3-011-620 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Opening of the Boulevard du Prince Eugène at Paris, by the Emperor, 1862. '...the whole length of the via nova was ornamented with Venetian masts bearing very light-coloured silk banners and trophies...an immense "project of decoration" had been raised, consisting of an arc de triomphe, a circular colonnade, and a fountain...The intention of the municipality of Paris in erecting the triumphal arch, which is in the style of that of Titus at Rome, was to pay a tribute of honour to the warlike exploits of the Emperor, and of the armies of the Crimea, of Italy, of China, of Cochin-China, and of Algeria...It is ornamented with twelve coloured marble columns, supporting the bronze statues of as many soldiers, each soldier representing one of the corps-d'armes forming the garde d'honneur de "La France," whose personification, raised upon a quadrige, crowns the edifice...The architect who...designed the monumental combination, is M. Victor Baltard...Our Engraving represents the ensemble of the costly decoration at the Place de la Barrière du Trône at the moment of the Emperor's arrival...His Majesty was on horseback...escorted by a perfect swarm of Marshals and Generals'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.