Napoleon III's Louvre expansion

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Napoleon Square (Warsaw)
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The Louvre's pavillon de l'Horloge, refaced in the 1850s at the eastern end of the Nouveau Louvre

The expansion of the Louvre under Napoleon III in the 1850s, known at the time and until the 1980s as the Nouveau Louvre

Hector Lefuel. It represented the completion of a centuries-long project, sometimes referred to as the grand dessein ("grand design"), to connect the old Louvre Palace around the Cour Carrée with the Tuileries Palace to the west. Following the Tuileries' arson at the end of the Paris Commune in 1871 and demolition a decade later, Napoleon III's nouveau Louvre became the eastern end of Paris's axe historique centered on the Champs-Élysées
.

The project was initially intended for mixed ceremonial, museum, housing, military and administrative use, including the offices of the ministère d’Etat and ministère de la Maison de l'Empereur which after 1871 were attributed to the

Finance Ministry. Since 1993, all its spaces have been used by the Louvre Museum
.

Project development

Imperial eagle and Napoleonic ornamentation on the ceiling of Escalier Mollien

Following the French Revolution of 1848, the provisional government adopted a decree on the continuation of the rue de Rivoli toward the east and the completion of the Louvre Palace's north wing, building on the steps taken to that effect under Napoleon. Architect Louis Visconti and his disciple Émile Trélat produced a draft design for completing the entire palace and presented it to the Legislative Assembly in 1849.[2]: 155  These plans were not implemented, however, until President Louis-Napoleon was in a position to prioritize them following his successful coup d'état on 2 December 1851, even before he would formally rebrand himself as Emperor Napoleon III.[5] On Louis-Napoleon's order, Minister François-Xavier Joseph de Casabianca commissioned Visconti to design the new Louvre's plans on 30 January 1852,[6] and the first stone was laid on 25 July 1852.[2]: 155 

After Visconti died of a heart attack on 29 December 1853,

Hector Lefuel, by then the architect of the Palace of Fontainebleau, was appointed to replace him. Lefuel modified Visconti's project, keeping its broad architectural outlines but opting for a considerably more exuberant decoration program that came to define the nouveau Louvre in the eyes of many observers. Old houses and other buildings that still encroached on the central space of the Louvre-Tuileries complex, between the Cour Carrée and the place du Carrousel, were swept clear. The project was swiftly executed, under the close attention of Napoleon III who visited the works on multiple occasions.[6]: 14-15  The new buildings were substantially completed at the time of their inauguration by the emperor on 14 August 1857.[4] The next day, which was the National Day as the date of "Saint-Napoléon [fr]", the public was invited to roam the new buildings.[6]
: 17 

The young American architect Richard Morris Hunt, who had studied under Lefuel at the École des Beaux-Arts, worked on the Louvre as a junior architect between April 1854 and September 1855, as also did Italian architect Marco Treves from May 1854 to September 1857.[7] Following Hunt's graduation, Lefuel made him inspector of the Louvre work and allowed him to design the façade of the Pavillon de la Bibliothèque facing the rue de Rivoli.[8]

  • One of many earlier unrealized proposals for the completion of the Louvre, by Percier and Fontaine (1807 or 1808)
    One of many earlier unrealized proposals for the completion of the Louvre, by Percier and Fontaine (1807 or 1808)
  • Plan of the unfinished Louvre by Charles Vasserot, showing the jumble of buildings on the location of the present-day Cour Napoléon (1830)
    Plan of the unfinished Louvre by Charles Vasserot, showing the jumble of buildings on the location of the present-day
    Cour Napoléon
    (1830)
  • Design of the Louvre expansion by Louis Visconti (1853)
    Design of the Louvre expansion by Louis Visconti (1853)
  • Visconti presents the plans for the Nouveau Louvre to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie in 1853 at the Tuileries, painting by Jean-Baptiste-Ange Tissier (1865)
    Visconti presents the plans for the Nouveau Louvre to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie in 1853 at the Tuileries, painting by Jean-Baptiste-Ange Tissier (1865)
  • Engraving dedicated "to His Majesty the Emperor" showcasing Visconti's design, by Rudolf Pfnor (1853)
    Engraving dedicated "to His Majesty the Emperor" showcasing Visconti's design, by Rudolf Pfnor (1853)
  • Celebratory tapestry cartoon[4] showing the expanded Louvre between a cherub holding a ribbon inscribed with "LE LOUVRE DE NAPOLEON III" (lower left) and two angels holding the emperor's profile (upper right), by Victor Chavet [fr] (1857); now at the Louvre
    Celebratory tapestry cartoon[4] showing the expanded Louvre between a cherub holding a ribbon inscribed with "LE LOUVRE DE NAPOLEON III" (lower left) and two angels holding the emperor's profile (upper right), by Victor Chavet [fr] (1857); now at the Louvre

Description

The Nouveau Louvre mostly consists of two sets of buildings or wings, on the northern and southern sides of the central space that is now called the Cour Napoléon. The new buildings were structured around a sequence of pavilions that were given names of French statesmen from the

Daru topping the eponymous staircase, pavillon Denon, and pavillon Mollien also featuring a monumental staircase.[2]: 155  (From 1989, the names of the three central pavilions have also been given to the entire respective wings of the Louvre museum complex. Thus, the Louvre's North Wing is now known as aile Richelieu, its eastern square of buildings around the Cour Carrée
is the aile Sully, and the South Wing is the aile Denon.)

Lefuel created two octagonal gardens at the center of the Cour Napoléon (now replaced by the Louvre Pyramid). In multiple parts of the project, Napoleon III emphasized his role as continuator of the great French monarchs of the past, and as the one who completed their unfinished work. On both sides of the Pavillon Sully, black marble plaques bear gilded inscriptions that read, respectively: "1541. François Ier commence le Louvre. 1564. Catherine de Médicis commence les Tuileries," and "1852-1857. Napoléon III réunit les Tuileries au Louvre."[2]: 156  Separately, Napoleon III created a Musée des Souverains in the Louvre's Colonnade Wing to similarly emphasize the continuity of his rule with the long legacy of French monarchy and thus bolster his legitimacy.

The Louvre expansion shortly after its completion, photographed by Édouard Baldus (late 1850s)

On the eastern side of the Cour Napoléon, the project entailed no new building but rather the exterior refacing of the pre-existing palace whose interior rooms were left unchanged. For the central

Second Empire architecture
in France and elsewhere.

Inside the North Wing were prestige apartments for some of the regime's principal figures, including those of the Minister of State (long mistakenly attributed to the

Duke of Morny and now known as the appartements Napoléon III),[10]: 7  served by a monumental staircase later known as the escalier du ministre; administrative offices for the ministère d'Etat, the short-lived ministère de l'Algérie et des Colonies (1858-1860),[6]: 18  the ministère de la Maison de l'Empereur (separated from the ministère d'Etat in 1860),[11] and (briefly) the ministère des Beaux-Arts created in early 1870;[12][13] the Directorate of Telegraphs;[6]: 18  barracks for the Imperial Guard;[14]: 35  and the Bibliothèque du Louvre (formerly bibliothèque impériale under Napoleon and bibliothèque du Cabinet du Roi under the Restoration[6]: 20 ), personal property of the emperor but open to the public, on the upper floor between the Pavillon Richelieu and the rue de Rivoli.[2]: 176  The latter was acceded by the monumental escalier de la Bibliothèque (known since the late 19th century as escalier Lefuel), with sculpted decoration by Lefuel's friend Marie-Noémi Cadiot.[15] Initial plans to locate the Minister of the Interior in the North Wing's eastern half were abandoned in the late 1850s.[10]
: 24 

The South Wing was largely devoted to a series of new spaces for the

Pierre Daru (Galerie Daru) and Nicolas François Mollien (Galerie Mollien), with the monumental staircases bearing those same names at both ends; and on the first floor, high-ceilinged exhibition rooms for large paintings, the Salle Daru and salle Mollien, with the Pavillon Denon in the middle, whose lavish interior decoration was completed in 1866.[16]: 272  On the same floor, between the Pavillon Denon and the Grande Galerie
, Lefuel created a large Estates Hall (Salle des États) for state events and ceremonies.

Below these prestige spaces was an extensive complex of stables for up to 149 horses and 34 carriages.

Émile Félix Fleury [fr],[18] whose spacious apartment was on the western side of the Cour Lefuel and adorned with a porticoed balcony. The South wing also included barracks for the Cent-gardes Squadron and lodgings for the palace's service personnel.[2]
: 158 

  • North Wing
    North Wing
  • Escalier du Ministre
    Escalier du Ministre
  • Escalier Lefuel
    Escalier Lefuel
  • Escalier Colbert
    Escalier Colbert
  • Appartements Napoléon III
    Appartements Napoléon III
  • Appartements Napoléon III
    Appartements Napoléon III
  • Galerie Daru
    Galerie Daru
  • Salle Daru
    Salle Daru
  • Pavillon Denon ceiling
    Pavillon Denon ceiling
  • Cour Lefuel with ramps to the salle du Manège
    Cour Lefuel with ramps to the salle du Manège
  • Interior of the salle du Manège
    Interior of the salle du Manège
  • Pavillon de la Bibliothèque on the rue de Rivoli
    Pavillon de la Bibliothèque on the rue de Rivoli

Statuary

Plan of the Louvre with the 86 hommes illustres marked in red

Initially, Visconti's plan was to erect equestrian statues of

Cour Napoléon's two octagonal gardens, and another one of Francis I in the Cour Carrée.[14] This was ostensibly intended to emphasize his claim to legitimacy as the inheritor of France's two (royal and imperial) strands of monarchical development. This program, however, was not realized.[2]
: 155 

Nevertheless, sculptural profusion was one of the defining features of Lefuel's approach. Arguably the most salient component is the series of 86 statues of celebrated figures (hommes illustres) from French history and culture, selected by Napoleon III himself,[19] each one labelled with their name. These include, following the order of the wings from northwest to southwest:

Among the abundant architectural sculpture of the Nouveau Louvre, the pediments of the three main pavilions stand out:[2]: 156 [20]

The latter group includes the depiction of a steam locomotive, then representing cutting-edge technological progress, and the only surviving public portrayal of Napoleon III in Paris.[22]

  • Pediment, Pavillon Richelieu
    Pediment, Pavillon Richelieu
  • Pediment, Pavillon Sully
    Pediment, Pavillon Sully
  • Pediment, Pavillon Denon
    Pediment, Pavillon Denon

The South Wing's salle du Manège was another opportunity for Lefuel to foster a rich structural program, which was executed in 1861 after the Nouveau Louvre's inauguration. Outside in the Cour Lefuel, four bronze groups of wild animals by Pierre Louis Rouillard stand at the start of the two horse ramps : Chienne et ses petits, Loup et petit chien, Chien combattant un loup, and Chien combattant un sanglier. At the top of the ramps above the entrance to the manège, a monumental group, also by Rouillard, features three surging horses that echo Robert Le Lorrain's chevaux du soleil at the Hôtel de Rohan (Paris) [fr]. Inside, the idiosyncratic hunting-themed capitals feature heads of horses and other animals, by Emmanuel Frémiet, Rouillard, Alfred Jacquemart, Germain Demay [fr], and Houguenade.[23]

  • Rouillard's wild animals in the Cour Lefuel
    Rouillard's wild animals in the Cour Lefuel
  • Rouillard's "dog fighting a wolf"
    Rouillard's "dog fighting a wolf"
  • Rouillard's "wolf and puppy"
    Rouillard's "wolf and puppy"
  • Rouillard's three horses above the Manège's entrance
    Rouillard's three horses above the Manège's entrance
  • One of the capitals of the Salle du Manège
    One of the capitals of the Salle du Manège

Later history

The pavillon de Flore photographed by Baldus in 1861 just before demolition (left) and Lefuel's reconstruction (right)
The Guichets du Carrousel, Baldus photography c.1857 (left) and Lefuel's reconstruction (right)
Barye's lions and Cain's lionesses, porte des Lions
Lefuel's Salle des Sessions in the southwestern wing was used from 1900 to display the Marie de' Medici cycle by Rubens, here shown in 1929.
Napoleon III's Louvre expansion surrounding the Louvre Pyramid, 2014

In 1861, the

Porte des Lions) between 1864 and 1869, adorned with two pairs of monumental lions by Antoine-Louis Barye to the south and lionesses by Auguste Cain to the north, with two additional lionesses by Cain in front of the nearby porte Jaujard. At the eastern end of the new project, Lefuel created three monumental archways for the thoroughfare connecting the Pont du Carrousel to the south with the rue de Rohan [fr] to the north, known as the guichets du Carrousel or grands guichets du Louvre. The project was completed in 1869 as an equestrian statue of Napoleon III by Antoine-Louis Barye
was placed above the arches of the Grands Guichets.

That setting, however, did not last long, as the Second Empire came to its abrupt end. On 6 September 1870, days after the emperor's capture at the Battle of Sedan, Barye's equestrian statue was topped and destroyed.[24] At the end of the Paris Commune on 23 May 1871, the Tuileries Palace was burned down, as was the Bibliothèque du Louvre. Lefuel, together with Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, defended the option of repairing the ruins, but shortly after both died the French parliament decided to tear them down in 1882, largely for political motives associated with the termination of the monarchy. After the remains of the Tuileries were razed in 1883, the layout that had been created by Napoleon III and Lefuel was fundamentally altered.

In the context of the

Ministry of the Economy and Finance was compelled to leave the Louvre's North Wing, in which it had been headquartered since 1871, to specially-built headquarters in the Bercy area.[12] While most of the interior spaces were gutted and rebuilt, the more artistically and historically significant ones were preserved and renovated. These included three monumental staircases, the escalier Lefuel, escalier du ministre and escalier Colbert; the former ministerial office, rebranded as Café Richelieu; and the palatial suite of rooms created by Lefuel and his team for the Minister of State, rebranded as appartements Napoléon III. The Café Marly, located outside of the Louvre museum in the same wing and opened in 1994, has been designed by Olivier Gagnère [fr] in a reinterpretation of the Second Empire style.[25] Meanwhile, the Cour Napoléon was radically transformed with the erection of the Louvre Pyramid
.

Influence

Old City Hall (Boston), 1865
See also:
Napoleon III style and Second Empire architecture in the United States and Canada

The nouveau Louvre was highly influential and became the exemplar of the

Washington DC (built 1871-1888), and the Philadelphia City Hall
(built 1871-1901).

See also

Notes

  1. ISBN 1167342747.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Galignani's New Paris Guide, for 1870: Revised and Verified by Personal Inspection, and Arranged on an Entirely New Plan. Paris: A. and W. Galignani and Co. 1870.
  3. ^ Denise Bernard-Folliot (1984). Guide Bleu Paris. Paris: Hachette. p. 305.
  4. ^ a b c Karine Huguenaud. "Le Louvre de Napoléon III". Fondation Napoléon.
  5. ^
    S2CID 144533244
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Christiane Aulanier (1953). Le Nouveau Louvre de Napoléon III (PDF). Paris: Editions des Musées Nationaux.
  7. ^ "Histoire mouvementée d'un fonds d'archives exceptionnel" (PDF). Archives nationales.
  8. ^ William Roscoe Thayer, ed. (1893), "Richard Morris Hunt", The Harvard Graduates' Magazine, I, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Graduates' Magazine Association
  9. ^ L. Vitet (1882), Le Louvre et le Nouveau Louvre, Paris: Calmann-Lévy
  10. ^ a b Anne Dion-Tenenbaum (1993). Les appartements Napoléon III du musée du Louvre. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux.
  11. ^ Xavier Mauduit (2008). "Le ministère du faste : la Maison de l'Empereur Napoléon III". Parlement[s], Revue d'histoire politique.
  12. ^ a b Guy Vidal (January–February 1990). "Le Ministère des Finances de Rivoli à Bercy". La Revue administrative. 43 (253). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France: 71–77.
  13. ^ "Les prémices du Ministère: Tentatives éphémères d'une administration des Beaux Arts autonome à partir du Second Empire". Ministère de la Culture.
  14. ^ a b c Henri Verne (1923). Le Palais du Louvre: Comment l'ont terminé Louis XIV, Napoléon Ier et Napoléon III. Paris: Editions Albert Morancé. p. 30.
  15. ^ Louis Hautecoeur, Louis (1928). Histoire du Louvre: Le Château – Le Palais – Le Musée, des origines à nos jours, 1200–1928. Paris: L'Illustration. p. 102.
  16. ^ Jean-Claude Daufresne (1987). Louvre & Tuileries : Architectures de Papier. Brussels: Pierre Mardaga.
  17. ^ Frédéric Lewino; Anne-Sophie Jahn (16 May 2015). "Visite interdite du Louvre #4 : la magnifique rampe en fer à cheval de la cour des Écuries". Le Point.
  18. ^ "Nouveau Louvre Aile Mollien : Appartement du Grand Ecuyer". France Archives.
  19. ^ Guy Nicot (1993). Au Louvre : La Cour Napoléon transfigurée. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux. p. 48.
  20. ^ Georges Poisson (1994), "Quand Napoléon III bâtissait le Grand Louvre", Revue du Souvenir Napoléonien: 22–27
  21. ^ a b Jacques Hillairet. Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris. Vol. II. Paris: Editions de Minuit.
  22. ^ "Le Louvre et Napoléon III". Paris Autrement. 14 January 2014.
  23. ^ Geneviève Bresc-Bautier (1995), The Louvre: An Architectural History, New York: The Vendome Press, pp. 144, 154
  24. ^ Michèle Beaulieu (1946). "Les esquisses de la décoration du Louvre au Département des sculptures". Bulletin Monumental. 104.
  25. ^ Dominique Poiret (28 November 2012). "Les terres cuites d'Olivier Gagnère valorisent Vallauris". Libération.
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