1897–1900. Both buildings stand close to the north end of the Pont Alexandre III.
The Bourse, built in imitation of an ancient temple, dates from the first half of the 19th century; the Tribunal of Commerce and the Palais du Trocadéro, built for the exhibition of 1878, are both imposing buildings of the latter half of that period, to which also belongs the Hôtel des Postes et Télégraphes.
Among the numerous historic mansions of Paris a few demand special mention. The so-called Maison de François I. (on the Cours la Reine overlooking the Seine) is a small but beautifully decorated building erected at Moret in 1527 and re-erected in Paris in 1826. In the St Gervais quarter are the Hôtel de Beauvais of the latter half of the 17th century and the Hôtel Lamoignon, built after 1580 for Diane de France, duchess of Angoulême, both of which have handsome courtyards; in the same quarter is the Hôtel de Sens, of the 15th century, residence of the archbishops of Sens, whose province then included the diocese of Paris. The Hôtel Lambert on the Île St Louis, built by L. Levau in the 17th century for Nicholas Lambert and afterwards inhabited by Mme du Châtelet and Voltaire and George Sand, has a magnificent staircase and many works of art. The Hôtel de Sully, built for the duke of Sully from 1624 to 1630, is in the Rue St Antoine and has an interesting courtyard. Of the fine mansion of the dukes of Burgundy the only relic is a tower of the early 15th century built by Jean Sans Peur.
Theatres, &c.—Of the theatres of Paris four—the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, the Théâtre Français and the Odéon—receive state subventions, amounting in all to £51,000 per annum. The Opéra (entitled the National Academy of Music) was originally founded in 1671 by Pierre Perrin, from whom the management was taken over by J. B. Lully. After several changes of locale, it was eventually transferred from the Rue Le Peletier to the present opera-house. The building, which covers 234 acres, is one of the finest theatres in the world. The process of erection, directed by Charles Gamier, lasted from 1861 to 1875 and cost nearly 112 million sterling. The front is decorated on the ground storey with allegorical groups (Music by Guillaume; Lyrical Poetry by Jouffroy; Lyrical Drama by Perraud; and Dancing by Carpeaux) and allegorical statues. Surmounting its angles are huge gilded groups representing music and poetry, and above it appears the dome which covers the auditorium. Behind that rises the vast pediment above the stage decorated at the corners with Pegasi by Lequesne. On the summit of the pediment an Apollo, raising aloft his lyre, is seen against the sky. The interior is decorated throughout with massive gilding, flamboyant scroll-work, statues, paintings, &c. The grand vestibule, with statues of Lulli, Rameau, Gluck and Handel, the grand staircase, the avant-foyer or corridor leading to the foyer, and the foyer or crush-room itself are especially noteworthy. The last is a majestic apartment with a ceiling decorated with fine painting by Paul Baudry. The auditorium is seated for 2156; its ceiling is painted by J. E. Lenepveu. Behind the stage is the foyer de la danse or green-room for the ballet, adorned with large allegorical panels and portraits of the most eminent danseuses.
The Théâtre Français or Comédie Française was formed in 1681 under the latter name by the union of Molière’s company with two other theatrical companies of the time. The name Théâtre Français dates from 1791, when part of the company headed by the tragedian Talma migrated to the south-west wing of the Palais Royal, which the company, reunified in 1799, has since occupied. Both the Théâtre Français and the less important Odéon, a building of 1782 twice rebuilt, close to the Luxembourg garden, represent the works of the classical dramatists and modern dramas both tragic and comic. The Opéra-Comique, founded in the early 18th century, occupies a building in the Boulevard des Italiens reconstructed after a fire in 1887. Serious as well as light opera is performed there.
Other theatres well known and long established are the Gymnase (chiefly comedy), the Vaudeville and the Porte St Martin (serious drama and comedy), the Variétés and the Palais Royal (farce and vaudeville); and the theatres named after and managed by Sarah Bernhardt and Réjane, the Théâtre Antoine, the Gaîté and the Ambigu may also be mentioned. The finest concerts in Paris are those of the Conservatoire de Musique et de Déclamation (Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière), while the Concerts Lamoureux and the Concerts Colonne are also of a high order. Musical and local performances of a more popular kind are given at the music halls, cafés concerts and cabarets artistiques, with which the city abounds.
Paris is the chief centre for sport in France, and the principal societies for the encouragement of sport have their headquarters in the city. Among these may be mentioned the Société d’encouragement pour l’amelioration des races de chevaux en France (associated with the Jockey Club), which is the chief authority in the country as regards racing, and the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques, which comprises committees for the organization of athletics, football, lawn tennis and amateur sport generally. The Racing Club de France, the Stade français and the Union athlétique du premier arrondissement are the chief Parisian athletic clubs. Race meetings are held at Longchamp and Auteuil in the Bois de Boulogne, and at Chantilly, Vincennes, St Cloud, St Ouen, Maisons-Laffitte and other places in the vicinity.
Museums.—Some of the more important museums of Paris require notice. The richest and most celebrated occupies the Louvre. On the ground floor are museums (1) of ancient sculpture, containing such treasures as the Venus of Milo, the Pallas of Velletri (the most beautiful of all statues of Minerva), the colossal group of the Tiber, discovered at Rome in the 14th century, &c.; (2) of Medieval and Renaissance sculpture, comprising works of Michelangelo, Jean Goujon, Germain Pilon, &c., and rooms devoted to early Christian antiquities and works by the Della Robbia and their school; (3) of modern French sculpture, with works by Puget, the brothers Coustou Coysevox, Chaude, Houdin, Rude, David of Angers, Carpeaux, &c.; (4) of Egyptian sculpture and inscriptions; (5) of antiquities from Assyria, Palestine, Phoenicia and other parts of Asia; (6) of engravings.
On the first floor are (1) the picture galleries, rich in works of the
Italian painters, especially of Leonardo da Vinci (including his Mona
Lisa), Raphael, Titian and Paolo Veronese; of the Spanish masters
Murillo is best represented; and there are numerous works by Rubens,
Van Dyck and Teniers, and by Rembrandt and Holbein. The
examples of French art form about one-third of the collection, and
include (1) the collection bequeathed in 1869 by Dr La Caze (chiefly
works of the 18th century); (2) a collection of ancient bronzes;
(3) a collection of furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries; (4) a rich
museum of drawings by great masters; (5) a museum of Medieval,
Renaissance and modern art pottery, objects in bronze, glass and
ivory, &c.; (6) the Rothschild collection of objects of art; (7) smaller
antiquities from Susiana, Chaldaea and Egypt; (8) a collection of
ancient pottery embodying the Campana collection purchased from
the Papal government in 1861; (9) the royal jewels and a splendid
collection of enamels in the spacious Apollo gallery designed by
Charles Lebrun. On the second floor are French pictures of the
19th century, the Thomy-Thiéry art-collection bequeathed in 1903,
and the marine, ethnographical and Chinese museums. The Pavillon
de La Trémoille contains a continuation of the Egyptian museum and
antiquities brought from Susiana by Augustus De Morgan between
1897 and 1905. A museum of decorative art occupies the Pavillon
de Marsan.
The museum of the Luxembourg, installed in a building near the palace occupied by the senate, is devoted to works of living painters and sculptors acquired by the state. They remain there for ten years after the death of the artists, that the finest may be selected for the Louvre.
The Cluny museum occupies the old mansion of the abbots of that order (see above). It contains about 11,000 examples of Medieval and Renaissance art-sculptures in marble, wood and stone, ivories, enamels and mosaics, pottery and porcelain, tapestries, bronzes, specimens of goldsmith’s work, both religious and civil, including nine gold crowns of the 7th century found near Toledo, Venetian glass, furniture, iron-work, state carriages, ancient boots and shoes and pictures.
The Carnavalet museum comprises a collection illustrating the history of Paris. The Petit Palais des Beaux-Arts contains art-collections belonging to the city (especially the Dutuit collection). The house of Gustave Moreau, Rue Rochefoucauld, is now a museum of his paintings, and that of Victor Hugo, Place des Vosges, contains a collection of objects relating to the poet.
The Trocadéro Palace contains a museum of casts illustrating the progress of sculpture, chiefly that of France, from the 11th to the 18th century, it also possesses a collection of Khmer antiquities from Cambodia and an ethnographical museum. In the same neighbourhood are the Guimet museum, containing the collections of Oriental pottery, of objects relating to the Oriental religions and of antiquities presented to the state in 1885 by Émile Guimet of Lyons; and the Galliéra museum, erected by the duchess of Galliéra and containing a collection of tapestries and other works of art belonging to the city. The Cernuschi Oriental museum, close to the Monceau Park, was bequeathed to the city in 1895 by M. Cernuschi.
The collection of MSS., engravings, medals and antiques in the Bibliothèque Nationale are important, as also are the industrial and machinery exhibits of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers.
For libraries see Libraries.
Population.—Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements. Only the first twelve belonged to it previous to 1860; the others correspond to the old suburban communes then annexed. The first four arrondissements occupy the space on the right of the river, extending from the Place de la Concorde to the Bastille, and from the Seine to the line of the Grands Boulevards; the 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements lie opposite them on the left side; the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th surround the first four arrondissements on the north; the 13th, 14th and 15th are formed out of the old suburban communes of the left side; and the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th out of the old suburban communes of the right side.
The growth of the population during the 19th century is shown in the following table, which gives the population present on the census day, including the population comptée à part, i.e. troops, inmates of hospitals, prisons, schools, &c.
