21.6.18

Part of the Sorbonne...


Unless you are a teacher or a student, normally you will not be allowed to enter this building except when there is an art exhibition – and...  there is now one ongoing.

This building houses the Faculty of Law of the Sorbonne University and you find it on Place du Panthéon. It seems that what you can see from the Place was part of an end-of-the-18th century project which also included what was supposed to become the Sainte-Geneviève church, but which finally became the Panthéon, with J-G Soufflot as architect (he died before the end of the work). I wrote more about it here. ... and I wrote more about the Sorbonne University here.

As I officially went for the art exhibition, I will of course show something of it. The artist’s name is Sophie Verger and she specialises today in sculptures inspired by animals, often in surprising postures. We can find some outdoor examples in the courtyard….

… and others on an upper floor.


To reach this upper floor, you have to climb some amazing stairs.


Actually, for me, this was especially the chance to see the interior architecture of this building.

There is another entrance to the building, from Rue Saint Jacques – closed... 

... but you can reach it from the inside and visit what is referred to as “Galerie Soufflot” – see also top picture.  I haven’t managed to find any information about this part of the building – including the stairs -, but, looking on different city plans and on the building material used, it seems obvious that it has been added later during the 19th century.

There are some other nice stairs also in the older parts of the building … and you can find the statue of Jacques Cujas (1522-90), a prominent legal expert, scholar and teacher….

… who gave his name to a recent addition to the building complex, along Rue Cujas - the photo to the right, below. Once again, I haven’t been able to find the name of the architect – I guess in any case it would be better not to mention or remember it. Well, the real “guilty” ones are of course they who made such decisions in the 1960’ or 70’s. … and, actually, the building is nicer on the inside than on the outside.



2 comments:

Mystica said...

I hope an exhibition will be on when I next visit Paris. Love those stairs though they'll be so very difficult to climb!

Maria Russell said...


The façade of this building is awesome! Maybe it does not look as imposing during the day as it does at night...
Every time my sister and I came back - in the dead of night - from downton Paris, we passed by it. And everytime, the same feeling: grandeur...beauty...the weight of history...
Thank you so much, Peter for showing us the inside. Great photos as always!