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symmetrical; and whilst symmetry should be carefully preserved, it was at the same time necessary to veil it, and prevent its being left too apparent. The principle of the central group of Professor Cockerell's beautiful pediment at St. George's Hall, Liverpool, which Mr. Bell had described as based on the circle, would have been objectionable if the fundamental form had been too distinctly shewn; but the moment the impression of regularity of form was obtained, combined with that variety which was incessant in nature, the effect was complete and satisfactory. Mr. Wyatt proceeded to point out various geometric figures suitable as bases for the design of sculpture to fill triangular compartments, observing that no one line ever comes across or in contact with another without affecting it either agreeably or disagreeably. Therefore in a pediment it was essential to have such lines as should assure the eye that the corona retained its horizontality, and the sloping sides of the tympanum their truth of line and relative balance of angle. With respect to circular designs, such as shields, Mr.. Wyatt illustrated a few of the principles which should govern them, by sketches upon the black board. He shewed that if lines diverging spirally from a centre gave to the design the appearance of a wheel in motion, that appearance of motion might be at once arrested by an outer circle of lines diverging in a contrary direction. This shewed the simple action of one line, or set of lines, upon another, and proved how essential it was for repose to bound all lines spreading into movement by lines quiescent in their own character, or in reverse action.

Mr. BELL, in acknowledging the thanks which had been voted to him, said he felt the complete truth of Mr. Wyatt's last remarks, and although he had not arrived himself at the full treatment of circular forms, he readily adopted it. He concurred with Mr. Donaldson that the square as well as the vase form might be noticed in the figures by Michael Angelo.

The meeting then adjourned.

ON THE RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN PARIS.

By EDWARD I'ANSON, Fellow. Read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Jan. 10th, 1859.

Although Paris is well known to most of us, it has occurred to me that a general account of the great works which have recently been carried out in that city may still be interesting. Much has been done since the cessation of Napoleon Buonaparte's wars to improve the principal towns throughout Europe. In London, for instance, immense and thickly-populated districts have sprung up; but Paris has changed in another manner, and on all sides of it buildings of great importance for their magnitude, and of the highest interest as works of art, have been erected. Thirty years ago the magnificent Place Louis XV. was a vast plain of mud in Winter, and of shifting sand in Summer; and the ground now occupied by the new works of the Tuileries and of the Louvre was encumbered with irregular streets of closely-packed houses, booths, and mean shops. The colossal works begun by Napoleon the First, the Arc de l'Etoile, and the Church of the Madeleine, were still surrounded by scaffolding; and the massive Fountain of the Elephant on the Place de la Bastille, a project since abandoned, was only a model in plaster. Some great works, however, had been done, the Pantheon, some of the bridges, the column on the Place Vendôme, and the Rue de Rivoli had been commenced. With these exceptions, Paris could not then have materially changed in aspect since the time of Louis the XIVth. Scaffolding still masked these works in 1830, when Louis Philippe became King; by whom, after a time, the completion of the public monuments was taken in hand, and measures, I believe, were contemplated for extensive municipal improvements. Despite some incongruities, he had a very grand town to deal with, containing features which marked it as a monumental city as well as a great metropolis. Among the works undertaken by him was the completion of the Arc de l'Etoile, which had been commenced in 1806, after the Battle of Austerlitz. The work was confided to M. Blouet, and vigorously carried on till its completion in 1836, at the cost of £417,812. The central archway is 90 French feet high by 45 feet wide; the total height of the monument is 152 (162 English) feet, and the breadth and depth are respectively 137 (148) feet by 68 (72) feet. The whole is impressive chiefly on account of its colossal proportions, and the mass and solidity of its parts. In addition to some noble colossal sculpture, it is covered with the names of the warriors who accompanied Napoleon Buonaparte in his various campaigns, and of the battles in which they were triumphant. On reading them the beholder is impressed with the conviction that the names graven on a monument so grand and durable will defy both the destructive power of man and the slow decay of ages, and pass down in honour to the remotest time. The Church of the Madeleine was finished under Louis Philippe by the architects Vignon and Huvé. This building is also of great dimensions, being 328 English feet in length by 128 feet in breadth. The cost amounted to £523,160. The podium supporting the columns, which are nearly 50 feet high, rises 12 ft. 9 above the pavement. The general plan is that of a peripteral temple, with an octastyle portico. The effect of the exterior is imposing, but it is far from being a refined work of art: the mouldings and the proportions of the various parts being generally coarse and common-place. The frieze is decorated with sculpture; but the usual right line at the angle being broken by the continuation of the enrichment, a singularly weak and disconnected appearance is given to the profile of the entablature when seen anglewise. The figures placed in the niches between the columns round the cella are but indifferent works, but the detail of the doors and architrave of the principal entrance is of exquisite beauty. The flowing ornament on the architrave is of thoroughly French renaissance character, executed with delicacy and breadth hardly attained by the cinque cento artists; and it is moreover a remarkably fine specimen of casting. The doors and architrave, which are, I believe, of bronze, were designed by Triquetti, and cast by Richard Eck and Durand. The doors are only inferior in size to those of Saint Peter's at Rome. The interior is to my mind more satisfactory than the exterior, though it is not in congruity with it, as it consists of three square compartments, each covered by a dome with openings for light. This plan is not that to which we are accustomed in a Christian church; it is neither Basilican nor Cathedral; nor does it, as I have said, correspond with the external features of the building. The effect however is rich and grand, and some of the minutiæ are beautiful; as the metal railings to the chapels, the baptismal font, and the organ case.

One of the first works of the reign of Louis Philippe was the great column of the Place de Juillet, built, as its name implies, in commemoration of the three days of July 1830. It consists of a column of bronze, raised on a plinth of masonry; a bronze figure crowns the whole, and brings the total height to 160 feet, English. The total weight of bronze used amounted to very nearly 407,000 lbs.

The Ecole des Beaux Arts, begun in 1832 by Debret, was carried on by Duban. It contains one of the best modern frescoes, or rather wall paintings, by Paul De La Roche, for which he received £3,200. The building cost £140,600. The Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, for which, in 1846, a sum of £57,648. was voted, was commenced under the direction of Lèon Vaudoyer, Architect. The Church of Notre Dame de Lorette, begun in 1823 by Lebas, was completed; but the beautiful fresco decorations of the interior have been added more recently. The total cost of this building is said to have been about 1,800,000 francs.* One year later the still larger church of St. Vincent de Paul was begun from designs by MM. Lepère and Hittorf: it is remarkable for the introduction of polychromatic and profuse mural decoration, of stained glass windows, &c. at a cost of 256,300 francs. The enlargement of the Palais du Luxembourg was carried out at a cost of £120,000. The character of the exterior of the old part by De Brosse was studiously preserved by the architect M. Gisors. In 1836 the Municipality commenced the embellishment of the Place de la Concorde, and of the Champs Elysées. In 1836 the Luxor Obelisk was also erected in the centre of the Place de la Concorde, having been transported from Egypt, and fixed at a total expence stated to be about two millions of francs. In 1844 the Fontaine Molière was erected from designs by Visconti, and subsequently an elegant fountain on the Place Louvois. In 1845 very important works, although not absolutely in Paris, namely, considerable additions to the Lunatic Asylum at Charenton, were completed under M. Gilbert, Architect, at a cost of £132,800. About this time M. Hittorf erected, in the Champs Elysées, a Circus, peculiarly well suited to its purpose. I may also mention the elegant façade of a small theatre on the Boulevard du Temple, now the Théâtre Historique, but then the Théâtre Montpensier. Another work begun by Louis Philippe is the Church of Sainte Clotilde, erected in memory of his youngest daughter. He also built on the spot where his eldest son the Duke of Orleans met his melancholy death a small chapel, dedicated to Saint Ferdinand. The architects employed were Messrs. Lefranc and Fontaine, who erected a work very inferior to anything, I think, our revived Mediæval tastes would have erected even at that time. It is however principally remarkable for the scenic effect of the interior, produced by the skilful grouping of sculpture and painting, and the management of the light: amongst the sculpture is a representation of a kneeling Angel, the work of his deceased sister Marie, who little thought, when she wrought it, on whose tomb it would be placed. The fortifications of Paris, begun in 1841, are said to have cost £5,650,000. Ten distinct forts are included in the circuit of the

* The French métre = 3-28 English feet. The Paris foot = 1.066 English foot. 1,000,000 francs = £ 40,000. English money.

walls. In 1848 the Mairie of the third arrondissement was begun, and in 1851, the Mairie of the eleventh arrondissement was built. In 1850, the fine building of the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève was completed, after being in progress about six years. M. Labrouste was the architect; the cost, exclusive of architect's charges, was 1,569,000 francs. About the same time the very fine and original building, the Timbre Imperial, was completed, at a cost of 1,298,000 francs.

Louis Napoleon, soon after his election as Emperor in 1852, turned his attention to the public works, and since that date the progress of building in Paris has been beyond all precedent, even of the times of Imperial Rome.

I will now proceed to notice briefly the buildings commenced or built during the last six years. Among the early works of Louis Napoleon was the tomb of the Emperor Napoleon I, designed by Visconti, and erected under the dome of the Invalides. It is much enriched with appropriate sculpture, and cost £360,000.

In the early part of 1852, so great was the impulse given to public works, that the following were in progress. The completion of the tomb of Napoleon Buonaparte; the Hospital du Nord, Clos St. Lazare; the Nouveau Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, begun in 1845, completed a year or two later, at a total cost of £200,000; the works at the Tuileries; the interior decoration of the Hôtel de Ville, and of the Church of Saint Eustache; the restoration of Notre Dame; the enlargement of the Polytechnic School; the continuation of the Rue de Rivoli to the Rue St. Antoine; the restoration of the Pont Neuf; the completion of the Quai Conti and part of the Quai Malaquais; the Station of the Chemin de fer de l'ouest; the new Entrance to the Luxembourg Gardens; the embellishment of the Champs Elysées; the enlargement of the Railway Station, Place de l'Europe; the enlargement and decoration of the Palais de Justice; the construction of a Mairie for the fourth Arrondissement; Infantry Barracks, Rue Notre Dame des Victories; the Works of the Halle Centrale; the enlargement of the Rue Montmartre, Mathurins, Saint Jacques, Sainte Avoye, De la Harpe, and others; the formation of the Rue des Ecoles; the transferring of the Garde Meuble to the Ile des Cygnes; the completion and decoration of the Church of Ste. Clotilde; the Place Belle Chasse; the continuation of the Works at the Louvre, and at the Chemin de fer de Ceinture; several Kilometres of Sewers; with the improvement of various Hospitals and Prisons. In the same year, 1852, the Library of the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers was opened; and it was decided to erect a Crystal Palace in the Champs Elysées, a work accomplished in the year 1855;* the Boulevard de Strasbourg, leading from the Railway Station to the general line of Boulevards, was opened, the length being nearly 1093 yards and the breadth 105 feet; the restoration of the Louvre and its reunion with the Tuileries were begun; the Mairie of the third Arrondissement, begun in 1848, was finished; and the Jews' Hospital was opened.

In 1853, the decoration of the chief Apartments in the Hôtel de Ville was completed; the Jews' Hospital, by A. Thierry, was completed, at a cost of 400,000 francs; the Palais Royal was entirely restored for occupation by Prince Jerome and Prince Napoleon Buonaparte; the Works at Notre Dame were recommenced; extensive Works and additions at the Bank of France were commenced; the East Works at the Dockst Napoleon were partially finished; the Hospital Lariboisière, begun under Louis Philippe, containing 612 beds, M. Panthier, architect, (cost eight millions franes,) was opened; the Iron Pipes to convey the Water from the Reservoir at Chaillot were being laid in the

The surface utilized, including all annexed buildings, was computed to amount to 124,804 metres. The area of the building in Hyde Park was about 72,000 metres.

The works are still in progress; during the last twelve years a sum has been expended on them of 22,000,000 francs.

Bois de Boulogne, the lake of nearly ten acres area was almost finished; an Iron Enclosure was erected at the Hôtel des Invalides, with two new Lodges, and the façade of the Church was repaired.

In 1854, the Works at the Caserne des Petits Pères were recommenced; extensive restoration and repairs of the exterior and the interior were begun at the Palais de Justice, the houses which surrounded the building on the West and on the South having been removed; the Bridge of Austerlitz, built of iron in 1830, being much out of repair, was rebuilt of masonry in the space of three months, at a cost under £38,000.; and the very beautiful Building, the Cirque Napoleon, was erected by M. Hittorf, in the short space of nine months, at a cost of £27,000.

In 1855, a new Municipal building covering a superfices of 1500 metres was commenced at an estimated cost of 627,043 francs, by M. Baltard, architect. The works and additions at the Bank of France were terminated; the additions by M. Gabriel Cretin, architect, costing £80,000. and covering a space of 9750 feet; and the restoration of the tower of St. Jacques, was completed at a cost of £40,000. in addition to £10,000. for purchasing it. In 1856, the removal of the sheds. and buildings surrounding the Palais des Thermes was in progress; the Municipality voted the funds for re-constructing the Prefecture of Police, under Messrs. Gilbert and Diet; the Gothic Church of Sainte Eugenie, M. Boileau architect, was completed; the Pavilions of the new Louvre were covered with scaffolding, newly erected, in order to execute further decorations; the covered ways of the Halle Centrale were finished; the vast space comprised between the Place du Louvro, St. Germain l'Auxerrois, the Quai de l'Ecole, the Rue de l'Arbre Sec, and des fossés St. Germain, was cleared away and laid out; the buildings for the Manutention Militaire were finished; the new wing of the Ecole Militaire was in progress; the Pont de Jena was decorated with four equestrian statues; the decoration of the Pont des Invalides was completed; and the buildings about the Church of Saint Eustache had been entirely removed. In 1857, the Church of Sainte Clotilde, M. Gau architect, begun in 1846, was completed; the Garden round the Ruine des Thermes and Hôtel de Cluny was enclosed by an iron railing; and the additional works at the Hôtel de la Monnaie built in 1768, were finished. The following works were in progress :-The Boulevard de Sevastopol, which then extended from the Strasburg Station to the Rue d'Ecole de la Madeleine; the Boulevard du Prince Eugene between the Barrière Poissonière and the Boulevard du Temple; and the demolitions on the left bank of the Seine for the Boulevard from that of Sevastopol to the Jardin des Plantes; the vast Caserne du Chateau d'Eau on the Boulevard St. Martin; the picturesque promenade or square of the Quartier du Temple; and the works of the new Louvre were completed. The Fontaine du Palmier was removed bodily, and placed centrally upon the new Boulevard de Sevastopol. Very extensive restorations and some new works were in progress at the Bibliothèque Imperiale, giving it quite a new character, and reviving a style of architecture with red brick facings and stone dressings, which seems at present rather in vogue in Paris, and which M. Labrouste, the architect to these restorations, has successfully applied in an hotel built for M. Achille Fould. The demolition of the old and construction of the new Bridge of Saint Michel; and also a temporary bridge undertaken, like the removal of the Fontaine du Palmier, as part of the works of the Boulevard de Sevastopol. In 1857, the Church of Sainte Eugenie, M. Boileau architect, was completed. It is built of stone and iron, and exemplifies the great difficulty of satisfactorily combining these materials. The mullions and trefoils of the windows are meagre, and yet not sharp; the effect of the internal columns is poor and without elegance, and the interior generally recalls to mind the interior of a railway station rather than of an ecclesiastical building. The internal light is however well managed, as is also the iron construction of the roof. In the same year, the south façade of Notre Dame was entirely restored, the apse had been repaired, and the restoration of the north façade was in progress; the restoration of the roof and the upper part of the Sainte Chapelle externally were finished, and the works

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