France - Table of Contents ............... Architecture Around the World
Luxembourg Gardens
Paris, France
Photographs taken in February 2012.
The park, about 55
acres, was originally owned by the duke of Luxembourg, hence the name.
The domain was purchased in 1612 by Marie de' Medici (1573-1642),
mother of Louis XIII.
The gardens were laid out in Italian Baroque style - the first French
garden to be influenced by the Italian Baroque. - on request of Marie
de' Medici. She was of Italian descent and had spent her youth in
Florence at the Pitti Palace. The Boboli gardens at this palace were
the inspiration for the Jardin du Luxembourg.
The widowed queen did
not get the time to enjoy her new palace and gardens for long as she
was banished by Richelieu in 1625, before the palace was completed.
In 1794, during the French Revolution, the palace served as a prison.
It also served as the headquarters of the Luftwaffe during the Second
World War. The building currently houses the French Senate.
In the 19th century the
private park opened to the public. It is the second largest public park
in Paris, the largest being the Tuileries Garden.
The palace
Italian Baroque style ..... Urns ..... Balustrade
Banded columns
Photo taken in February 2012 when the temperature was in the low 50s.
The Garden
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (1798 – 1863) was a French Romantic painter.
Delacroix is depicted as a young man with fairly long hair looking intently into the distance and wearing a heavy coat and a scarf. The artist is French sculptor Jules Dalou (1838-1902).
Medici Fountain
The Medici Fountain was built in about 1630 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France and regent of King Louis XIII of France. It was moved to its present location and extensively rebuilt in 1864-66.
Medici Fountain
Medici Fountain: the Greek mythological figure of Polyphemus watches the lovers Acis and Galatea.