Paris 1900 - Grand Palais
The Grand Palais served as one of the main buildings that helped solidify France as the supreme leader in the Arts. Like the Eiffel Tower in 1889, it served as a focus for the Exposition. However, the two structures were very different. The Grand Palais placed much greater emphasis on ornamentation. The famous French writer Paul Morand stated that, "while in 1889 architecture was happily on the threshold of an age of iron and steel, in 1900 it had gone back to styles such as those taught at the Beaux-Arts." The Grand Palais incorporated what is commonly referred to as "Beaux-Arts style", which was characterized by formal planning and rich decoration.
This black and white postcard represents the primary entrance of the Grand Palais, which was established at the expense of the Palais de l'Industrie that had been erected for the 1855 Exposition. Architect Eugene Hénard (1849-1923) proposed the destruction of the Palais De l'Industrie. In 1894, Hénard received one of three first prizes (others were granted to Charles Girault and Edmond J.B. Paulin) in the competition for the general plan of the Exposition. The final layout of the fair incorporated his suggestion of cutting a new street from the Champs-Elysées through the Palais de l'Industrie which would cross the Seine River on a new bridge and then terminate at the Invalides (Wolf, 29). Although some Frenchmen opposed the destruction of the Palais de I'lndustrie, which was seen as one of the most conspicuous landmarks on the Champs Elysées and served as a museum at the time, many agreed it was obsolete. According to Richard Morris Hunt, a prestigious American architect, "from the very day it began to rise above the ground the critics cried against the...
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In his book Terre des Hommes (1939, translated as Man and His World), Antoine de St. Exupéry wrote that "to be a man is to feel that through one's own contribution, one helps to build the world." This is the quote that inspired the theme for the Montreal exposition, also named Man and His World, after the novel's title. The 1967 exposition was supposed to take place in the USSR, on the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Although permission was given to the Soviets in 1960, they backed out in 1962. Jean Drapeau, Montreal's ambitious mayor, proposed that the fair be held in his city. A site was selected on the St. Lawrence River in order to avoid the costly expropriation of land. Only the Ile Sainte-Hélène and Mackay Pier, where the Cité du Havre would be located, existed originally; the other islands had to be built. The Ile Notre Dâme was built out of mudflats, and the Ile Sainte-Hélène was extended to make room for La Ronde. These modifications in infrastructure expanded the fair's size to 1000 acres.
Author unknown, "Behind the Scenes at Expo", Architectural and Engineering News 1967 April vol.9, p.108-109
Third Impressionist exhibition in Paris, held in 1877. Currently displayed in the Art Institute of
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2 Harmon, Alison. "Paris in the 1930s: Art and History." Crossing on SS Normandie. http://www.fordham.edu/normandie/artdeco/AH3%20ParisInThe1930s.html (accessed April 9, 2014).
The viewbook was compiled by the Architectural Commission for the fair, with the text by Allen D. Albert, an honorary secretary, and forward by Rufus C. Dawes, the president. The book, approximately nine by twelve inches, and consisting of 64 pages of vibrant images of the fair, depicts the major buildings, exhibits and attractions. These images are mostly watercolors, sometimes enhanced photographs or cartoons. Th...
Burnham is a well-known architect around the world who previously completed work in “Chicago, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Manila, and many other cities” (Pg. 3). He was offered the job to design and build the buildings that would be a part of the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago World’s Fair), after Chicago won the bid for the fair in 1890, and eventually took the offer with his assistant, John Root. The construction of the fair began in 1891 and did not completely finish until the fair was already halfway over in the summer of 1893. During those two and a half years, the success and reputatio...
It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established practice. Its pioneers and spearheads are prevalent figures looming over the new architects and designers who are trying to make their mark in the shadows of such historically influential people. With new technologies and materials emerging from the world wars the next era of modernism had started to evolved, bringing with it philosophies and ideas which seemed far removed from those of the pioneers of modernism “What emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s was an expanding synthesis of questions utterly removed from the confident statements of the pioneers.”(Spade 1971,10) Two significant buildings were designed in the 50's, both of them for educational institutes and to house students of architecture, there were both designed in completely different styles and methods. The first is Ludwig Mies van der Rohes' Crown Hall, finished in 1956 and designed as a part of a campus master plan for the Illinois Institute of technology in Chicago. Mies' design for Crown Hall is one of his most realised expressio...
When the first major international exhibition of arts and industries was held in London in 1851, the London Crystal Palace epitomized the achievements of the entire world at a time when progress was racing forward at a speed never before known to mankind. The Great Exhibition marked the beginning of a tradition of world's fairs, which would be held in major cities all across the globe. Following the success of the London fair, it was inevitable that other nations would soon try their hand at organizing their own exhibitions. In fact, the next international fair was held only two years later, in 1853, in New York City. This fair would have its own Crystal Palace to symbolize not only the achievements of the world, but also the nationalistic pride of a relatively young nation and all that she stood for. Walt Whitman, the great American poet, wrote in "The Song of the Exposition":
Eck, Susan. "The Sculpture Plan by Karl Bitter, Director of Sculpture." Pan American Exposition: Buffalo 1901. (http://panam1901.bfn.org/documents/sculptureplan.html).
The Exhibition Hall built by Stephen Kemp, is the oldest and most unique hall on the fairgrounds; it was the first hall to be built (Wynn). Only used “from (1850-1860), the innovation octagon style was used for hou...
The “superstar” museum gained this status by considering every important detail during its establishment and initial phases of conversion from royal palace to museum (Gombault, 2002). As the purpose of the building changed, each room addressed new functions with new requirements. Although the function of the Louvre is different from the building’s original intention, the building is still appears dignified and important enough to display priceless artifacts and painting (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). This consideration was applied in designing the Met. The Met looked towards the South Kensington Museum (Victoria and Albert) and the “ideal role model” due to its extensive collections and international reputation (Heckscher, 1995). The Met found itself in a similar situation to the South Kensington, because it did not have a building or a collection to start with (Heckscher, 1995). When designing museums, architects strived to create monuments that “prepare and educate the mind of the visitor (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998).” Education is an essential function of a museum. Acquiring, preserving, and properly displaying materials, permits a museum to fulfill this duty (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). For instance, lighting is a factor that affects the manner in which artwork is viewed and can be properly appreciated. When determining the proper lighting for the Louvre, Comte d’Angiviller, strongly believed that natural, overhead lighting was the most effective solution (McClellan, 1994, p. 72). The same determination impacted the decision to add skylights at the Met. During the initial phase, architects Vaux and Mould, added skylights to the upper floor, and windows to the lower floor that provided a natural light solution (Heckscher, 1995). Additionally, glass-roofed courtyards provided “unimpeded light” for displaying
The German Pavilion was designed in 1929 for the International Exposition in Barcelona. It was commissioned by the German government as a representation of the new German Republic after the devastation of World War I. What Mies van der Rohe
The French Revolution, indeed, changed the structure of economics and social sphere of the old regime, and also the ideology of that time. In the years that followed the Revolution, the always increasing senses of both freedom and individuality were evident, not only in French society, but also in art. As stated by Dowd, “leaders of the French Revolution consciously employed all forms of art to mobilize public sentiment in favor of the New France and French nationalism.” In between all the artistic areas, the art of painting had a special emphasis. After the Revolution, the French art academies and also schools were now less hierarchical and there was, now, more freedom of engaging into new themes, not being the apprentices so tied up to their masters footsteps, not being so forced to follow them.
Built in 1889 to commemorate the hundred year anniversary of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower has been a topic of discussion for numerous years. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and Morris Koechlin, the Tower was built originally as a temporary structure. The pieces of this eye-catching building were to be disassembled and melted down after twenty years. This did not happen, however. The Eiffel Tower has become a colossal icon throughout the world; the Tower has brought in enormous revenue and has a scientific impact on French and all of Europe’s society.