Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The triumphal arch of the Carrousel, located in Place du Carrousel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, was inaugurated on August 15, 1808 under Napoleon I. Commanded to celebrate the military victories of 1805, including the surrender of Ulm, he was inspired directly by the arch of Constantine in Rome, reproduced on a reduced scale (3/4). Designed by architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, it served as a monumental entrance to the Tuileries Palace, now extinct. His original bas-reliefs, illustrating battles like Austerlitz or Tilsit, were replaced in 1823 by works commemorating the Spanish expedition, before being restored.

The monument is surmounted by a quadrige originally composed of the horses of St Mark, looted in Venice in 1798 during the Italian countryside. These horses, returned in 1815 after Napoleon's fall, were replaced in 1828 by a copy carved by François Joseph Bosio. Attic carries statues of imperial soldiers in marble, while the side faces represent allegories of rivers. Ranked a historic monument in 1888, the arch underwent major restorations, notably between 1931-1933 and 2022-2024, to preserve its sculptures and marbles.

The arch was originally to carry a statue of Napoleon in aurige, removed by order of the emperor himself in 1808. After 1815, an allegory of the Restoration was placed there, symbolizing the return of the monarchy. The eight statues of soldiers around the Atlantic, representing emblematic units (curtains, grenaders, etc.), were consolidated in 2024 thanks to a campaign of patronage. The monument, linked to the Louvre and the Tuileries, embodies both the imperial fascist and the political upheavals of the 19th century.

The place du Carrousel is named after an equestrian show organized by Louis XIV in 1662 to celebrate the birth of the dolphin. The arch, conceived as a triumphal gate, marked the royal axis between the palace and the city. Its decorations, including trophies of arms and friezes of children, combine military symbols and peaceful allegories. Today, it is a major vestige of Napoleonic urban planning, between the Carrousel Garden and the Louvre Courtyard.

Among the anecdotes, the project aborted in 1839 to transplant the arch of Caracalla (Algeria) in Paris illustrates the 19th century enthusiasm for ancient monuments. Sergeant Mariolle, who was statured on the subject, would have inspired the popular expression "doing the marioll," although this etymology was contested. The current quadrige, a copy of the Venetian horses, still dominates the monument, surrounded by renowned Peace and Victory, works by Lemot.

External links