Couvent Des Capucines
The Couvent des Capucines (Convent of the Capucins) is a former convent of the Order of the Capuchin Poor Clares, located in Paris on the site of the current Place Vendôme. The convent was built by Marie of Luxembourg, Duchess of Penthièvre, Marie de Luxembourg, Duchess of MercÅ“ur. It was destroyed in 1806. History The Old Convent The Order of the Capuchin Poor Clares was introduced to France by Queen Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, who wanted to create a convent in Bourges to be buried at. Upon her death on January 29, 1601, she bequeathed to her brother, Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of MercÅ“ur, a sum of 60,000 livre tournois to build it; however, he died in February of 1602. By letters patent on June 8, 1602, Henry IV of France, Henry IV authorized the widow of the Duke of MercÅ“ur, Marie de Luxembourg, to build a Capuchin convent, but in Paris instead of Bourges. In September of 1603, Pope Paul V accredited the creation in Paris of the convent, under the name of the Daught ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jules Hardouin-Mansart
Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles. His monumental work was designed to glorify the reign of Louis XIV of France. Biography Born Jules Hardouin in Paris in 1646, he studied under his renowned great-uncle François Mansart, one of the originators of the classical tradition in French architecture; Hardouin inherited Mansart's collection of plans and drawings and added Mansart's name to his own in 1668. He began his career as an entrepreneur in building construction, in partnership with his brother Michel, but then decided in 1672 to devote himself entirely to architecture. In 1674, he became one of the group of royal architects working for Louis XIV. His first important project was the Château de Clagny, built for the King's consort ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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First French Empire
The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena. Although France had already established a French colonial empire, colonial empire overseas since the early 17th century, the French state had remained a France in the early modern period, kingdom under the Bourbons and a French First Republic, republic after the French Revolution. Historians refer to Napoleon's regime as the ''First Empire'' to distinguish it from the restorationist ''Second French Empire, Second Empire'' (1852–1870) ruled by his nephew Napoleon III. On 18 May 1804 (28 Floréal year XII on the French Republican calendar), Napoleon was granted the title Emperor of the French (, ) by the French and w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antonio Franconi
Antonio Franconi (1737 in Udine, Italy - 1836 in Paris, France) was an Italian equestrian. He started as a juggler and wandering physician, then arranged bullfights in Lyon and Bordeaux. In 1783, he associated with the English horse rider Philip Astley who had opened a riding school in Paris and founded an equestrian theater named Cirque Olympique (French, Olympic circus), which acquired an impressive reputation. His sons and grandsons continued to attract the public with the talent of their squired and the perfection of their showmanship in their fantasy and military plays. The last famous squire bearing this name was Laurent Franconi who died in 1849. Napoleon once remarked acidly to his marshal Joachim Murat, who was attired in an extravagant Polish uniform after the Battle of Heilsberg The Battle of Heilsberg took place on 10 June 1807 off the town of Heilsberg (now Lidzbark WarmiÅ„ski), during the Napoleonic Wars. Overview On 24 May 1807, the Siege of Danzig ende ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Étienne-Gaspard Robert
Étienne-Gaspard Robert (15 June 1763 – 2 July 1837), often known by the stage name of "Robertson", was a prominent physicist, magic (illusion), stage magician and influential developer of phantasmagoria from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. He was described by Charles Dickens as "an honourable and well-educated showman".Zeitler, William. E.G. Robertson". Accessed 29 July 2007. Alongside his pioneering work on projection techniques for his shows Robert was also a physics lecturer and a keen balloon (aircraft), balloonist at a time of great development in aviation. Early work Born in Liège, Prince-Bishopric of Liège, Robert studied at Leuven and became a professor of physics specialising in optics. He was an avid painter and intended to move to France to pursue a career in art. He moved to Paris in the 1791 and maintained a living as a painter and draughtsman. While there he attended lectures in natural science at the Collège de France as well as those by Jacques Charles, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Magic (illusion)
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from Magic (supernatural), paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as John Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic", a period in which performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Meanwhile, magicians such as Georges Méliès, Gaston Velle, Walter R. B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Assignat
An assignat () was a monetary instrument, an order to pay, used during the time of the French Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars. France Assignats were paper money (fiat currency) authorized by the Constituent Assembly in France from 1789 to 1796, during the French Revolution, to address imminent bankruptcy. They were originally backed by the value of properties now held by the nation; those of the crown taken over on 7 October, and those of the Catholic Church, which were confiscated, on the motion of Mirabeau, by the Assembly on 2 November 1789. Credit was wrecked, according to Talleyrand; for Mirabeau "the deficit was the treasure of the nation". In September the treasury was empty. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord proposed "national goods" should be given back to the nation. Necker proposed to borrow from the Caisse d'Escompte, but his intention to change the private bank into a national bank similar to the Bank of England failed. A general default ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Constituent Assembly (France)
The National Constituent Assembly () was a constituent assembly in the Kingdom of France formed from the National Assembly (French Revolution), National Assembly on 9 July 1789 during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly (France), Legislative Assembly. Background Estates-General The Estates General of 1789, ''(Etats Généraux)'' made up of representatives of the three estates, which had not been convened since 1614, met on 5 May 1789. The Estates-General reached a deadlock in its deliberations by 6 May. The representatives of the Third Estate attempted to make the whole body more effective and so met separately from 11 May as the ''Communes''. On 12 June, the ''Communes'' invited the other Estates to join them: some members of the Estates of the realm#First Estate, First Estate did so the following day. On 17 June 1789, the ''Communes'' approved s:Motion of Abbé Sieyès, the motion made by Si ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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François-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis De Louvois
François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois (; 18 January 1641 – 16 July 1691) was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. He is commonly referred to as "Louvois". Together with his father, Michel le Tellier, he oversaw an increase in the numbers of the French Army, eventually reaching 340,000 soldiersLynn, J. (1994). Recalculating French Army Growth during the Grand Siecle, 1610-1715. ''French Historical Studies,'' ''18''(4), 881-906. doi:10.2307/286722 – an army that would fight four wars between 1667 and 1713. Louvois was a key military and strategic advisor to Louis XIV, who transformed the French Army into an instrument of royal authority and foreign policy. According to Cathal Nolan, he created the Régiment du Roi in 1663 and founded the Royal-Artillerie regiment in 1673. These innovations influenced military planners beyond France. Louvois sought out new wars as a means of concentrating more power and wealth in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arrondissement (district or ward) and home to some of the most Western canon, canonical works of Art of Europe, Western art, including the ''Mona Lisa,'' ''Venus de Milo,'' and ''Winged Victory''. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II of France, Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in 1546 Francis I of France, Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French kings. The building was redesigned and extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his househ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Académie Royale De Peinture Et De Sculpture
The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. It included most of the important painters and sculptors, maintained almost total control of teaching and exhibitions, and afforded its members preference in royal commissions. Founding In the 1640s, France's artistic life was still based on the medieval system of guilds like the Académie de Saint-Luc which had a tight grip on the professional lives of artists and artisans alike. Some artists had managed to get exemptions but these were based on favoritism rather than merit. According to the 17th century ''Mémoires'' about the founding of the ''Académie royale'', a few "superior men" who were "real artists", suffered and felt humiliated under the guild system. In view of increasing pressure by the Parisian guilds for painters and s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |