisted in society, and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. Napoleon instituted various reforms, such as higher education, a tax code, road and sewer systems, and established the Banque de France, the first central bank in French history.

His wars and campaigns are studied by militaries all over the world. Napoleon, rather than relying on infantry to wear away the enemy's defences,  used massed artillery as a spearhead to pound a break in the enemy's line that was then exploited by supporting infantry and cavalry.

Napoleon's educational reforms laid the foundation of a modern system of education in France and throughout much of Europe. Napoleon made some of the first efforts at establishing a system of secular and public education. All students were taught the sciences along with modern and classical languages. Unlike the system during the Ancien Régime, religious topics did not dominate the curriculum

Napoleon's set of civil laws, the Code Civil—now often known as the Napoleonic Code is his greatest legacy.

The Napoleonic code was adopted throughout much of Continental Europe, though only in the lands he conquered, and remained in force after Napoleon's defeat. Napoleon said: "My true glory is not to have won forty battles ... Waterloo will erase the memory of so many victories. ... But ... what will live forever, is my Civil Code". The Code influences a quarter of the world's jurisdictions such as those in Continental Europe, the Americas, and Africa

Napoleon was initially interred on Saint Helena, but King Louis-Philippe arranged for his remains to be brought to France in 1840.

Napoléon's remains were first buried in the Chapelle Saint-Jérôme in the Invalides until this tomb was finished in 1861.

Tomb is made of red quartzite and resting on a green granite base

Twelve "Victories" surrounding the Tomb, symbolise Napoleon's military campaigns.

 8 famous victories are inscribed on the polychrome marble floor.

Some members of Napoleon's family, several military officers who served under him, and other French military heroes are also buried at Les Invalides

These are some of the 10 bas-reliefs depicting the main achievements of his reign...

This is the view of the tomb and the Royal chapel above...

The exit door is ornate too...

Rodin museum

Then we walked on towards Rodin museum

The Thinker (Le Penseur)

The Thinker (Le Penseur), also called The Poet, is located above the door panels.

 It might represent Dante looking down to the characters in the Inferno.

 OR the Thinker is Rodin himself meditating about his composition.

The figure may be Adam, contemplating the destruction brought upon mankind because of his sin.

La Porte de l'Enfer (Gates of Hell)

 depicts a scene from "The Inferno", the first section of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

Inspiration came from Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise at the Baptistery of St. John, Florence; the 15th century bronze doors depict figures from the Old Testament 

The panel is 6 m high, 4 m wide and 1 m deep (19.7×13.1×3.3 ft) and contains 180 figures.

 The figures range from 15 cm (6 in) high up to more than one m (3 ft).... bronze panel with all Rodin master pieces; 3 brothers at the top, thinker below

 These figures and groups formed a breeding ground for ideas which Rodin drew on for the rest of his working life

Rodin continued to work on and off on this project for 37 years, until his death in 1917.

The Kiss

The Kiss originally represented Paolo and Francesca, two characters borrowed,  from Dante’s Divine Comedy:

Slain by Francesca’s husband who surprised them as they exchanged their first kiss, the two lovers were condemned to wander eternally through Hell.

Rodin's personal collections of paintings are displayed in the museum...lovely!

This painting by Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was purchased by the museum in 1985.
It depicts The Thinker in the garden of Dr Linde, an eminent German collector and patron of both Munch and Rodin...

In 1890s, Rodin began to develop the highly individual style that would soon become the trademark of his marbles: the figure seems to emerge from the block of marble, part of which was left rough hewn...

This is the work of Camille Claudel (1864 -1943)The Gossips / Women Chatting; 1897 Onyx marble, Bronze; H. 45 cm ; W. 42.2 cm ; D. 39 cm...

The garden was a riot of colors—with roses in bloom. Lovely sculptures dotted the greenery!

The docent then walked up starting to clear the gardens as they were closing up. We were quite surprised but on enquiring found out that their branch is not participating in the museum night while another branch some where else is.

We thanked our lucky stars we had been in time to enjoy the lovely museum. She walked with us, having a friendly conversation and gave us directions to reach Petit Palais.

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/04/paris-trip-report-day-2c-peit-palais.html
covers the report of the rest of the day