Les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine: Palais Royal (Part 3 of 4)

Our visit to the Palais Royal continues. 

Next stop, the Conseil d'État (Council of State).  France's Council of State is an arm of the national government that serves as legal advisor to the executive branch and the final court for administrative justice.  The Conseil d'État, created in 1799, succeeded the Conseil du Roi (Council of the King).

The Conseil d'État has magnificent offices in the Palais Royal, including a monumental staircase at one of the entrances, the Escalier d'Honneur.  

Below is a painting depicting Emperor Napoleon I after descending the Escalier d'Honneur.  

Below is another dude descending the Escalier d'Honneur.  

Jean-Claude descends the Escalier d'Honneur

Apparently, the Conseil d'État is a large, active government agency with a large staff, many offices and several hearing rooms.  The decor throughout is old and ornate, except for some modern furnishings like desks.

Below, in one of the ornate hearing rooms, we listened to a robed official explain the importance of the Conseil d'État.  Because Marie-Chantal loves all things legal--hearing rooms, judicial robes, law books, etc.--she was as happy as could be touring the Conseil d'État,  

Because the Palais Royal was once a royal palace, it is decorated with marble and gold and some of the ceilings are painted. 

Below is one of the Conseil d'État hearing rooms.

The Conseil d'État has a traditional law library, with carved wood.   

While visiting the Conseil d'État, a happy discovery was seeing original paintings on the walls of the largest chamber, the Salle de l'Assemblée Générale. (pictured below).  

The paintings are by French Impressionist painter Henri Martin (1860-1943).  Commissioned in 1914, the paintings represent different types of work.

Commerce, the Old Port of Marseille

Industry or Public Works, works on the Place de la Concorde

Intellectual Work, with a man walking in a forest

Agriculture, a harvest in the Lauragais 

Next Up:  More at the Palais Royal

Les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine: Palais Royal (Part 2 of 4)

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.

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.  

Square with 16 Disks by Felice Varini (2011) (arranged by Marie Christine Dorner)

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.  

Saint Thomas (aka Saint Eugène)

Sometimes, it's good to be in charge.

Next Up:  More at the Palais Royal

Les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine: Palais Royal (Part 1 of 4)

During the European Heritage Days, Les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, we toured the Palais Royal located near the Louvre.  

The Palais Royal was built in 1639 as the home Cardinal Richilieu, the First Minister of State under King Louis XIII.  Following Richilieu's death, the palace became a royal residence, including the childhood home of Louis XIV.  You can read more about the Palais Royal's history below.

Today, the Palais Royal is home to three different arms of the French government:  The Minister of Culture, the Council of State and the Constitutional Council.  Fortunately, much of the palace's original beauty has been well preserved.     

The best place to start a tour of the Palais Royal is in the garden, which is large and lovely.  

Below is a photographic tour of the Palais Royal garden.

Another lovely feature of the Palais Royal is the courtyard (pictured below).  Before 1985, the courtyard was a parking lot.  Then, the Minister of Culture decided the courtyard should be transformed into a modern art installation: Les Deux Plateaux by Daniel Buren (1985-1986), which was featured in an earlier blog post. 

At the Palais Royal, Les Deux Plateaux by Daniel Buren (1985-1986)

Another view

Next Up:  Inside the Palais Royal

Les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine: Hôtel de Talleyrand

During the European Heritage Days, we visited an historic building not far from our apartment--the Hôtel de Talleyrand.  We have walked by the building many times during our stays in Paris but never had the opportunity to visit until now.  

The Hôtel de Talleyrand is located next to the Tuileries Garden and the Place de la Concorde.  Completed as a private mansion in 1769, the building's history is long and illustrious:

• Home to the Count of Florentin, one of Louis XV's ministers
• Later, home to French diplomat Talleyrand, who negotiated the return of the French Bourbon kings following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo
• Later, the home of the Paris branch of the Rothschild family
• Following WWII, the building was home to the Marshall Plan, then the U.S. NATO delegation and then offices of the U.S. Embassy

Today, the Hôtel de Talleyrand has two tenants--a U.S. law firm and the Centre George C. Marshall.  

Over the centuries and recent decades, the Hôtel de Talleyrand has been the site of many formal and informal diplomatic affairs, including Talleyrand's many activities as minister of foreign affairs for successive French governments, the informal diplomacy of the Rothschild family and the diplomatic activities of the U.S.  Throughout, one constant has been food, la diplomatie culinaire.  Cuisine, especially French cuisine, has been used to foster discussion and agreement.  The building has been the scene of countless diplomatic dinners.   

When we toured the Hôtel de Talleyrand, the visit included a live exhibition in celebration of la diplomatie culinaire.  Pastry chefs from Le Cordon Bleu were busy creating macarons.  Sadly, visitors were not allowed to taste.

Several U.S. Presidents have attended state dinners there, including President and Mrs. Kennedy.  Below is a menu from a 1978 state dinner attended by President Carter and French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing (held at Versailles, not at Talleyrand).  If you look closely, you might notice something interesting about the menu that was on display when we visited the Hôtel de Talleyrand.

Did you notice that the cover of the menu is an original work by artist Marc Chagall?

The George C. Marshall Center is housed in the Hôtel de Talleyrand.  Originally used for managing the Marshall Plan, today the center is used for official conferences and receptions.  We toured the restored rooms, which were luxurious.    

Marie-Chantal (who is pictured below) especially liked the 18th century Turkish bed above.  She asked if the room can be rented on Airbnb.  No such luck.

Thanks for visiting the Hôtel de Talleyrand with us.

Next Up:  Let's head over to the Palais Royal.