Monuments in Paris: Palais Garnier

Paris is home to one of the finest opera houses in the world, the Palais Garnier.  

  

Named for its architect, Charles Garnier, the building opened in 1875 after nearly 14 years of construction.  Once you understand the the size, complexity, ornate decoration and exorbitant cost, 14 years of construction makes sense.  

Marie-Chantal toured the Palais Garner with visiting friend Susan Morris, her lifelong pen pal.   

During construction

Today

The gilded sculpture symbolizing Poetry

Susan squared on the Grand Staircase 

The Grand Staircase was designed so that wealthy, well-dressed Opera patrons could see-and-be-seen as they slowly made their way to their velvet-covered seats.  Ticket holders whose seats were in the cheaper loggia had to ascend a nondescript staircase on the side.  They did not have access to this magnificent entry way.

The gold truck tires on the Grand Staircase (pictured below) are a temporary art installation symbolizing movement and momentum.  The tire sculptures were created by a well-regarded artist in honor of the 350th anniversary of the Paris Opera. (The gold tires are not universally well-regarded.)

The building, true to its name, resembles a palace.  The building is ornately decorated throughout.  The architect described the building as Napoleon III style, an eclectic mixture of Baroque, neoclassical and Renaissance elements.  A principle of  Napoleon III style was to leave no surface or feature undecorated.  As you can see, the architect succeeded in decorating nearly everything.

The Grand Foyer

The ceiling of the auditorium (pictured below) features a relatively modern work by Marc Chagall.  The painting depicts scenes from various operas. There was much dismay among many Opera patrons when the original ceiling with its clouds and Cupids was replaced by this newer work.

Behind the Chagall painting is the original painting.  A replica appears of the original appears below.

Below is a cutaway model of the Palais Garnier in the Musée d'Orsay.  The model reveals the huge scale and complexity of the building.  What is interesting about the building is the small size of the auditorium (colored red in the photo) relative to the entire building.  

Box #5, the box of the Phantom of the Opera

Thanks for visiting the Palais Garner with us.