The dome, which is of stone throughout, has three shells, the intermediate shell serving to support the heavy stone lantern. The architect was _Soufflot_ (1713-81). The +Grand Théâtre+, at Bordeaux (1773, by _Victor Louis_), one of the largest and finest theatres in Europe, was another product of this movement, its stately colonnade forming one of the chief ornaments of the city. Under Louis XVI. there was a temporary reaction from this somewhat pompous affectation of antique grandeur; but there were few important buildings erected during that unhappy reign, and the reaction showed itself mainly in a more delicate and graceful style of interior decoration. It was reserved for the Empire to set the seal of official approval on the Roman Revival. The Arch of Triumph of the Carrousel, behind the Tuileries, by _Percier and Fontaine_, the magnificent Arc de l’Étoile, at the summit of the Avenue of the Champs Elysées, by _Chalgrin_; the wing begun by Napoleon to connect the Tuileries with the Louvre on the land side, and the church of the Madeleine, by _Vignon_, erected as a temple to the heroes of the Grande Armée, were all designed, in accordance with the expressed will of the Emperor himself, in a style as Roman as the requirements of each case would permit. All these monuments, begun between 1806 and 1809, were completed after the Restoration. The +Arch+ of the +Carrousel+ is a close copy of Roman models; that of the +Étoile+ (Fig. 204) was a much more original design, of colossal dimensions. Its admirable proportions, simple composition and striking sculptures give it a place among the noblest creations of its class. The +Madeleine+ (Fig. 205), externally a Roman Corinthian temple of the largest size, presents internally an almost Byzantine conception with the three pendentive domes that vault its vast nave, but all the details are Roman. However suitable for a pantheon or mausoleum, it seems strangely inappropriate as a design for a Christian church. To these monuments should be added the +Bourse+ or Exchange, by _Brongniart_, heavy in spite of its Corinthian peristyle, and the river front of the +Corps Législatif+ or Palais Bourbon, by _Poyet_, the only extant example of a dodecastyle portico with a pediment. All of these designs are characterized by great elegance of detail and excellence of execution, and however inappropriate in style to modern uses, they add immensely to the splendor of the French capital. Unquestionably no feature can take the place of a Greek or Roman colonnade as an embellishment for broad avenues and open squares, or as the termination of an architectural vista. [Illustration: FIG. 205.--THE MADELEINE, PARIS.]