PETIT PALAIS MUSEE DES BEAUX ARTS - BUILT FOR THE 1900 UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION

USPA NEWS - The Petit Palais was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, like its neighbour the Grand Palais, on avenue Winston Churchill. It became a museum in 1902. Designed by Charles Girault, it is based on a trapezium shape and is made up of four wings around a semi-circular garden...

The Petit Palais was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, like its neighbour the Grand Palais, on avenue Winston Churchill. It became a museum in 1902. Designed by Charles Girault, it is based on a trapezium shape and is made up of four wings around a semi-circular garden bordered by a richly decorated peristyle. The architect achieved a successful blend of traditional and modern architecture which is evident in the natural flow of visitors around the building and in the bold openings he created onto the Champs-Elysées gardens and inner courtyard garden.

Cormon and Roll were both given the task of decorating galleries which are 15 meters long. From 1906 to 1911, Cormon retold the story of Paris through history, from the battle of Lutetia up to the French Revolution. Roll, by contrast, was given the job of illustrating modern Paris.

Directly above the main galleries, there are sixteen plaster busts set into the wall representing famous artists including Eugène Delacroix, Pierre Lescot and François Mansart.

The Petit Palais houses a significant collection of decorative murals and sculptures created between 1903 and 1925. The architect Charles Girault wanted to lend his building the grandeur and dignity of an official palace and created a programme of work designed to glorify the City of Paris and to celebrate the benefits of art. The locations for the areas to be decorated were carefully chosen with this aim in mind.

Le Petit Palais