Our visit to the Palais Royal continues.
Next stop, the Ministry of Culture.
France's Ministry of Culture was established 60 years ago. It oversees all of the many cultural activities of the government, such as national museums like the Louvre, national monuments, the national archives and cultural centers. The ministry is also tasked with maintaining France's identity in all areas of the arts.
The Palais Royal is home to the headquarters of the ministry, where the Minister of Culture has a suite of offices and meeting rooms. (Next to the Palais Royal are two very large buildings where the ministry has the bulk of its offices.)
The minister's office, a large ornate room, is pictured below.
Another office is equally ornate.
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| We snapped a selfie during our visit. |
The ministry's offices are filled with artwork from centuries ago and modern times. Here are some examples.
Jean-Claude especially like the optical illusion (an anamorphose) pictured below. The yellow paint appears on the walls, ceiling and floor of the hallway, from one end to the other. When lined up, the painted surfaces form an image of disks in a square.
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| Square with 16 Disks by Felice Varini (2011) (arranged by Marie Christine Dorner) |
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| From Dorner-Design.com |
For the public's visit, the ministry arranged a special exhibition dedicated to the restoration of Paris's cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris. Restoration work was ongoing when cathedral's roof caught fire on April 15, 2019. Fortunately, some of the bronze sculptures on top of the cathedral had been removed for restoration shortly before the fire. So, they were not destroyed in the fire. A few of those sculptures were displayed in the Hall of Honor, like the eagle pictured below.
Another sculpture was the head of Saint Thomas from the cathedral's now destroyed spire. The model for the sculpture was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) himself, the architect who oversaw the cathedral's restoration in the 1840's. Viollet-le-Duc had requested a statue of his likeness be placed on the cathedral. His request was refused, but he achieved his goal surreptitiously.
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| Saint Thomas (aka Saint Eugène) |
Sometimes, it's good to be in charge.
Next Up: More at the Palais Royal
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