Week 9 Responses

Week 9 Response

The Palais Garnier is an opera house that truly exemplifies the Beaux-Arts style. This type of style is not described as a singular thing, instead it took inspiration from all of the previous styles and combined them in order to create an identity for France. From the Renaissance it took the element of symmetry. The facade of Palais, besides having an odd number of arcuated arches to have a clear middle, it has very detailed elements such as festoons and what seems to be a frieze with movement. A very prominent feature in the opera house would be the oil-de-bouf windows, which was also popular during the Baroque period. Comparing the Palais Garnier to the Pantheon of the Parthenon, they can immediately be differentiated in the amount of details and ornamentation. The Palais is full of dense sculptural details with aspects of gold. While the Roman and Greek styles are more classical, following the orders seen in the columns and capitals, which exudes antiquity. 

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