21. Pantheon.
Library of Ste. Geneviève.
The Church of Sainte Genevièeve, or *Pantheon, as it is more
usually termed, which occupies the most elevated situation in
Paris, stands on the site of an ancient church erected in honour
of Ste. Geneviève, who was interred here in 512. The present
edifice was designed by Soufflot, and the foundation-stone laid
by Louis XV. in 1764.
The new structure was also dedicated to Ste. Geneviève, the
protectress of the city of Paris. The Convention, however, in
1791 determined that it should be converted into a species of
temple, and gave it the name of "Pantheon", dedicated: "Aux
grands hommes la patrie reconnaissante", as the inscription on
the frieze still records. The inscription was erased in 1822,
but was renewed in 1830 after the July revolution, and still
retains its place notwithstanding the decree of Dec. 6th, 1851,
by which the edifice has been restored to its sacred use under
its original appellation of "Église Ste. Geneviève". For upwards
of 60 years the "Pantheon" has been a source of discord between
church and state, and has experienced vicissitudes from
which for the present at least it appears to enjoy a respite.
Although cruciform in shape, this magnificent structure hardly
possesses an ecclesiastical character. The form is nearly that of
a Greek cross, 350 ft. in length and 260 ft. in breadth, surmounted
by a majestic dome (2 4 ft. in height), terminating in
a lantern and surrounded by a gallery and balustrade. The portico,
which is approached by a flight of 11 steps, occupying
the entire breadth of the edifice, is supported by a triple row
of handsome Corinthian columns, 60 ft. in height.
The Pediment above the portico, 127 ft. in length and 22 ft.
in height, contains a fine *group in high relief by David d'Angers.
The principal figure, 15 ft. in height, represents France
in the act of distributing garlands to her sons; to the l., under
the protection of Liberty, several illustrious civilians are represented:
Malesherbes (p. 95), Mirabeau (p. 170), Monge (p. 116)
and Fénélon; then Manuel, Carnot, the celebrated general of
engineers and leader of the wars of the first revolution, Berthollet,
the chemist, and Laplace, the mathematician. A second
row consists of the artist David, Cuvier, Lafayette, Voltaire,
Rousseau and the physician Bichat. To the r., beside a figure
emblematic of History, are soldiers of the republic and of the
empire: among them Bonaparte as leader of the Italian army;
behind him an old grenadier leaning on his musket, sternly emblematic
of Service.
In front of the entrance are two groups in sandstone by
Maindron, representing Ste. Geneviève inducing Attila, the chieftain
of the Huns, to abstain from devastating Paris, and the
baptism of the Franconian king Clovis by St. Remigius.
The interior consists of a spacious rotunda, flanked by a
gallery supported by Corinthian columns. The names of those
who fell in the revolution of 1830 were formerly engraved on
the pillars in gilded letters, but are now concealed by the new
wainscoting. The nave and transepts are adorned with copies of
eight of the frescoes in the Vatican by Raphael and Michel Angelo.
The staircase (328 steps) leading to the Dome is to the left,
by the side-altar. Admission 20 c.; parties limited to a certain
number. The visitor will here have an opportunity of inspecting
the painting of the dome by Gros, executed in 1 24, for which the
artist received a remuneration of 100,000 fr. This fine composition,
which covers a superficies of 32 6 sq. ft, represents Ste. Geneviève
receiving homage from Clovis, the first Christian monarch
of France, Charlemagne, St. Louis and Louis XVIII. In the
heavenly regions above are represented Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette,
Louis XVII. and Madame Elisabeth, the "martyrs of
the revolution".
A farther ascent of 94 steps leads to the gallery, which commands
a magnificent and extensive view, but less picturesque
than the prospect from the Tour St. Jacques or that commanded
by Notre Dame, as from this point the course of the Seine and the
bridges are not visible.
The entrance to the Vaults (Caveaux) is behind the high altar.
Admission 2 fr. for one or more persons; a solitary visitor therefore
usually waits till a party is made up and pays his share
of the fee; parties are most frequently formed between 3 and
4 p. m. Mirabeau was the first whose remains were deposited here,
April 5th, 1791. Near him was placed Marat, the most furious
of the Jacobins, who fell July 13th, 1793, by the hand of Charlotte
Corday. Subsequently, however, both the bodies were removed
by order of the Convention; Mirabeau was reinterred in
the cemetery of Père Lachaise, whilst the remains of Marat were
ignominiously cast into the sewers of the Rue Montmartre, near
the Passage du Saumon of the present day.
About the same period "monuments" were here erected to
Voltaire and Rousseau; the former, "aux manes de Voltaire",
bears the inscription: "Poöte, historien, philosophe, il agrandit
l'esprit humain et lui apprit, qu'il devait être libre. Il défendit
Calas, Sirven, de la Barre et Montbailly; combattit les athées et
les fanatiques; il inspira la tolérance; il réclama les droits de
l'homme contre la servitude de la féodalité." The sarcophagus of
Rousseau bears the inscription:
"Ici repose l'homme de la nature
et de la vérité"; issuing from it is represented a hand with a
burning torch, a somewhat inappropriate emblem of the "light"
which the great philosopher diffused around him. Both these
tombs are, however, empty, the remains of the two philosophers
having been secretly removed after the Restoration and interred
in some unknown spot.
Napoleon I. also caused several of the most eminent men of
his time to be interred here; among others may be mentioned
Lagrange, the mathematician, Bougainville, the circumnavigator,
Marshal Lannes and a number of senators.
In the centre of these vaults a remarkably loud echo may
be awakened by the faintest sound. — A model of the edifice
in plaster of Paris is also shown.
The Pantheon was one of the headquarters of the insurgents
in June, 1848, and was obstinately defended during two days
against the attacks of the troops and the National Guard. The barricades
in the vicinity were, however, soon demolished by the
cannonade, and the insurgents compelled to yield.
Opposite to the portico is situated the Mairie du 5e Arrondissement,
erected in 1849, and on the other side the Ecole de
Droit, the seat of the legal faculty of the university (p. 138), the
latter erected by Soufflot, the architect of the Pantheon. The
lectures are public. Vacation in September and October.
On the N. side is situated the spacious edifice, erected by
Labrouste and completed in 1850, which contains the Library
of Ste. Geneviève. On the walls are inscribed a long series of
names of eminent literary men of all nations. In the medallions
the monogram S. G. (Ste. Geneviève) frequently recurs.
The vestibule is adorned with busts of St. Bernard, Montaigne,
Pascal, Molière, Lafontaine, Bossuet, Massillon, Voltaire, Buffon,
Laplace, Cuvier, Mirabeau, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Fénélon,
Racine, Corneille, Poussin, Descartes, L'Hopital.
The inscription over the staircase is as follows: Bibliothèque
Sainte Geneviáve fondée par les Génovéfains en 1624, devenue
propriété nationale en 1790, transférée de l'ancienne abbaye dans
cet ?di ice en 1850. The wall of the staircase is adorned with a
copy (by Blaze) of the School of Athens in the Vatican by Raphael,
and medallions in fresco emblematic of Poetry, Theology,
Philosophy and Justice. The upper *Library Hall, the finest
saloon of this description in Paris, in which iron is admirably
adapted to architectural purposes, is upwards of 300 ft. in length,
60 ft. in breadth and 40 ft. in height. The double arched roof
is supported by a series of graceful iron columns resting on stone
basements, between which and along the walls the bookcases are
arranged. Long rows of tables, capable of accommodating 420 persons,
are placed here for the convenience of readers. The library
is open to the public from 10 till 3 o'clock, for students from
6 to 10 p. m.
The collection of books, which are judiciously arranged in
the upper, as well as in the lower apartments, was originated
by Cardinal La Rochefoucauld in 1624, and now consists of upwards
of 200,000 printed books and 7000 MSS. Among the former
are a considerable number of "incunabulæ", or specimens of the
earliest period of printing, when the art was still in its infancy
("in cunabulis"), and a valuable series of periodicals from the
17th cent. to the period of the empire. — Vacation from Sept.
1st to Oct. 15th.
St. Etienne du Mont, the handsome, late-Gothic church in the
vicinity, with a portico in the Renaissance style, see p. 163.
