Thursday, July 31, 2003

Le dôme des Invalides

Le dôme des Invalides, Hôtel des Invalides, Quartier des Invalides, Paris

Le dôme des Invalides
Hôtel des Invalides
Quartier des Invalides, 7th arrondissement
Paris, July 2002

“The Dome is the tallest and most famous of the buildings of Les Invalides. Designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, it takes the form of a Greek cross, on a square plan. Each of the facades is composed of two orders superimposed. The porch is topped by triangular fronton. It is crowned by a dome 90 metres, high, surmounted by lantern bringing the height to 107 metres (351 feet), making it taller than Notre Dame de Paris and the tallest of all Paris church domes. The dome is actually composed of two domes superimposed. The lower dome is largely open at the base, allowed the visitors below to see the art painted on the dome above by Charles de La Fosse. The windows are masked by the lower dome, which permits natural lighting and gives the impression that viewers are actually seeing the sky, a popular Baroque affect.” (Les Invalides, Wikipedia)

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