Go along the Rue de Rivoli, past the Palais Royal, till you reach the
Rue du Louvre. Turn down it, with the Louvre on your right. To your left
stands a curious composite building, with a detached belfry in the
centre, and two wings, as it seems, one on either side. The southernmost
wing is the old =church of St. Germain l’Auxerrois=, the sole remnant of
the earliest Louvre; the northernmost wing is the modern Mairie of the
1st Arrondissement, unhappily intended to “harmonize” with it. The real
result is, that the modern building kills the old one. The belfry was
designed to fill up the gap between the two. Its effect is disastrous.
The church is older than the oldest Louvre. St. Germanus, Bishop of
Auxerre (A.D. 430), was almost one of the first generation of Gallic
saints, celebrated for his visit to Britain, where he assisted in
gaining the Hallelujah victory over the heathen invaders. A church on
this site is said to have been erected in his honour as early as the
days of Chilperic. Sacked by the Normans, it was re-erected in something
like its present form in the 12th century, but received many subsequent
additions.
The beautiful =porch=, which we first examine, is of much later date,
having been added in 1431 by Jean Gaussel, at a time when the old
_château_ of the Louvre had become one of the principal residences of
the French kings, in order to give greater dignity, and to afford a
covered approach for the royal worshippers to what was practically their
own chapel. It therefore contains (restored) statues, in niches,
relating especially to the =royal and local Saints of Paris=, whose
names are beneath them:—St. Cloud, the Princess Ste. Clotilde, Ste.
Radégonde of France, St. Denis, St. Marcel, St. Germain himself, St.
Landry, Ste. Isabelle, Ste. Bathilde, St. Jean de Valois, and others.
The saints of the royal house are distinguished by crowns or coronets.
Two of these statues are old: St. Francis, at the south end, and St.
Mary of Egypt, nude, with her long hair, and the three loaves which
sustained her in the desert, on the second north pillar. The modern
frescoes, destroyed, are by Mottez.
Observe the congruity of all these saints to the church and the
_château_. St. Landry or Landeric, an early Frankish bishop of Paris,
was buried within, and his shrine was a place of pilgrimage. St. Marcel
was also a bishop of Paris. St. Cloud was a holy anchorite whose cell
was in the wood which occupied the site of the palace (now destroyed)
that bears his name. All these saints are therefore closely bound up
with the town of Paris and the royal family. You must never forget this
near alliance in France between the church and the crown: it colours all
the architecture of the early period.
Within the porch, we come to the =main façade=, of the 13th century. R
and L, two sainted bishops of Auxerre, successors of St. Germain.
Central portal, a queen, a king (probably Childebert and Ultrogothe, the
original Frankish founders), St. Vincent; then St. Germain himself, and
Ste. Geneviève, with the usual devil and candle, and her attendant
angel, etc. On the pier, Madonna and Child, under a canopy. The tympanum
had formerly the usual relief of the Last Judgment, now destroyed, and
replaced by a fresco. Reminiscences of its subject still remain in the
quaint figures to R and L on the arch, at its base, representing
respectively, with childish realism, the Jaws of Hell and Abraham’s
Bosom, to which the wicked and the just were consigned in the centre.
In this church, and in that of St. Germain-des-Prés (see later), =St.
Vincent= ranks as a local Parisian saint, because his tunic was
preserved in the great abbey church of the other St. Germain beyond the
river. He bears a martyr’s palm and is habited as a deacon; whence he is
often hard to distinguish from his brother deacon, St. Stephen: both are
often put together in Parisian churches. It is probable that St. Germain
of Paris consecrated this church to his older namesake and =St.
Vincent=—for his connection with whom you had better wait till you
visit St. Germain-des-Prés.
The =interior= is low, but impressive. The R aisle is entirely railed
off as a separate church or Lady Chapel. It contains an interesting
14th-century Root of Jesse, seldom accessible. Pretty modern font, by
Jouffroy, after Mme. de Lamartine, in the South Transept. Walk round the
Ambulatory (behind the Choir), and observe the stained glass and other
details, which the reader may now be trusted to discover unaided. A mass
of the detail is well worthy of notice. The Gothic pillars of the Choir
were converted in the 18th century into fluted columns. Over the
Sacristy, in the South Ambulatory, is a modern fresco of St. Germain and
St. Vincent. Note many other memorials of the latter. When you leave,
walk to the south side of the church to inspect the exterior and the
=square tower=, from which, as parish church of the Louvre, the bell
rang for the massacre of St. Bartholomew, to be answered by that in the
Palace on the island.
On emerging from the church, contrast its Gothic quaintness and richness
of detail with the cold, classical _façade_ of that part of the =Louvre=
which fronts you. This _façade_, known as Perrault’s Colonnade, with its
classical pediment and Corinthian columns, was erected by Claude
Perrault for Louis XIV, whose LL and crown appear on every part of it.
Nothing could better illustrate the profound difference between Gothic
and Classical architecture than this abrupt contrast.
The portion of the palace that faces you is the real =front door= of the
Louvre. Notice the smaller barred windows on the ground floor, and the
upper story converted into a _loggia_. Now pass in through the
=gateway=, under the Chariot of the Sun—an Apotheosis of Louis—into
the First Court, known distinctively as the =Cour du Louvre=. For all
that follows, consult the excellent coloured map in Baedeker, page 86. I
advise you to cut it out, and carry it round in your hand during this
excursion.
Begin by understanding distinctly that this court (le vieux Louvre) is
the real and =original Louvre=: the rest is mere excrescence, intended
to unite the main building with the Tuileries, which lay some hundreds
of yards to the west of it. Notice, first, that the Palace as a whole,
seen from the point where you now stand, is constructed on the old
principle of relatively blank external walls, like a castle, with an
interior courtyard, on which all the apartments open, and almost all the
decoration is lavished. Reminiscences of defence lurk about the Louvre.
It can best be understood by comparison with such ornate, yet
fortress-like, Italian palaces as the Strozzi at Florence. Notice the
four opposite portals, facing the cardinal points, which can be readily
shut by means of great doors; while the actual doorways of the various
suites of apartments open only into the protected courtyard. This is the
origin of the familiar French _porte-cochère_.
Again, the portion of the building that =directly faces you= as you
enter the court from St. Germain is the =oldest part=, and represents
the early Renaissance spirit. It is the most primitive Louvre. Note in
particular the central elevated portion, known as a _Pavillon_, and
graced with elegant Caryatides. These _Pavillons_ are lingering
reminiscences of the mediæval towers. You will find them in the corners
and centres of other blocks in the Louvre. They form a peculiarly French
Renaissance characteristic. The Palace is here growing out of the
Castle. The other three sides of the square are, on the whole, more
classical and later.
Now cross the square directly to the =Pavillon de l’Horloge=, as it is
called, from the clock which adorns it. To your L, on the floor of the
court, are two circular =white lines=, enclosed in a square. These mark
the site of the original _Château_ of the Louvre, with its Keep, or
_donjon_. François I^{er}, who began the existing building, originally
intended that his palace should cover the same area. It was he who
erected the L wing, which now faces you, marked by the crowned H on its
central round gable, placed there by his successor, Henri II, under whom
it was completed. To the same king are also due the monograms of H and D
(for Diane de Poitiers, his mistress), between the columns of the ground
floor. The whole of the Pavillon de l’Horloge, and of this west wing,
should be =carefully examined in detail= as the finest remaining
specimen of highly decorated French Renaissance architecture. (But the
upper story of the Pavillon, with the Caryatides, is an age later.)
Observe even the decoration lavished on the beautiful chimneys. Pierre
Lescot was the architect of this earliest wing; the exquisite sculpture
is by Jean Goujon, a Frenchman, and the Italian, Paolo Ponzio. Examine
much of it. The crossed K’s of certain panels stand for Catherine de
Médicis.
The R wing, beyond the _Pavillon_, was added, in the same style, under
Louis XIII, who decided to double the plan of his predecessors, and form
the existing Cour du Louvre.
The other three sides, in a more classic style, with pediments replacing
the Pavillons, and square porticoes instead of rounded gables, are for
the most part later. The S side, however, as far as the central door, is
also by Pierre Lescot. It forms one of the two fronts of the original
square first contemplated. The attic story of these three sides was
added under Louis XIV, to whom in the main is due this Cour du Louvre. A
considerable part of Louis XIV’s decorations bear reference to his
representation as _le roi soleil_.
Now, pass through the Pavillon de l’Horloge (called on its W side
Pavillon Sully) into the =second= of the three courts of the Louvre. To
understand this portion of the building, again, you must remember that
shortly after the erection of the Old Louvre, Catherine de Médicis began
to build her palace of the =Tuileries=, now destroyed, to the W of it.
She (and subsequent rulers) designed to unite the Old Louvre with the
Tuileries by a =gallery= which should run along the bank of the river.
Of that gallery, Catherine de Médicis herself erected a considerable
portion, to be described later, and Henri IV almost completed it. Later
on, Napoleon I conceived the idea of extending a similar gallery along
his new Rue de Rivoli, on the N side, so as to enclose the whole space
between the Louvre and the Tuileries in one gigantic double courtyard.
Napoleon III carried out his idea. The =second court= in which you now
stand is entirely flanked by buildings of this epoch—the Second Empire.
Examine it cursorily as far as the modern statue of Gambetta.
Stand or take a seat by the railing of the garden opposite the Pavillon
Sully. The part that now faces you forms a portion of the building of
François I^{er} and Louis XIII, re-decorated in part by Napoleon I. The
portions to your R and L (consult Baedeker’s map) are entirely of the
age of Napoleon III, built so as to conceal the want of parallelism of
the outer portions. Observe their characteristic Pavillons, each bearing
its own name inscribed upon it. This recent square, though quite modern
in the character of its sculpture and decoration, is Renaissance in its
general architecture, and, when looked back upon from the gardens of the
Tuileries, affords a most excellent idea of that stately style, as
developed in France under François I^{er}. The whole of this splendid
plan, however, has been rendered futile by the destruction of the
Tuileries, without which the enclosure becomes wholly meaningless.
Now, continue =westward,= pass the Monument of Gambetta, and take a seat
on the steps at the base, near the fine nude figure of Truth. In front
of you opens the =third square= of the Louvre, known as the =Place du
Carrousel=, and formerly enclosed on its W side by the Palace of the
Tuileries, which was unfortunately burnt down in 1871, during the
conflict between the Municipal and National authorities. Its place is
now occupied by a garden terrace, the view from which in all directions
is magnificent. Fronting you, as you sit, is the =Arc de Triomphe du
Carrousel=, erected under Napoleon I, by Percier and Fontaine, in
imitation of the Arch of Septimius Severus at Rome, and once crowned by
the famous bronze Roman horses from St. Mark’s at Venice. The arch,
designed as an approach to the Tuileries during the period of the
classical mania, is too small for its present surroundings, since the
removal of the Palace. The =N. wing=, visible to your R, is purely
modern, of the age of the First and Second Empire and the Third
Republic. The meretricious character of the reliefs in its extreme W.
portion, erected under the Emperor Napoleon III, and restored after the
Commune, is redolent of the spirit of that gaudy period. The =S. wing=,
to your L, forms part of the =connecting gallery= erected by Henri IV,
but its architecture is largely obscured by considerable alterations
under Napoleon III. Its W pavillon—known as the Pavillon de Flore—is
well worth notice.
Having thus gained a first idea of the =courtyard fronts= of the
building, continue your walk, still westward, along the S wing as far as
the Pavillon de Flore, a remaining portion of the corner edifice which
ran into one line with the Palace of the Tuileries (again consult
Baedeker’s map). Turn round the corner of the Pavillon to examine the S,
or =River Front= of the connecting gallery—one of the finest parts of
the whole building, but far less known to ordinary visitors than the
cold and uninteresting Northern line along the Rue de Rivoli. The first
portion, as far as the gateways, belongs originally to the age of Henri
IV; but it was entirely reconstructed under Napoleon III, whose
obtrusive N appears in many places on the gateways and elsewhere.
Nevertheless, it still preserves, on the whole, some reminiscence of its
graceful Renaissance architecture. Beyond the main gateway (with modern
bronze Charioteer of the Sun), flanked by the Pavillons de la Trémoille
and de Lesdiguières, we come upon the long =Southern Gallery= erected by
Catherine de Médicis, which still preserves almost intact its splendid
early French Renaissance decoration. This is one of the noblest portions
of the entire building. The N here gives place to H’s, and the
Renaissance scroll-work and reliefs almost equal those in that portion
of the old Louvre which was erected under François I^{er}. Sit on a seat
on the Quay and examine the sculpture. Notice particularly the splendid
Porte Jean Goujon, conspicuous from afar by its gilded balcony. Its
crowned H’s and coats-of-arms are specially interesting examples of the
decorative work of the period. Note also the skill with which this
almost flat range is relieved by sculpture and decoration so as to make
us oblivious of the want of that variety usually given by jutting
portions. The end of this long gallery is formed by two handsome windows
with balconies. We there come to the connecting =Galerie d’Apollon=, of
which these windows are the termination, and finally reach once more a
portion of Perrault’s façade, with its double LL’s, erected under Louis
XIV, and closely resembling the interior _façade_ of the Cour du Louvre.
(The N side you can examine any day as you pass along the Rue de Rivoli.
You will now have no difficulty in distinguishing its various
factors—first, on the E, a part of Perrault’s _façade_ of the Old
Louvre; then, where it begins to bend outward, a portion of Napoleon the
Third’s connecting link; finally, beyond the main carriage way,
westward, a part reconstructed under the Third Republic.)
Sit awhile on the adjacent Pont des Arts to gain a general conception of
the relations of the Louvre, the Île de la Cité, the Hôtel de Ville and
other surrounding buildings.
This first rough idea of the Louvre should be filled in later by
detailed study. The Renaissance portions, in particular, you should look
at again and again, every time you enter piecing out your conceptions at
a later stage by visiting the Renaissance Sculpture Gallery in the Cour
du Louvre, and comparing the works inside it and outside it. Thus only
can you gain a connected idea of Renaissance Paris, to be further
supplemented by frequent visits to St. Étienne-du-Mont, St. Eustache,
and Fontainebleau.