Paris 1900 - Petit Palais :: Architecture History

Missing Image Paris 1900 - Petit Palais Along with the Grand Palais and the Pont Alexandre III, the Petit Palais served as one of the main focuses of the International Exhibition of 1900 and helped solidify the position of France as artistic world leader. Despite its inferiority in size to the Grand Palais, contemporary critics noted that the Petit Palais is of "equal importance in creating an impression of the artistic success of the Exhibition" (Boyd, 194). From its inception, it was built to serve as a permanent gallery of painting and sculpture. This black and white postcard represents the inner courtyard of the Petit Palais, which was established at the expense of the Palais de l'Industrie that had been erected for the 1855 Exposition. Architect Eugà ¨ne Hà ©nard (1849-1923) proposed the destruction of the Palais De l'Industrie. In 1894, Hà ©nard 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-Elysees through the Palais de l'Industrie which would cross the Seine River on a new bridge and then terminate at the Dà ´me des 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 Elysà ©es and served as an exhibition hall at the time, many agreed it was obsolete. According to Richard Morris Hunt, a prestigiou s American architect, "from the very day it began to rise above the ground the critics cried against the destruction of one of the finest perspective views that Paris afforded, and condemned this heavy and compact mask that was being interposed between the Champs Elysà ©es and the dome of the Invalides" (Hunt, 31). Hà ©nard recommended replacing the Palais de l'Industrie with two buildings, Palais des Beaux-Arts and Palais des Lettres (Wolf, 29). From Hà ©nard's idea came the establishment of the Grand Palais, Petit Palais, and the Pont Alexandre III. In 1896, Charles-Louis Girault (1851-1932) was nominated chief architect for the Petit Palais. He found his inspiration mainly in eighteenth century French architecture. The main faà §ade was located across from the Grand Palais on the East Side of the Avenue Nicholas II (today Winston Churchill). Of the three other facades, one faced the Seine River, another Avenue des Champs-Elysà ©es. The plan of the Petit Palais was that of a regular trapezoid and was arranged around a central closed courtyard.