Week 9:
Describe the Beaux-Arts style by comparing Palais Garnier with another work from Classical Greece, Classical Rome, the Renaissance, or the Baroque.
The Beaux-Arts is seen in the Palais Garnier. It is definitely a Neoclassical movement as it draws heavily from classical works. As compared to the Pantheon, it shares the signature dome, symmetry, post-and-lentil Corinthian capital portico facade, and use of arcuation (albeit on the first floor instead of inside like in the Pantheon). There is also inscription on the entablature, but this time in French instead of the Pantheon’s Latin. The Beaux-Arts style and Palais Garnier differ greatly from the Roman Pantheon in that it is heavily ornamented with gold and other sculptural elements, bringing back festoons, cartouches, and agraphes, but also introducing the oeil-de-boeuf. In short, its bones are classical and resemble the Pantheon, but it sets itself apart with heavy ornamentation similar to that of the Baroque period.