Louvre: Apartments of Napoleon III

One thing not to miss at the Louvre, out of many items not to miss, are the state apartments of Napoleon III. I've visited a lot of opulent places in my travels but never seen something on this scale and so completely over the top.

Built between 1854 and 1861 by the architect Hector Lefuel, the set of rooms was basically built for partying and entertaining. How could you fail to impress guests of the State when this is the setting?

Long hallways lead you past anterooms designed for large scale gatherings through a stately enfilade until you reach the Grand Salon.

 Every square inch is ornate; designed to within an inch of its life. And it's totally magnificent.

The ceiling of the Grand Salon is a painting by Charles-Raphael Marechal depicting the building of the wing itself:  The Reuniting of the Louvre and the Tuileries by Napoleon III.

I love the filtered light through the many windows. The low light from the now electrified chandliers almost appears as candlelight at this time of day.

 The view out the windows isn't so bad either.

I loved this little side table nestled between pilasters; a perfect spot to place your drink at a party or more likely for a candelabra.

 Small rooms dot the enfilade, such as this card playing chamber.

 The small dining room features magnificent wall murals.

The apartments have been faithfully restored and the upholstery and gilding looks brand new; probably the same as in the 1860s (minus the smog).

The grand dining room features an immense table and a ceiling painted by Eugene Appert depicting exotic birds in flight.

 The paneled opening at the end of the dining room sets the symmetry of the space as the entry is off center.

The large sideboard of course would have been loaded with cut glass, silver, and exotic fruits to impress guests.

This service hall of sorts runs the length of the apartments and dining room. Even the underside of the circular stair is decorated; no detail overlooked.

 At the end of the apartments is a gilded bed and balustrade from the throne room of Napoleon I. Not your standard 1 bedroom apartment.

Before visiting the Louvre, make sure the apartments of Napoleon III are open on the day of your visit as they close periodically.

A Grand Stair: Escalier du Ministre, Louvre

While in Paris everyone will say to visit the apartments of Napoleon III at the Louvre. They're right, it's amazing! On the way to his private apartments you will pass through the Escalier du Ministre which is worth a blog post in its own right before moving onto the apartments themselves.

Originally the staircase was part of the ceremonial apartments of the minister of state. These were built to impress those who came for parties and on affairs of state and impress they do!

Napoleon III hired the architect Hector Martin Lefuel to design the "New Louvre" wing, now known in part as the Richelieu wing. Construction of the wing was at the height of the 2nd Empire period, 1854-1857.

Afterwards the staircase was decorated by a number of artists until 1861. I can see what took them so long! I love the chandelier and huge sconces built by Christofle and designed by the sculptor Morand.

The 2 stunning paintings at the top of the stair are by Charles-Francois d'Aubigny and depict the gardens of the Tuileries and the palace.

 I love these interior doors found throughout Paris, I say we bring them back into current fashion!

Next up the apartments of Napoleon III.
Click the photos to see larger in detail.

The power of blogging

Or maybe this post should be entitled "the power of oxi clean".  A few weeks ago my friend Meg of the blog PigtownDesign had written a post about some antique china she had won at auction which was heavily yellowed and using oxiclean to get out the stains.

Two weeks later, in fact this past weekend, I was at an estate sale and found a charming little antique plate which was heavily discolored for only $2 (see picture at top of the post). I remembered Meg's recommendation and decided to give it a try. It took about 10 hours soaking in the oxi-clean but look at the results; nearly perfect!

I'll be trying oxi-clean now on a number of other items; Thanks Meg! By chance, does anyone recognize the maker's mark on the back?

I received no compensation from oxi-clean (in fact I had to pay a premium in order to buy at my local drugstore!)

Going, going, GONE!

As many of you have been reading and are probably already aware, Google Reader will be ceasing operation on July 1st ( blog lists on blogs showing updated posts). This is how I personally read blogs and I know a number of other people do as well so we all have to find another way to keep up to date!

I've signed up for Bloglovin after having issues with some of the other recommendations I've seen. Every day I get an easy to navigate email with the new postings for the blogs I had entered into the website.  It seems to work well although I'll still miss my blog list here on my blog!

I won't bore you with a lot of redundant information but a great writeup of options can be found at Pigtown Design HERE. As always you can sign up for an easy email of ArchitectDesign sent to you on the upper right hand sidebar "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" on this page by simply adding your email and hitting 'submit'.  You can also sign up for this blog via amazon which will upload directly to your kindle for a small fee (see information here).  Otherwise please consider adding ArchitectDesign to whatever blog reader service you choose to use as I'm happy to have YOU as a reader! Happy Blogging!

Images from our ICAA tour of hunt country taken earlier this spring: future blogpost in the works!

Chisel & Mouse: at it again!

You may remember me talking about Chisel & Mouse before and now the guys at Chisel & Mouse are at it again; this time transforming many of their beautiful plaster architectural models to hanging. Above you can see their version of the entrance to Buckingham Palace on one of my bookshelves but also hanging on my wall below.

They're constantly adding new models to their inventory and improving existing models. Also, the new models are signed and dated. Loving these guys and can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Palazzo Madama: a grand stair

Many of us have heard of the Palazzo Madama and its famous stair but how many of us have visited? My Australian penpal made a beeline for Turin and the palace while in Italy recently.

He wrote that the stair did not disappoint and even took his breath away. The stair has been copied around the world and for good reason: just look at it!

While the palace dates to the 1st century BC (seriously old) the stair was the last addition done to the complex in the early 18th century. The work was supposed to be a part of an enormous new baroque palace taking the place of the old castle designed by the Italian architect Filippo Juvarra.

 Only this stair and some interior renovations were completed thanks to numerous wars.

 Despite this there is still much to see; it's a large castle turned fascinating museum with something for everyone.

 The stair is seen above on the piano nobile plan at the bottom center in gray with the Hall of the Senate located in light blue in the center.

This grand and impressive hall was built atop a medieval courtyard with Roman excavations which is accessible from the ground level. I love the picture above with the group of people enjoying a snack in the corner of the grand space.

The collections include art of the Italian Piedmont region with everything from an impressive collection of pottery and china (still in their same location from a 1950s reorganization), fine arts, furniture, and sculpture.

 I wish this was my butler's pantry!

Below you see a painting and model of the immense Palace planned for the site by Juvarra of which only the stair was realized.

 The baroque interiors shimmer with gold and shine under colorful silks and beautiful paintings.

The baroque period was one in which the arts delighted the senses - who can't help but feel overwhelmed and awed by this beauty?

Either Neil is a patient man or the museum is unfortunately under-populated; all of these immense empty rooms with so much to see and no people!

The Italians did tend to over do things. One's eye has nowhere to pause in the image above; maybe not so much of a delight as an inundation of the senses. Bling Bling Bling!

I think I could spend an entire day in the museum though browsing the collections, maybe a trip to Turin is in my future?

 From the gardens one can see the earlier parts of the castle.

 They look particularly lush and green in the springtime and certainly well cared for!

 I love the little fountain in the image above.

Such orderly vegetable gardens in raised beds, I'm sure Martha Stewart would call it a good thing!

I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of the Palazzo Madama as much as me!