Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission Part 36

Only one change was made in the otherwise exact reproduction of the Grand Trianon. According to doc.u.ments published in the seventeenth century, and especially to the tentative drawings made by Lepautri himself, the Grand Trianon architect, that monument was originally to be decorated over its high bal.u.s.trade railings with some artistic devices and groups of children, each to be found in the present French monument.

The architects of the St. Louis Palace, Messrs. Gustave Umbdenstock and Roger Bouvard, conceived the happy thought of making that restoration complete, and thus contributing a more lifelike appearance to the whole palace.

On the other hand, a large allegorical medallion was arranged over the central decorative device, which was indicative of the national character. The medallion bore the coat of arms of the French Republic topped with the "Phrygian" cap, being flanked on either side by two allegorical female figures, one of which was symbolic of the Armed Peace protecting herself with a sword, and the other was intended to represent French trade. Over the allegorical medallion was the mainmast used to display the French flag. Owing to the arrangement of the palace itself the flag was thus displayed in the continuation of the center of the main monumental avenue of the fair.

From the entrance to the French Concession, which covered an area of about 150 meters in width by 250 meters in depth, a large monumental grill in the style of Louis XIV covered the entire front of the grounds separating the garden from the avenue which bounded it at the right corner. The grill included three large gates supported by four metal towers which were topped by lanterns and decorated with allegorical panels, producing the finest effect. The grills were devised on the same lines as those exhibited at Versailles and on the Place Stanislas, at Nancy.

A large garden, laid out in French style, was arranged in a border on the central path leading to the palace. The latter, with flower beds in the border, was ornamented with vases and statuary on pedestals.

The interior arrangement of the palace was such that the public would visit it regularly in its entirety without the necessity of pa.s.sing twice through the same rooms. Double doors were provided so as to permit a continuous circulation for entrance and egress.

The building at the farthest side of the state court was devoted to the large state room, the decoration of which was intrusted to the National "Garde-Meuble," or "Historical Furniture Depot." The size of the room was 30 meters in length by 9 meters in width, and it was lighted by seven large windows; its height was 7 meters to the ceiling. The entrance stairs on the outside and the entrance hall were paved with imitation marble of pink and white. The carved ceiling was arranged as a framing for three large decorative paintings executed by Mr. George G.

Roussel. The subject selected by the artist was Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. The Liberty allegory represented France placing her sword in 1772 at the service of America for the conquest of the latter's independence.

In "Equality" the figures were personifications of the commerce and industry of both nations.

"Fraternity" represented America receiving the France of 1904 in a symbolic group.

In the corner of the ceiling were a child uniting the flags of both nations and G.o.ddesses personifying Fame hovering over a globe representing Earth in glorification of that cordial understanding.

The large state room contained fine Gobelin tapestries reproducing scenes of the reign of Louis XIV, as follows:

(1) Audience of Cardinal Chigi (July 29, 1664). This was a tapestry woven of wool and silk set off with gold manufactured at the Gobelin factory in the seventeenth century. It was one of a series ill.u.s.trating the history of King Louis from Van der Meulen et de Charles Le Brun. It had a very rich border by Yvart.

(2) Entrance of the King into Dunkerque (December 2, 1662). A wool and silk woven tapestry set off with gold, made at the Gobelin factory in the seventeenth century; one of the series of the history of King Louis XIV from Van der Meulen et de Charles Le Brun drawing. A rich border by Yvart.

(3) The Siege of the City of Douai (July, 1667). A wool and silk woven tapestry with gold, made at the Gobelin factory in the seventeenth century; one of the series of the history of King Louis XIV from Van der Meulen et de Charles Le Brun drawing. A rich border by Yvart.

(4) A piece of tapestry. This was woven from wool and silk and made at the Gobelin factory in the seventeenth century; one of the series of hangings (portieres) of the Triumphal Chariot and bearing the coat of arms of France and Navarre; made from the drawings of Charles Le Brun (the final drawings).

The right wing of the palace was used first by the National Factory of Sevre, with a room 12 meters by 8 meters and a hall in front which measures 8 meters by 3.50 meters.

The decoration of this room was subdued to enhance the appearance of the vases and bisques exhibited. The walls were hung with watered silk to a height of 4.50 meters, the tone of the silk being well adapted to set off the whiteness of the china. Above this hanging a painted frieze was decorated with gray and blue leaves set off with medallions of crystallized pink stone work. The application of ceramics to decorative purposes was again found in the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the portieres in the shape of pendentives.

The objects exhibited in these rooms were especially selected with due consideration to the place they were to occupy and with a view to making up a complete decorative whole.

In the main room the place in the center of the longest sides were occupied by Houdon's bust of Lafayette, with a small statue of Liberty by Aube in front, and by a Puech's bust of President Loubet, with a small statue of De la Paix by G. Michel in front.

On either side of these busts were seen four pink vases of the so- called "Cleremont" cla.s.s and four vases of the "Ch.e.l.les" cla.s.s representative of the four seasons in floral decorations.

At the corners of the main room in niches especially provided for them were four Blois vases, decorated with hollyhocks, Chinese lilies, and magnolias. On either side of the window were two d'Auxerre "Flambets"

(signed) vases.

The city of Paris occupied three rooms in the right wing of the National Palace.

There were in the exhibit many statues, pictures, objects of the Paris munic.i.p.al council and of the council-general of the Department of Seine, the insignia of councils, engravings, reproducing the most important decorative works in the Paris Hotel de Ville (city hall); also work done by pupils of the professional and industrial art schools, such as the Germain Pilon, Bernard, Palissy, Dorian, Diderot, Estienne, Boulle, etc.; such work includes ceramic pieces, modeling, bookbinding, furniture, chasing work, pottery, etc. The architectural service was represented by plans and drawings ill.u.s.trating some types of the main edifices in Paris, such as the Sorbonne, Palais des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris, the barracks, mayoralty buildings, professional schools, primary schools, etc.

The departments of public highways, public lighting, water and health exhibited some graphical and statistical information in reference to their undertakings.

The Metropolitan Underground Railway sent most complete information covering its most interesting work.

The department of public charity exhibited water colors which gave useful information in reference to its various branches and modes of operating.

The department of historical work and the committee of ancient Paris showed a collection of publications covering the history of the city and of its several transformations. The general decorations included views of Paris, public gardens, and two large panels by de Grinberg, showing the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Pavilion de Fiore, in the Tuilleries.

There were also frontispieces and escutcheons by the master decorator Jambon. Elaborate middle pieces and a beautiful chandelier in the middle of the main room attracted considerable attention.

There was a small horizontal show case containing a collection of objects employed by the teacher in lecturing on civic instruction. These objects included various kinds of tickets, stamps, tax bills, receipts, official postals, etc.

Agricultural education occupied an extensive area, showing the importance attached in France to that department. A very remarkable collection, filling seven volumes, showed the really wonderful result that an inspector of the Brittany region was able to obtain in a district consisting of some hundred townships. There was also an "experiment case," which was to be found again in the normal school graduate's outfit, and a set of small instruments made by the country teachers.

The series, drawings, samples of manual work, of sewing, etc., showed how republican schools in France care for the workman's interests.

Other superior schools were represented in adequate manner through the aggregate exhibits. That at Onzain showed a few peculiarities of the rural type.

Superior primary schools for girls only showed a few specimens of several collections of work. The department of technical education, as represented by practical, industrial, and commercial schools, gave a fair idea of what is done in France in that branch.

The aggregate display gave a fair idea of what is going on in France in the normal schools, where teachers of both s.e.xes are being prepared for their work.

Attention was particularly directed to manual work, especially to the scientific training that the girls of the normal school receive on leaving school.

A show case in one of the compartments contained a complete collection of doc.u.ments relating to primary education in France. Several displays of that kind were attached to the walls, such as the six graphical tables made by Leva.s.seur, which are summaries of statistical doc.u.ments.

The Museum of Pedagogy had collected in similar summary form the most important results obtained for the past twelve years in the work done in promoting special work as a complement to school education.

Enlarged photographs representing scenes of school life were placed practically everywhere throughout the exhibit of French primary schools.

They were prepared by the school administration as a reproduction, on a smaller scale, of the exhibit which proved such a success at the Paris Exhibition Fair in 1900.

The exhibit of higher education included displays from universities and scientific inst.i.tutions, the leading ones being the College of France, the Museum of Natural History, the Practical of Highest Studies, the School of Charters, the School of Living Oriental Languages.

An inquiry was inst.i.tuted in 1883 in academic councils and faculties in reference to drafting a plan for the const.i.tution of universities that should administer and manage themselves under the supervision of the State.

Many had been impressed with the inconvenience caused by a lack of cohesion in the work. Attention was called to those many common interests of which the faculties should have been the guardian, but of which they could not take care on account of their isolation. Inquiry, begun in 1883, made the necessity of a reform obvious. It ended in the rendering of the decrees of July 25 and December 28, 1885. These decrees may be divided into two distinct parts--one covering the interior life of faculties, the other providing for a grouping of faculties established in each academic center and the general council of faculties to be the representative organ and executive power of the new faculty life created.

Appreciable results were derived from these reforms. However they were incomplete, and it was thought, in consequence, that genuine unity should be given to a superior education. The establishment of the new universities had been a legal consequence of that express wish.

The law of July 10, 1896, gave the name of university to each body of faculties, subst.i.tuting the university council for the general council of faculties, the duties and powers of such university council being regulated by the decree of July 21, 1897. The rector of the university is president of that council by right, and is the legal representative of the university before the courts.

In the Department of Machinery the French exhibit included according to the general cla.s.sification groups, steam engines, various motors and engines, sundry general machinery, machine tools, and shipyard machinery. All of these several groups and cla.s.ses were united in order to form a collective exposition for the whole department.

To the above groups there were added the following: Spinning and rope-making machinery and weaving machinery and materials. The latter groups included machinery that could also have been placed in the department of general machinery.

In compliance with a suggestion made by the head of the engineering service at the fair, all machines and mechanical appliances exhibited in the Palace of Machinery were distributed, not in accordance with the nationality of exhibitors, but in accordance with the character and nature of the machinery.

French manufacturers had nothing to fear from the fact of their machinery having been placed in the immediate vicinity of other similar machines made by foreign manufacturers. On the contrary, a closer contact only resulted in setting off in a better light those particular qualities that have made France so successful in that branch of industry on previous occasions.

Outside of the Palace of Machinery there were exhibited in the boiler buildings five steam generators made by French manufacturers. These boilers contributed to the generation of the steam required for the power houses of the fair.

The distribution of exhibits all over the Palace of Machinery has made it impossible to arrange any decorative devices for the whole group of French exhibitors.