tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198329362499789905.post3369127757475722425..comments2024-02-13T11:01:15.301+01:00Comments on Peter's Paris: National LibraryPeterParishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09694538476960957295noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198329362499789905.post-609961693606320072017-01-27T05:47:12.383+01:002017-01-27T05:47:12.383+01:00How wonderful!!! Being an avid reader, you could r...How wonderful!!! Being an avid reader, you could really lock me in there and toss away the key :)<br /><br />KathrynStudio at the Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02900305750995808779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198329362499789905.post-67904209126355215212017-01-25T16:43:44.639+01:002017-01-25T16:43:44.639+01:00Beautiful as usual. Will put that on my itinerary ...Beautiful as usual. Will put that on my itinerary when we're in the Palais Royal/Louvre area in 2017. Would you suggest a good season for travel to Paris. Well, ALL seasons are a good time, but we would appreciate your suggestion.Lorraine S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198329362499789905.post-61496138902029377262017-01-21T08:51:56.170+01:002017-01-21T08:51:56.170+01:00Magnifique ! J'ai vu un reportage à la télé il...Magnifique ! J'ai vu un reportage à la télé il y a quelques jours.<br />Quel beau patrimoine !claudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07356955828590617751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198329362499789905.post-4331482566943270812017-01-19T16:37:06.394+01:002017-01-19T16:37:06.394+01:00What a beautiful, impressive library! And the phot...What a beautiful, impressive library! And the photos! Thank you so much for leading us to this place, Peter.<br /><br />That statue of Voltaire is incredible. All we need is for it to get up and become animated at a moment's notice. It is easy to believe that in his lifetime, the sculptor, Jean-Antoine Houdon, moved in a large circle of admirers. And they were the members of France's intellectual vanguard.<br /><br />Not to be outdone, the Americans residing in Paris at that time: Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Fulton and the poet Joel Barlow all had their marble busts modeled by Houdon. <br /><br />Monumental commissions such as Voltaire's, Czar Alexander I's and George Washington's full scale statues became legendary.<br /><br />In 1785, Thomas Jefferson convinced Houdon to travel to the United States. Would he please model a likeness of General Washington? <br />The sculptor and his three assistants arrived at Mount Vernon, stayed for two weeks, and then returned to France. Houdon brought back with him a plaster mask of Washington, to work with it for the marble bust and the statue of the hero.<br /><br />Before he left, he presented the original terracotta bust of the General's likeness to his host as a gift. And Washington treasured it for the rest of his life.<br /><br />Thanks again.<br />Maria<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com