484 



RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



who carried it to com- 

 pletion (1836). There is 

 much in the design (Fig. 

 454) which is inspired by 

 Francois Blondel's Porte 

 St Denis, e.g., the main 

 arch, with Victories in 

 the spandrils, set in a 

 square recess between 

 great piers of masonry 

 without orders, but deco- 

 rated with trophy - like 

 sculpture raised on a 

 pedestal. But in the Arc 

 de 1'Etoile, the arch 

 springs from an impost at 

 the head of the piers, and 

 is flanked by oblong relief 

 panels, while the main en- 

 tablature is surmounted 

 by an enriched attic. 

 Further, as in the Arc 

 du Carrousel, the depth 

 is greater in proportion, 

 and the sides decoratively 

 treated and pierced by 



minor arches. Finally the feeling of the detail, if not of the sculpture, 

 is inspired by ancient models. The use of frets, of lion gargoyles, of 

 antefixae, and of a deep sculptured frieze are all in accordance with 

 Greek practice, while the frieze of the attic seems suggested by the 

 treatment of the attic of the Arch of Augustus at Perugia. 



In size the Arc de 1'Etoile surpasses every other monument of the 

 kind in the world. It is 162 feet high, 147 feet wide, and 73 feet deep. 

 The main arch is 48 feet wide and 72 feet high to the springing. It 

 is doubtful, however, whether, in spite of its colossal dimensions, the 

 monument produces as great an effect, in proportion, as the Porte 

 St Denis. This is due partly to its isolated position on high ground, 

 where it is visible on all sides from a great distance, and in a vast open 

 space, where there is no ordinary building near enough for comparison ; 

 and partly to the fussy treatment of the cornice and attic, and the hard 

 unsympathetic detail throughout. Yet, when all is said, the Arc de 

 1'Etoile worthily fulfils its purpose, the glorification of the greatest military 

 achievements of modern times, and impresses, not merely by its size, 

 but equally by its unity of conception and freedom from anything trivial. 



454- 



PARIS: ARC DE L'ETOILE, OR DE TRIOMPHE, 

 BY CHALGRIN AND OTHERS (1806-36). 



