Page 155 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

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On his death, the French state houses accommodate antiques
inherited many of his works stores and fashionable cafés.
in lieu of death duties, opening The square has been the
a museum to display them in scene of many historical events
1986. Housed in a 17th-century over the centuries, including a
mansion originally built for a three-day tournament in
salt-tax collector, the collection celebration of the marriage of
comprises more than 200 Louis XIII to Anne of Austria in
paintings, 158 sculptures, 1615. Among the square’s
100 ceramic works, and some famous former residents are
3,000 sketches and engravings. the literary hostess, Madame de
The full extent of Picasso’s Sévigné, born here in 1626,
artistic development is Cardinal Richelieu, pillar of the
Pipes and ducts on the outside of the presented, from the somber monarchy, and Victor Hugo,
Centre Pompidou Blue period Self-Portrait (1901) who lived in one of the
to Cubist collages and houses for 16 years.
4 Centre Pompidou Neoclassical works, such as
Pl G. Pompidou. Tel 01-44 78 12 33. Pipes of Pan. Highlights include
q Rambuteau, Châtelet, Hôtel de The Two Brothers (1906), The 7 Place de la Bastille
Ville. W Châtelet-Les-Halles. @ 21, Kiss (1969), and Two Women q Bastille.
29, 38, 47 & many others. Musée Running on the Beach (1922).
National d’Art Moderne: Open There is also a sculpture garden. Nothing remains of the
11am–10pm Wed–Mon. Closed May infamous prison stormed
1. & 8 7 ∑ centrepompidou.fr by the revolutionary mob on
6 Place des Vosges July 14, 1789, the event that
With its skeleton of struts, ducts, q Bastille, St-Paul. sparked the French Revolution.
and elevators scaling the outside A row of paving stones from
of the building, and offering fine This perfectly symmetrical No. 5 to No. 49 Boulevard Henri
views of the city, this famous square, laid out in 1605 by IV traces the line of former
cultural center has room for a Henri IV, and known as Place fortifications.
vast exhibition area inside. Royale, was once the residence The 52 m (170 ft), hollow
Among the artists featured of the aristocracy. Considered bronze Colonne de Juillet
in the Musée National d’Art among the most beautiful in stands in the middle of the
Moderne are Matisse, Picasso, the world by Parisians and traffic-clogged square to
Miró, and Pollock, representing visitors alike, the square is honor the victims of the July
such schools as Fauvism, Cubism, surrounded by 36 houses, Revolution of 1830. On the
and Surrealism. Star attractions nine on each side. Built of south side of the square (at
are Sorrow of the King (1952) by brick and stone, with dormer 120 Rue de Lyon) is the 2,700-
Matisse, and Georges Braque’s The windows over arcades, they seat Opéra Bastille, completed
Duo (1937). A library is housed on have survived intact for almost in 1989, the bicentennial of
the first, second, and third floors, 400 years. Today, the historic the French Revolution.
while temporary exhibitions are
held on the first and sixth floors.
Outside, the piazza is usually
full of crowds watching the
street performers. On one side
of the square, the Atelier
Brancusi is a reconstruction of
the workshop of Romanian-
born artist Constantin Brancusi
(1876–1957), who left his entire
oeuvre to the nation.

5 Musée Picasso
Hôtel Salé, 5 Rue de Thorigny.
Tel 01-42 71 25 21. q St-Sébastien
Froissart, St-Paul. Open Tue–Sun.
& 8 - 7
∑ museepicassoparis.fr
The Spanish-born artist Pablo
Picasso (1881–1973) spent
most of his life in France. Central fountain and fine Renaissance houses in the Place des Vosges

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