Paris: Grant Allen's Historical GuidesAllen, Grant
History
Paris: Grant Allen's Historical Guides
Allen, Grant
Paris (France) -- Description and travel; Paris (France) -- Guidebooks
Now cross the square directly to the =Pavillon de l’Horloge=, as it is
called, from the clock which adorns it. To your L, on the floor of the
court, are two circular =white lines=, enclosed in a square. These mark
the site of the original _Château_ of the Louvre, with its Keep, or
_donjon_. François I^{er}, who began the existing building, originally
intended that his palace should cover the same area. It was he who
erected the L wing, which now faces you, marked by the crowned H on its
central round gable, placed there by his successor, Henri II, under whom
it was completed. To the same king are also due the monograms of H and D
(for Diane de Poitiers, his mistress), between the columns of the ground
floor. The whole of the Pavillon de l’Horloge, and of this west wing,
should be =carefully examined in detail= as the finest remaining
specimen of highly decorated French Renaissance architecture. (But the
upper story of the Pavillon, with the Caryatides, is an age later.)
Observe even the decoration lavished on the beautiful chimneys. Pierre
Lescot was the architect of this earliest wing; the exquisite sculpture
is by Jean Goujon, a Frenchman, and the Italian, Paolo Ponzio. Examine
much of it. The crossed K’s of certain panels stand for Catherine de
Médicis.
The R wing, beyond the _Pavillon_, was added, in the same style, under
Louis XIII, who decided to double the plan of his predecessors, and form
the existing Cour du Louvre.
The other three sides, in a more classic style, with pediments replacing
the Pavillons, and square porticoes instead of rounded gables, are for
the most part later. The S side, however, as far as the central door, is
also by Pierre Lescot. It forms one of the two fronts of the original
square first contemplated. The attic story of these three sides was
added under Louis XIV, to whom in the main is due this Cour du Louvre. A
considerable part of Louis XIV’s decorations bear reference to his
representation as _le roi soleil_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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