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Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a French neoclassical architect, interior decorator, designer and artist. In addition to his important contributions to the architecture and interior design of his day, Pierre Fontaine was remarkable for his ability to not only prosper in his architectural career, but also to survive the numerous tumultuous regime changes – his architectural practice prospered for seven decades, from the Consulate to the reign of Napoleon III, almost without interruption. Life and work Fontaine was born in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise in 1762. His father, Pierre Fontaine (1735-1807), was an architect and fountain designer. In 1778 and 1779, the 16-year old participated, with his father, on building the hydraulic systems at the Château de L'Isle-Adam, which belonged to Louis-François-Joseph de Bourbon, Count of La Marche and Prince of Conti. Education and the beginning of the partnership with Percier In 1779, he move ...
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Joseph-Désiré Court
Joseph-Désiré Court (14 September 1797, Rouen – 23 January 1865, Paris) was a French painter of historical subjects and portraits. Life and work He was a descendant of the portrait painter Hyacinthe Rigaud and displayed an early interest in art. His first studies were with , at a drawing school established by Descamps' father, Jean-Baptiste. Following that, he worked at the studios of Antoine-Jean Gros in Paris. His allowance from his family was not quite enough for his needs, so he painted small pictures, which he sold through an agent. Despite this, he was unable to save enough money to continue his studies in Rome. Hoping that he could go at the expense of the state, he competed for the Prix de Rome and, in 1821, was awarded a prize for his depiction of Samson and Delilah. During his stay there, he continued to send works back to Paris for exhibition. His painting, " The Death of Caesar", was acquired by the Musée du Luxembourg in 1827. In 1828, the Académie de Rouen na ...
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Louis François Joseph, Prince Of Conti
Louis François Joseph de Bourbon or Louis François II, Prince of Conti (; 1 September 1734 – 13 March 1814), was the last Prince of Conti, scion of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, whose senior branches ruled France until 1848. Louis was the only child of his parents and lived a secluded childhood at his father's chateau, after the death of his mother in 1736. He later married his first cousin, with the union producing no children. During the French Revolution he stayed in France until 1797 when he was exiled to Spain where he died in 1814, less than a month before his family were restored to the throne of France; with his death the house of Bourbon-Conti became extinct. Biography Born at the Hôtel de Conti (quai Conti) in Paris, on 1 September 1734, and baptised in the presence of the French king and queen, he succeeded his father, Louis François I de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, as head of the most junior branch of the House of Bourbon in 1776. His mother was Louise ...
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Château De Compiègne
The Château de Compiègne is a French château, a former royal residence built for Louis XV and later restored by Napoleon. Compiègne was one of three seats of royal government, the others being Versailles and Fontainebleau. It is located in Compiègne in the Oise department and is open to the public. History Even before the château was constructed, Compiègne was the preferred summer residence for French monarchs, primarily for hunting given its proximity to the Forest of Compiègne. The first royal residence was built in 1374 for Charles V, and a long procession of successors both visited it and modified it. Louis XIV resided in Compiègne some 75 times. Louis XV was perhaps even more favorably impressed; the Comte de Chevergny described his infatuation: Hunting was his main passion... and Compiègne, with its immense forest, with its endless avenues amongst the trees, with its stretches down which you could ride all day and never come to the end, was the ideal pla ...
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Château De Saint-Cloud
The château de Saint-Cloud () was a château in France, built on a site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about west of Paris. The gardens survive, and the estate is now known as the Parc de Saint-Cloud. The château was expanded by Philippe I, Duke of Orléans in the 17th century and by Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Navarre in the decade of 1780. In the 19th century it was used by Napoleon Bonaparte, by the royal family during the Bourbon Restoration, by Louis Philippe d'Orléans, and by Napoleon III. The palace was burned down in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War and its walls were demolished in 1891. History Hôtel d'Aulnay The Hôtel d'Aulnay on the site was expanded into a château in the 16th century by the Gondi banking family. The Gondis stemmed from a family of Florentine bankers established at Lyon in the first years of the 16th century, who had arrived at the court of France in 1543 in the train of Catherine de' Medici. In t ...
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Château De Malmaison
The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileries it was the headquarters of the French government from 1800 to 1802, and Napoleon's last residence in France at the end of the Hundred Days in 1815. History Joséphine de Beauharnais bought the manor house in April 1799 for herself and her husband, General Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Napoléon I of France, at that time away fighting the Egyptian Campaign. Malmaison was a run-down estate, west of central Paris that encompassed nearly of woods and meadows. Upon his return, Bonaparte expressed fury at Joséphine for purchasing such an expensive house with the money she had expected him to bring back from the Egyptian campaign. The house, for which she had paid well over 300,000 francs, needed extensive renovations; she spen ...
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Directoire (style)
Directoire style () was a period in the decorative arts, fashion, and especially furniture design in France concurrent with the Directory (November 2, 1795–November 10, 1799), the later part of the French Revolution. The style uses Neoclassical architectural forms, minimal carving, planar expanses of highly grained veneers, and applied decorative painting. It is a style transitional between Louis XVI and Empire. The Directoire style was primarily established by the architects and designers Charles Percier (1764–1838) and Pier François Léonard Fontaine (1762–1853). In its use of Neoclassical architectural form and decorative motifs the style anticipates the slightly later and more elaborate Empire style, which was introduced after Napoleon established the First French Empire. The Directoire style reflected the Revolutionary belief in the values of republican Rome: "The stoic virtues of Republican Rome were upheld as standards not merely for the arts but also for pol ...
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École Des Beaux-Arts
; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century. The most famous and oldest is the in Paris, now located on the city's Rive Gauche, left bank across from the Louvre, at 14 rue Bonaparte (in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, 6th arrondissement). The school has a history spanning more than 350 years, training many of the great artists and architects in Europe. Fine art, Beaux-Arts style was modeled on classical "Classical antiquity, antiquities", preserving these idealized forms and passing the style on to future generations. History The origins of the Paris school go back to 1648, when the was founded by Cardinal Mazarin to educate the most talented students in drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, architecture and other media. Loui ...
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Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldiers' retirement home, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, the national cathedral of the French military. It is adjacent to the Royal Chapel known as the , the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters. The latter has been converted into a shrine to some of France's leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon. History Louis XIV initiated the project by an order dated 24 November 1670 to create a home and hospital for aged and disabled () soldiers, the veterans of his many military campaigns ...
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Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward classical austerity, severity, and heightened feeling, which harmonized with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancien Régime. David later became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794), and was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French First Republic, French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release: that of Napoleon, the First Consul of France. At this time he developed his Empire style, notable for its use of warm Venetian school (art), Venetian colours. After Napoleon's fall from Imperial power and the Bourbon revival, David exiled hims ...
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Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career of Napoleon, a series of military campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. He led the French First Republic, French Republic as French Consulate, First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then ruled the First French Empire, French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815. He was King of Italy, King of Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Italy from 1805 to 1814 and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine from 1806 to 1813. Born on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported the French Rev ...
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Joséphine De Beauharnais
Joséphine Bonaparte (, born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie; 23 June 1763 â€“ 29 May 1814) was the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I and as such Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810. As Napoleon's consort, she was also List of Italian royal consorts, Queen of Italy from 26 May 1805 until the 1810 annulment. She is widely known as Joséphine de Beauharnais () or Empress Joséphine. Joséphine's marriage to Napoleon was her second. Her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she was imprisoned in the Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes, Carmes prison until five days after his execution. Through her children by Beauharnais, she was the grandmother of Emperor Napoleon III of France and Empress Amélie of Brazil. Members of the current Dynasty, royal families of Swedish royal family, Sweden, Danish royal family, Denmark, Monarchy of Belgium, Belgium, and Norwegian royal family, ...
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Paris Opera
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be known more simply as the . Classical ballet as it is known today arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet and has remained an integral and important part of the company. Currently called the , it mainly produces operas at its modern 2,723-seat theatre Opéra Bastille which opened in 1989, and ballets and some classical operas at the older 1,979-seat Palais Garnier which opened in 1875. Small scale and contemporary works are also staged in the 500-seat Amphitheatre under the Opéra Bastille. The company's annual budget is in the order of 200 million euros, of which €100M come from the French state and €70M from box office receipts. With this money, the company runs the two houses and supports a large permanent staff, wh ...
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