L'Institut de France (Paris, France)
N 48° 51.436 E 002° 20.217
31U E 451364 N 5411800
This French stamp, issued in 200th Anniversary of L'Institut de France in Paris, depicts monumental Baroque palace of the Institute...
Waymark Code: WM8FA2
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 03/25/2010
Views: 49
This French stamp from 1995, issued in 200th Anniversary of L'Institut de France in Paris, depicts beautiful historic Baroque building of the Institut.
The monumental Palais de L'Institut de France (former building of Collège des Quatre-Nations) belongs among the most precious examples of French Baroque architecture and it's a masterpiece of famous architect Louis Le Vau.
The Palais de l'Institut de France was designed as a counterpart on the left bank of the Seine to the Cour Carrée of the Louvre on the right bank. This accounts for its unexpected size (for only 60 students) and its imposing architecture, which shows the characteristic features of classical French Baroque - the emphasis given to the ends of the main front by the two pavilions (projecting blocks with high-pitched roofs), the alignment of the facade and the drum supporting the dome and the closely set columns. A particular feature is the semicircular facade, with a six-column portico behind which is the dome of what was originally the chapel.