Saturday, May 24, 2008

Saturday in Paris


Today we visited Les Invalides, a complex built by Louis XIV as a home for old and injured soldiers, and the Auguste Rodin museum.  


The Les Invalides complex includes the spectacular Church of the Golden Dome, an example of French Baroque architecture.  In 1840, Napoleon Bonapart's remains were brought back to Paris from the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena and the interior of the Church of the Golden Dome was altered to become his mausoleum.  The emperor is buried inside six nested coffins, the last being the red porphyry one that you see here.







































Students fell under the spell of Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" this morning.  The most extensive collection of works by this 19th century giant of the world of sculpture is housed in the Rodin Museum in Paris.  The House, Hotel Biron, and gardens provide a wonderful space within which to experience the works of this artist.  

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