The European Heritage Days 2022 were for Looking Up Paris an opportunity to admire the dome of the Pantheon from inside this remarkable building designed by Jacques Soufflot in the 18th century. As can be seen on the model by the architect Jean Rondelet, who joined Soufflot in 1770, this dome is a real technical feat. Soufflot was initially inspired by Bramante's Tempietto (circa 1502), a little temple located in the courtyard of the monastery of San Pietro in Montorio, in the heart of Rome. However, the modest dimensions of this temple (4 m in diameter) meant that for the Pantheon (17,000 t, 83 m high) the architects had to innovate and incorporate for the first time elaborate calculations of thrust and strength into their design work. This is why there is not just one dome, but three interlocking domes.
From the inside, one can admire a stone dome sculpted with rose windows, with a central opening 10m in diameter, through which can be seen the intermediate dome decorated with Antoine Gros's "Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve", a painting that was part of an original commission from Napoleon in 1811 "of works symbolising the political regimes that have succeeded one another in France and the protection that they have given to religion".
The figures depicted place the final version in the Restoration period (the work was actually completed in 1824), since we find, replacing Napoleon, Louis XVIII with his niece Marie-Thérèse de France (1778-1851), the only child of Louis XVI to have survived the Revolution, and instead of the Civil Code, the Constitutional Charter of 4 June 1814. They are surrounded, this time without change from the initial version, on the left by Saint Geneviève, patron saint of Paris (to whom the building was originally dedicated by Louis XV) and on the right by Saint Louis and his mother Blanche of Castile. And up until 31 October 2022, thanks to '23:56:04', a monumental installation by Ann Veronica Janssens, you will have been able to admire Antoine Gros' painting just by looking down! The Belgian artist has placed a large circular mirror on the floor underneath Foucault's pendulum, offering breathtaking views of the building's interior. Enjoy your visit and to find out more you can of course refer to Looking Up Paris, chapter 'The Time of Kings'!
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