IV.3. A DESIGN IMPOSSIBLE ELSEWHERE

 

MENU: 4.3. DESIGN IMPOSSIBLE ELSEWHRE

BY LINKING THE LOUVRE PALACE WITH THE HORIZON THE "GRAND AXIS" PROCLAIMS INFINITE ROYAL POWER

It coincides with the east-west trade route, demolishing the rampart permits it, a multitude of capitals will adopt it and it brings an arc of triumph that is both superb and tragic. 

The Grand Axis seen from the Tuileries gardens / zoom

   Lithograph of 1855, cover, Les Belles Heures des Champs-Elysées, 1855, by Marc Gaillard (Martelle Editions), n.d.

Claude Abron

To grasp its length, view its start from the left bank of the river. 

Origins

• The space that leads to the royal tombs. 

• The first straight street and first point of focus. 

• The innovations of Henri IV? (Explained at the end of the page).

Tearing down the rampart allowed...

• Easy access to the court at Versailles.

• The "Grand Boulevards" and the garment center.

• The arcs at the Saint-Denis and Saint-Martin gates. That at the Saint-Denis gate is a key to Europe's past.

That modern capitals should copy it

gives it planetary importance.

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In brief 

• Louis XIV's victories lead to razing the rampart...

• The larger arc highlights kingship

• Effects on Paris of demolishing the ramparts: "Les Boulevards" and "Le Sentier"

• Effect of their demolition on Europe: an announcement of French hegemony

• The arc at the Saint-Denis gate launches a nationalist story

• Long-term effects of "The Passing of the Rhine"

• Now the arcs hover like ghosts over the traffic

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Next,

4.3.1.

Louis XIV's victories lead to razing the rampart...