Assemblée Nationale

Assemblée Nationale

The Palais Bourbon was built from 1722 for Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, daughter of Louis XIV. The front seen from the Seine is later: it is the peristyle raised under the Empire by Bernard Poyet between 1806 and 1810, twelve Corinthian columns set facing the Pont de la Concorde to answer the Madeleine across the river. The sculpted pediment is the work of Jean-Pierre Cortot; four statues of statesmen stand on the forecourt.

Architectural lighting for the peristyle, facing the Seine. The colonnade, the sculpted pediment and the statues on the forecourt are treated in stepped levels, from the base up to the tympanum, giving the monument back its relief without flattening the stone. Studies and delivery for the Assemblée Nationale.

The difficulty of this façade lies in where it is seen from: at a distance, from the right bank and from the bridge, and very close to, from the forecourt itself. A single value would have flattened the colonnade from afar or burnt the stone at its foot. The stepped levels answer both readings — the line of columns and the pediment hold the silhouette at a distance, while the detail of the carving and the statues appears only as you approach. On the quayside, the light trails of passing cars run in front of the monument without ever entering its lit field.