HD photographs of Lille statue inside Place de la Concorde - Page 1037
We were in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris at the Place de la Concorde, when we took these high definition photos showing a statue called Lille, which was sculpted by James Pradier.
Paris Statues
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This first HD photo shows a monumental statue as an allegorical female figure designed to represent the city of Lille in France, and this is one of eight statues that were put in place around the octagon shaped square called the Place de la Concorde.
Here you can see a close up of the female figure with a crown on her head that was designed to represent a castle and the hair has been styled in such a way to make her look like she comes from a wealthy background, plus in her right hand she is holding a sword, also designed to represent the city of Lille.
Now the Place de la Concorde was originally designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the chief architect to the King of France, so that the axis could be extended from the Louvre, Tuileries and right up the Champs-Elysees, also providing a venue for great events, which was actually named the Place Louis XV after the reigning king at the time.
Ange-Jacques Grabriel designed this square as an octagon shape, with the central feature being an equestrian statue of King Louis XV, however, during the French Revolution the statue was destroyed, and the name changed to the Place de la revolution, yet returned to Place Louis XV in 1814 and changed again to Place Louis XVI in 1826, but after the July revolution it was named the Place de la Concorde.
It was during the July Monarchy under King Louis Philippe that the largest square in Paris was redesigned, and it was the architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff who was entrusted with this, and the Luxor Obelisk was put in place, flanked by two fountains, then the eight statues representing cities of France were also designed and constructed.
The large monumental statues were designed by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, who was born in Cologne in 1792 and went to Paris in 1810 and studied at the Academie des Beaux Arts, eventually becoming the government architect in 1818 being entrusted with the designs for many important public and private buildings including the buildings around the Arc de Triomphe, Cirque d'Hiver, etc.
The statues were designed to go onto pavilions like you can see in this HD photo, which have become known as the Gabriel Guardhouse Pavilions, and in French these are known as the Guerite de Gabriel, so named after the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, who was born in 1698 and became the most prominent architect of his time, entrusted with the design of many buildings including the Petit Trianon at the Chateau de Versailles and the original octagonal square.
Like you can see here, these pavilions or Gabriel Guardhouses also have ornate features on them, which were also designed by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, and these were placed at each of the points of the octagon shaped square, with a stone statue positioned on top looking in towards the centre of the Place de la Concorde.
The stone statues representing cities of France were entrusted to four prominent French sculptors, who each had to produce two statues, and this one of Lille, along with the one depicting Strasbourg were produced in stone by James Pradier, who was born in Geneva in 1790 with a name of Jean-Jacques Pradier, yet going to Paris and training to become a sculptor, he became known as James Pradier.
James Pradier won the Prix de Rome, which meant he could further his studies at the Villa Medici French Academy in Rome and upon his return received numerous public commissions including the twelve victories that surround the Tomb of Napoleon at Les Invalides, along with this statue of Lille for the Place de la Concorde, and with a prolific career, he was even a professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts who taught many well recognised sculptors.
We mentioned that there were eight statues representing cities of France at the Place de la Concorde, and as well as Lille and Strasbourg by James Pradier, there are also Bordeaux and Nantes by Louis-Denis Calliouette, Lyon and Marseille by Pierre Petitot, plus Brest and Rouen by Jean-Pierre Cortot, each positioned on an ornate small pavilion called the Guerite de Gabriel.
Another idea that the architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff had, was to strategically position the statues to correspond with their geographic location in France, and therefore the statue of Lille you can see here, has been positioned in the north east corner of the Place de la Concorde close to the Jardin des Tuileries, Jeu de Paume and the building housing the French Naval Ministry.
Here you can see a close up photograph showing the name Lille inscribed into the stone above garlands on the top of the Gabriel Guardhouse Pavilion, which is just below the front of the statue of Lille, as you can see from the foot protruding over the plinth.
And looking up at the statue of the female figure with a draped dress, you will find that each of the city statues is in a sitting position, which was one of the attributes that James Pradier and the other sculptors had to adhere to, along with promoting these figures to depict economic wealth of that city and the entire country after all of the turmoil in past years.
So here you can see more of the Place de la Concorde, which is in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris at the end of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, but it also borders the Jardin des Tuileries, which is actually classed as the 1st Arrondissement, and in the distance you can see some of the stands that were being erected close to the Luxor Obelisk for a special occasion.
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