Paris Grant Allen's Historical Guides

(The little room beyond again contains a small but interesting collection of =Early Christian works= which must be visited and studied on some other occasion. These very ancient...

The =minor art-objects= of the Louvre, though of immense value and interest in themselves, may be largely examined by those who have the time in the light of their previous work...

[THE town on the North Side, we saw, was early surrounded by a =suburban belt= of gardens and monasteries. A similar zone encircled the old University on the South Bank. The wal...

The =Salle du Héros Combatant=, indicate in many cases a later tendency to rapidity of motion and violent action, which is alien to the highest plastic ideal. Among the most suc...

Now, still in the same connection, go on into the Long Gallery, and look, near Andrea del Sarto’s Holy Family, at a mannered and theatrical picture of the =Nativity= by =Giulio...

Walk down the centre of the Galerie d’Apollon, on the side towards the windows, passing the tawdry crown jewels, and the many exquisite Classical or Renaissance works in the cab...

Stand in the left-hand corner of the Place to examine the _façade_. The church was begun (1517) as late Gothic; but before it was finished, the Renaissance style had come into f...

A short connecting room beyond (with gold Etruscan jewelery) gives access next to the =Salle des Sept Cheminées=, which contains many stiff but excellent works of the period of...

Many other subjects for similar comparative treatment may be found in the Louvre. Pick out for yourself a special theme, such as, for example, the Adoration of the Magi, the Nat...

THE object and plan of these Historical Handbooks is somewhat different from that of any other guides at present before the public. They do not compete or clash with such existi...

Having thus gained a first idea of the =courtyard fronts= of the building, continue your walk, still westward, along the S wing as far as the Pavillon de Flore, a remaining port...

From St. Sulpice, the Rue Férou, to the R of the _façade_, leads you straight to the Luxembourg Palace. The long low building almost directly opposite you as you emerge is the

Continue straight on through characteristic old streets, to the modern Boulevard de Sébastopol, which cuts right through the core of Paris. Cross it and take the first turn to t...

Now take =Ghirlandajo’s Visitation= in the Salle des Primitifs as an example of a work which in quite a different way, requires to be understood by light from elsewhere. Note ho...

=*=252. _Mantegna._ The amours of Mars and Venus discovered by (her husband) Vulcan. A beautiful composition. The guilty pair, with a couch, stand on a mountain, representing Pa...

Now approach the front, to examine in detail the =**great portals=, deeply recessed, as is usual in French cathedrals, owing to the massive masonry of the towers. The left or _n...

Most often, however, the Madonna is seen enthroned, in the centre of the altar-piece or composition, and surrounded by one, two, or three pairs of saintly personages. The =Madon...

Room III.—Wood-carvings, more or less Gothic. =Wall A=, (788) Madonna supporting the dead Christ, under a canopy, 16th century; (816) Holy Women, with small figure of the donor,...

ROOM III.—A long corridor. =Wall A=, is entirely occupied by the =**=magnificent suite of six early French tapestries, known as “The Lady and the Unicorn” (symbol of chastity),...

Turn to the =Basilica=. The =façade=, of the age of Abbot Suger, is very irregular. It consists of two lateral towers, and a central portion, answering to the Nave. Only the sou...

Now enter Room VIII, the =Salle de Jean Goujon=. The magnificent collection of works contained in this room embraces the =finest specimens of French Renaissance work= of the sch...

Near it, two works by _Marco da Oggiono_, a pupil of Leonardo. His work and Luini’s should be compared with that of the founder of the school. The differences and agreements sho...

We now come to the =**=great series by =Rubens= narrating the =History of Marie de Médicis=, in the inflated allegorical style of the period. To understand them, the spectator s...

[THE Île de la Cité, the oldest Paris, consisted in the Middle Ages of a labyrinth of narrow and tortuous lanes, now entirely replaced by large and stately modern official build...