Detail View: Archivision Base to Module 9: Arc de Triomphe

Preferred Title: 
Arc de Triomphe
Alternate Title: 
Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile
Image View: 
Northwest flank facing Neuilly, left side, "La Paix de 1815"
Creator: 
Antoine Etex (French sculptor, 1808-1888); François Rude (French sculptor, 1784-1855); James Pradier (Swiss sculptor, 1790-1852); Jean François Thérèse Chalgrin (French architect, 1739-1811) and others
Location: 
site: Paris, Île-de-France, France
Location Note: 
Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly Place de l'Étoile)
GPS: 
+48.8738+2.295
Date: 
1806-1836 (creation)
Cultural Context: 
French
Style Period: 
Neoclassical; Nineteenth century
Work Type 1: 
triumphal arch (memorial arch)
Work Type 2: 
relief (sculpture)
Work Type 3: 
sculpture (visual work)
Classification: 
architecture
Material: 
stone
Technique: 
carving (processes); construction (assembling)
Measurements: 
162 ft (height) x 150 ft (width) x 72 ft (depth)
Subjects: 
allegory; architecture; military or war; rulers and leaders; Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821; Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815
Description: 
Chalgrin?s best-known work is the Arc de Triomphe, begun for Emperor Napoleon in 1806. Completed in 1836 by L. Goust (fl 1786?1836), Jean-Nicolas Huyot and Guillaume-Abel Blouet, who significantly altered the design of the attic, the Arc de Triomphe dominates the Place de l?Etoile in Paris and provides a focus for the length of the Champs-Elysées. The most noteworthy contribution to the sculptural programme is François Rude?s ?La Marseillaise? (Departure of the Volunteers in 1792). Although it is often considered a sterile imitation of antique triumphal arches, Chalgrin?s final design was the result of a progressive shift away from the pure replication of Classical prototypes. Through a systematic process of abstraction, Chalgrin reduced the traditional tripartite scheme of the triumphal arch to a single bay and eliminated all columnar decoration, creating with economical means an image of monumental achievement that captured the spirit of Napoleonic aspirations. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordar
Image Description: 
The relief is by Etex and depicts Peace with a man, protected by Minerva, putting his sword back into his scabbard; at his side peasants get back to work.
Collection: 
Archivision Addition Module Five
Identifier: 
1A1-CJ-AT-D4
Rights: 
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.