Welcome to the beautiful Grand Palais.
Many people like this building in particular, due to its different architectural style with
multiply building materials.
Unlike many other monumental structures in Paris, the Grand Palais combines stone, steel
and glass to perfection.
But then again, the Grand Palais was built during a time when new construction material
combinations were on the agenda.
Just like the Eiffel Tower, Petit Palais and Pont Alexander - the Grand Palais was built
for the Universal Exhibition.
During this stage, Paris was host to the World Fair, as it is also known, once every eleven
years.
After the success with the Eiffel Tower in 1889, the need for something new and magnificent
for the upcoming exhibition in 1900 was obvious.
Hardly had the 1889 exhibition been completed before the planning for the next exhibition
began.
In 1894, a competition was organized to define a blueprint for the general layout of the
1900 Universal Exhibition.
The result of the competition showed that over twenty suggestions involved linking Champs-Élysées
to the Esplanade des Invalides by two new buildings and a new bridge, an idea which
was embraced by the committee.
This created the set of rules from which a new competition would determine who would
get to design the buildings.
The end result was that no one would design all buildings alone, but the work would rather
be collective and inspired by several architects.
The main part of the Grand Palais was awarded Henri Deglane, the central part went to Albert
Louvet and the rear part to Albert Thomas.
There was also a fourth architect involved, Charles Girault, who was responsible for coordinating
the work.
So not only is the building construction using many different types of materials, it is also
designed by multiply architects.
Maybe this is one of the reasons the Grand Palais is such an interesting building.
Believe it or not, but the construction of the Grand Palais only took three years, as
it had to be finished for the World Fair in 1900.
Needless to say, the construction site was of epic proportions.
During the peak in the construction phase, over 1500 people was working at the construction
site.
They pulled it off on time for the World Fair in 1900, even though the dead line proved
to be a huge challenge.
During the construction, enormous amounts of steel were used, actually even more than
during the construction of the Eiffel Tower.
The steel framework of the Grand Palais was built using 8500 ton steel whereas the Eiffel
Tower needed 8000 ton.
Due to the low resistance of the soil near the Seine, over 3400 oak piles were inserted
into the ground, to provide the stability needed for a building of this magnitude.
Even though all these numbers are impressive, the Grand Palais is most known for its front
side, the façade.
The façade is stacked with a large number of statue, sculptured friezes and beautiful
mosaic.
All this was done by no less than forty different contemporary artists.
Even though the front side of the Grand Palais has a typical Classicism style when it comes
to architecture, many of the sculptures has a more baroque look to them.
Most remarkable of all decorations are probably the two Quadrigas, the four-horse-drawn chariots
that you can see at the top on either side of the façade.
These are known as the Récipon Quadrigas, after their creator, George Récipon.
The one looking out over the Seine represents "Harmony triumphing over Discord" and the
one looking out over the Champs-Elysées "Immortality outstripping time".
Even though the total weight of these two copper status is twelve tons, the horses appear
to be defying the laws of gravity as they leap upwards into the Paris sky, more than
30 meters above the ground.
Some say they are the most beautiful part of the Grand Palais, and when looking at them,
it's easy to understand why.
Another main feature of the Grand Palais is its massive mosaic frieze, located behind
the colonnade.
The mosaic in the 73 meter long frieze, which is made by the painter Louis Édouard Fournier,
forms a timeline through the main periods of art history.
On the backside entrance, on Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt, you can see an inscription
which proudly proclaimed the mission and ambition of the Grand Palaiss: "This monument has been
dedicated by the Republic to the glory of French Art".
During the late 20th and early 21st century, the Grand Palais underwent some serious restorations.
When a rivet fell down from the glass roof in 1993, questions regarding the condition
of the building were raised.
In year 2000, after a series of engineering surveys, the decision was taken to start the
restoration work.
When the Grand Palaiss was later listed as a historic monument in the month of November
the very same year, the State was able to fund a vast restoration project.
The project involved fortifications of sections which were in an alarming condition as well
as restoring and cleaning all of the buildings beautiful sculptures and decorations.
The restoration project was later completed in 2008.
Throughout the years, and still to this very day, the Grand Palais has hosted many major
exhibitions and shows.
The building is also permanent host to the science museum and the "Galeries nationals";
a very fine arts collection.
Today the Grand Palais attracts hundreds of thousands visitors every year, not only due
to its exhibitions on the inside, but also due to its magnificent outside.
The ambitions the constructors had in the late 19th century in combining the highly
dissimilar materials steel, stone and glass, truly paid off.
The result is what you can see today; an architectural success.