Page 135 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

TUILERIES QU AR TER  133

e Galerie Nationale
du Jeu de Paume
Jardin des Tuileries, 1 Pl de la
Concorde 75008. Map 11 C1. Tel 01
47 03 12 50. q Concorde. Open
11am–7pm Tue–Sun (to 9pm Tue).
Closed 1 Jan, 1 May & 25 Dec as well
as in between exhibitions. & ^ 7
8 - = 9 ∑ jeudepaume.org
The Jeu de Paume – or réal
tennis court – was built by
Napoleon III in 1851. When
réal (royal) tennis was replaced
in popularity by lawn tennis,
the court was used to exhibit Place de la Concorde, dominated by the 3,200-year-old obelisk from Luxor
art. Eventually, an Impressionist
museum was founded here. complemented well by the t Place de la
In 1986, the collection moved outstanding Walter-Guillaume Concorde
to the Musée d’Orsay (see collection of artists of the
pp146–9). The Jeu de Paume Ecole de Paris, from the late 75008. Map 11 C1. q Concorde.
now houses the Centre Impressionist era to the inter-
National de la Photo graphie, war period. This is a remark able One of the most magnificent
and shows exhibitions of concentration of masterpieces, and historic squares in the
con temporary art. including a room of dramatic whole of Europe, Place de la
works by Soutine and some Concorde covers more than
r Musée de 14 works by Cézanne – still lifes, 8 ha (20 acres) in the middle
of Paris. Starting out as Place
portraits (Madame Cézanne)
l’Orangerie and landscapes, such as Dans Louis XV, for displaying a statue
le Parc du Château Noir. of the king, it was built in the
Jardin des Tuileries, Pl de la Concorde Pierre-Auguste Renoir is mid-18th century by architect
75001. Map 11 C1. Tel 01 44 77 80 07.
q Concorde. Open 9am–6pm represented by 27 canvases, Jacques-Ange Gabriel, who
Wed–Mon (last adm: 5:15pm). including Les Fillettes au Piano chose to make it an open
Closed 1 May, 14 Jul morning & (Young Girls at the Piano). There octagon with only the north
25 Dec. & 7 8 by appt. = 9 are early Picassos, works by side containing mansions. In
∑ musee-orangerie.fr Henri Rousseau – notably the square’s next incarnation,
La Carriole du Père Junier (Old as the Place de la Révolution,
Claude Monet’s crowning Junier’s Cart) – Matisse and a the statue was replaced by the
work, the water lily series, or portrait of Paul Guillaume by guillotine. The death toll in the
Nymphéas, can be found here. Modigliani. All are bathed in square in two and a half years
The series was painted in his the natural light that flows was 1,119, including Louis XVI,
garden at Giverny, near Paris, through the window. Temp- Marie-Antoinette (who died in
and presented to the public orary exhibitions are shown view of the secret apartment
in 1927. This superb work is on the lower ground floor. she kept at No. 2 Rue Royale)
and the revolutionary leaders
Danton and Robespierre.
In the spirit of reconciliation,
the square was then renamed
Concorde (originally by
chastened Revolutionaries).
Its grandeur was enhanced
in the 19th century by the
3,200-year-old Luxor obelisk,
two fountains and eight statues
personifying French cities. It
has become the culminating
point of triumphal parades
down the Champs-Elysées
each 14 July, most notably on
the memorable Bastille Day of
1989 when the Revolution’s
bicentenary was celebrated
by a million people, and
Monet’s water lilies, on display in the Musée de l’Orangerie many world leaders.

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