19.6.09

Monuments...

A couple of weeks ago I made a post about Trocadero and the Palais de Chaillot. The monumental building, the Palais de Chaillot, from 1937, contains naval and ethnological museums in one wing and architectural and monumental museums in the other wing (Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine with Musée National des Monuments Français and Institut Français de L'Architecture). I made a visit last week together with Virginia and one of her friends. From the windows, you have an excellent view of one monument.This is somehow a follow up of what I referred to in my recent post about the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where the old Petits-Augustins convent was used for a museum of monuments for a short period (1795-1816). A few monuments still remain there, but most of them were spread out (to former owners, to the Louvre, to Versailles...). Other tries were made to concentrate a collection, but the present the Cité de l’Architecure et du Patrimoine with the Musée Nationale des Monuments Français finally opened here at Palais de Chaillot in 2007.

The monuments one can see are basically casts of sculptures, frescoes, stained glass windows and different other elements from a number of castles but especially from cathedrals and churches (Strasbourg, Chartres, Bourges, Reims, Cluny, Arles...). If basically copies, they are more true than nature.
It was a pleasure to se number of younger and older students.There are also some copied interiors of some medieval buildings... and one large gallery with models and plans of more contemporary buildings.
Some of you have noted that my profile photo has changed. I like it a lot. Virginia took it during one of our recent common walks. So, here it is in "original" and slightly larger.

Time to wish you a nice weekend!


43 comments:

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

They just keep coming,....wonderful posts to entice us back.. :-)

Yes your blog looks brilliant, love it.

Unknown said...

The red room is so powerful! Where did all the fabulous items (are they french?) came from and what happened to those buildings? Were they bombed or what?
I agree with you, the new avatar is a great photo! Congrats both you and Virginia.

James said...

Great stuff. I would love to go there. Todays post on my Something Sighted blog might look familiar to you.

Wolynski said...

Gorgeous photos. Red walls, as opposed to boring white, really transform a space. Great blog.

Shammickite said...

I am most impressed with those red walls. They look so royal! And the treasures displayed in the red rooms seem to acquire more value somehow. Very lovely!

Olivier said...

c'est magnifique, j'aime bien la photo avec la classe assise, ecoutant leur maitre, tres sage...

Carole said...

Bonjour Peter,
Je pensais voir la maison de Georges en arrivant sur ton Blog...et non, perdu!
C'est sur, ces enfants là écoutent et sont sages, ils sont accompagnés de leur instit et ça explique tout.
Bon week end !

Karen said...

Count me in as another fan of the red walls. The rooms are magnificent and the items contained in them even more so.
I like the new photo of you that Virginia captured, Very mysterious.. :=]

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! This is a weekend treat! Thanks for sharing!

Also, the profile picture is good! Very different!

hpy said...

Le portrait est excellent, tout comme les murs rouges derrières les copies presque blanches.

delphinium said...

La photo de ton profile... ben t'as pris un sacré coup de vieux. :-))))))))).
Pardon, pardon, aïïïïïïïïïëeeee, pas taper.

Virginia said...

What fun to see your take on the musée. I see you slipped in a photo of the contemporary gallery before the guard shut us down!HA Of course I followed "the rules" and have only the ceiling shot. :) I have a photo of the café today on my post as well.

I am very pleased you like your portrait. After all, it IS BW and vertical. Perhaps I've persuaded you now?

Cergie said...

Un merveilleux post encore plus que d'hab ce n'est pas peu dire ; j'aime le cotoyement ancien moderne, jeune vieux, teachers students, la tour Eiffel qui parait dans une fenêtre juxtaposée alors que c'est un montage, le rouge et la pierre, la lumière et les ombres, le luxe...
Mais la photo du beau mec du bas c'est le top ! Même les mains derrière le dos il a le ventre plat ! Il est grand et élancé, un vrai mannequin ! Et il a des cheveux sur la tête ! Plein ! C'est pas donné à tout le monde ! Malgré sa grande classe, il n'hésite pas à aller ds des bouges taggués !
J'aime bien cette photo a lot moi aussi, c'est celle de Matthias ?

alice said...

Ces dentelles de pierre blanche sur ce fond rouge, une splendeur!
Je confirme le commentaire de Cergie à propos de ton profil: la classe! Et pas seulement en photo ;-))

SusuPetal said...

Those red walls are wonderful, I love that colour.

Your new profile photo is very cool!

Trevlig midsommar, Peter! Det ösregnar i Hfors, 11 grader varmt!

Cezar and Léia said...

You are smiling! So nice to see you smiling!
Virginia is a fabulous photographer and I admire her work a lot!
"Essa sua foto é muito linda! Eu te desejo muito amor em seu coraçao, que você seja sempre sorridente, amigo e positivo em tudo que você esteja realizando em sua vida. Que você caminhe sempre em frente e que sua jornada seja suave e iluminada pelo carinho dos corações dos amigos que te querem muito bem!"

Outstanding pictures! The walls are huge.I'm very impressed with this place!I hope some day I can visit there!
Have a nice weekend, and never forget to be "happy"!
Hugs from Brazil
Léia

Thérèse said...

Un nouveau portrait bien vu par Virginia.
J'aurais bien voulu me transformer en étudiante sage pour un jour, le temps m'a manqué. Ce n'est que partie remise.

Ruth said...

The white carvings, features, elements are shown to wonderful effect against the red background - mais bien sur!

I too love your profile pic Virginia took. Very nicely done, and just so fitting I think. I'm a little jealous.

Avatar said...

Beautiful places. It's must visit. Thanks for posting.

Adam said...

It's a great photo of you!

I went to this place pretty soon after it opened and found it genuinely odd. As someone who is passionate about architecture I loved the floor which is dedicated to that subject with lots of scale models, but the endless and quite creepy passages of church interior recreations is a little bit strange.

Starman said...

I've been avoiding the Palais de Chaillot for years, but now I MUST go.

Anonymous said...

The architecture is beautiful, Peter. I also like the color combinations. Just stunning.

crocrodyl said...

Superb collection, very impressive museum!
Your photos - as always - are perfect and they show the atmosphere of the place in a great way!
Regards, have a nice weekend!
m_m

La Belette Rouge said...

Red walls in a museum! Le sigh! Only in Paris.:-)

europe-city-guides said...

I'll be visiting Paris for the first time at the end of July and Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine is one of my first top destinations.

GMG said...

Hi Peter! I was once in the Chaillot museums, but it seems they are much better now. There was still the Langlois' Cinemathèque there before moving to Gehry's Bercy building!

Just read that, according to a survey made on Flickr, Eiffel Tower is the most photographed monument in the world; probably this is due to the fact that Taj Mahal photographers are not uploading their pictures!! ;)
Have a great Sunday!

Rob said...

i wish we would have visited this museum. Interesting artifacts. Virginia does take remarkable portraits.

Cuckoo said...

These monuments have many stories in them. Very detailed and contrasting pictures.
The museum is maintained well. Is the entry free or do they charge something ?

P.S.- I had noticed the change in your profile photo and smiled then. I am smiling now as well. :)
:)
:)

PeterParis said...

Anne:
Three times per week! :-)

JM:
Yes, French! :-)

James:
Yes, I had a look and recognised! :-)

PeterParis said...

Wolynski:
Welcome here and thanks for your kind;words! :-)

Shammickite:
I agree, the contrast with the red walls is very nice! :-)

Olivier:
J'ai bien fait de les prendre en photo! :-)

PeterParis said...

Carole:
Georges viendra! :-)

Karen:
Virginia took the shot very quickly, but I agree, it's a nice photo! :-)

Rakesh:
I hope you managed to do something else also during the weekend! :-)

PeterParis said...

hpy:
Nous sommes donc d'accord! :-)

Delphinium:
Je ne tape pas, surtout pas toi! :-)

Virginia:
I must admit that there must be some exceptions to the horizontal colour ones! Thanks once more for this one! :-)

PeterParis said...

Cergie:
Que des compliments .... pour Mattias! :-)

Alice:
D'abord Cergie, maintenant toi; c'est trop! :-)

SusuPetal:
Inget midsommarfirande här även om vädret är nàgot bättre! :-)

PeterParis said...

Léia:
I think I understood most of it: Thanks for the nice words and wishes!

Hugs from Paris! :-)

Thérèse:
Ce n'est jamais trop tard! :-)

Ruth:
You would like to order a photo by Virginia also? :-)

PeterParis said...

Avatar:
Thanks for your visit here, preceding the visit to the museum! :-)

Adam:
I also enjoyed a lot the last floor with scale models, drawings..., but you are not allowed to take photos there! :-)

Starman:
It has changed to the better; you should go now! :-)

PeterParis said...

Abe:
Thanks dear Abe! :-)

m_m:
Thanks, and I wish you the same, but it maybe a bit late now! :-)

La Belette Rouge:
Thanks for your visit here! I imagine you love the colour! :-)

PeterParis said...

Europe-city-guides:
Don't hesitate to contact me if you feel like it (email address in my "profile")! :-)

GMG:
Yes, the old cinematheque was really "dusty"! A change was needed! :-)

Dusty Lens:
Virginia has some qualities! :-)

PeterParis said...

Cuckoo:
I'm afraid you have to pay here, maybe 8 € if I remember correctly!
Keep smiling! :-)

Nathalie said...

Mais oui mais oui, bien sûr qu'on a remarqué ta nouvelle photo. J'adore !

J'aime aussi beaucoup le fond rouge pour présenter ces pièces d'architecture ancienne, ça les fait ressortir magnifiquement !

PeterParis said...

Nathalie:
Alors, tout est bien! :-)

Catherine said...

Un rouge spécial pour mettre en valeur des éléménts d'architecture extraordinaires.
Et si en plus tu souris, comme le dis Léia, alors....tout est parfait.
Et oui, je lis les posts, je regardes les photos, je lis même les commentaires de certains visisteurs....c'est surement pour cela que je prends tellement de retard !
Bon week-end, Peter. Keep smiling in spite of the weather.

Cuckoo said...

Oh ! 8 € is nothing for this beautiful museum.

PeterParis said...

Catherine:
Tu arrives tard, mais j'apprécie! :-)

Cuckoo:
So, next time it's on your list! :-)