So yesterday I took a lot of photos. Normally I'm the kind of person who likes to live an experience fully in the moment and save it in memory rather than capture every minute in film. However, I also really enjoy taking boring photos of architecture and patterns. Plus, it's not every day that one gets to spend six weeks in France, so I figured I should supplement my summer journal with some visuals. (Yes, I do keep a journal with those archaic stuffs known as pen and paper.) So if you like arches, domes, statues, and the like, scroll on.
Musée de L'Armée et Tombeau de Napoléon
L'Hôtel national des Invalides
So back in the day, like 16th century day, Louis XIV- who was apparently obsessed with building MASSIVE structures everywhere he went- had this complex built as a hospital and home for soldiers returning from war. Today part of it is devoted to the military museum and Napoleon's tomb, but there is still a wing that functions as a hospital-- très intéressant, n'est-ce pas?
L'Eglise du Dôme
This was Louis XIV's private royal chapel, which was added on after the completion of L'Eglise des Soldats (keep scrolling down). My guess is that Louis was so impressed with Mansart's work on the soldiers' chapel that he wanted a bigger, better one for himself.
Jules Hardouin Mansart
Architectural mastermind, extraordinaire. A different guy named Libéral Bruant (nice name) actually designed 99% of Les Invalides, but I didn't actually see a statue of him. Poor Libéral died before his last project, L'Eglise des Soldats, was finished, so maybe they just didn't want any old man statues...who knows.
Liking the tree-lined streets here.
Also a big fan of this devilish looking gate ornamentation.
Exterieur de L'Eglise de Dôme.
A random wall outside of the information center of the museum.
Some similarly random windows...
And a random boy! Oh wait...that's Thomas. Believe it or not, he actually really enjoyed the museum. Also, I just noticed that Peter and Thomas wore matching shorts that day. Ha.
At the end of that hallway is Le Cour d'Honneur (i.e. a great big courtyard).
Windows in that hallway.
Inside the museum-- love that scrolled iron railing.
Sweet chandelier...ugly banner.
I believe this was a World War I era tank.
It's important to heavily fortify one's...courtyard...
Ionic columns: the one thing I remember from sixth grade social studies.
Wheeled cannon
If you look closely, you'll see that this lamp is hanging by an ancient piece of rope. I decided not to linger beneath it.
I really liked the geometry of this staircase...
L'Eglise des Soldats
Arch-tastic. As I mentioned, Mansart took over its construction when the original architect bit the dust.
The formidably large organ...
...with formidably beautiful detailing. And we haven't even gotten to the royal chapel yet!
These were the arms of seats up by the altar.
The outside of L'Eglise du Dôme, Napoleon's final resting place.
Napoleon! Oh wait...this is only good old Joe Napoleon i.e. Joseph Napoléon, Napoleon Bonaparte's older brother whom I know nothing about, and I suspect no one really cares about either...
Joe gets a reasonably nice dome and coffin, but it's nothing compared to his younger bro's...
Le Tombeau de Napoléon I
Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on St. Helena in 1821, but in 1840, King Louis-Philippe decided to bring him back to Les Invalides. His tomb was commissioned to be built in 1842, so they dug a big hole under the dome and plopped him down there in 1861 inside of not one, not two, not three, but SIX coffins. The first one is made of tin, the second mahogany, the third and fourth lead, the fifth ebony, and the sixth porphyry a.k.a. this reddish looking stone. This is the view from above.
This is the underside of the dome shown way up in the first picture of this post.
Corinthian columns! Only the finest columnar adornments will do.
I was going to make an offensive pun about Jesus "hanging out", but I figured that would cross a few too many lines... Anyway, this statue, framed by four big marble columns, is above the entrance to Napoleon's crypt.
Two of these formidable looking fellows guard the entrance. Dad remarked that it was very Indiana Jones-esque, and I agreed.
In case you forgot who we were going to see...
Napoleon! And his numerous coffins...
A ring of these statues encircles the tomb.
Loving the door details.
As I mentioned, there is still a part of Les Invalides that is a functioning hospital today. On the way out, we passed this wing. In fact, there was a really cool light fixture that I wanted to take a picture of, but two disabled people were in the way. Blast.
All of that was only a fraction of day two. Part Trois, and probably Part Quatre will be forthcoming!
