My Favorite Artworks in Panthéon, Paris

Panthéon in Paris was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but was converted into a secular mausoleum housing the remains of most renown figures, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Zola and Marie Curie.

The architecture was fashioned after the one in Rome in the neoclassical style.  There were many paintings, sculptures and relief to see inside the vast expanse of the building.

My favorite artwork in Panthéon was a sculpture whose name and creator I failed to record and could not find.  This sculpture featured two kneeling giants, hoisting a huge tablet depicting hardworking on earth and the welcoming hosts of angels above, with an inscription at the base: "Aeterni custodibus ignis quorum splendet opus nomen oblivio tenet", which was translated by Google as "Eternal guards fire which shines work has forgotten to name".

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My second favorite artwork there was the tomb of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a deep red wooden tomb, in the shape of an ancient temple, whose "roof" was edged with thirteen mourning face masks, like seen in the Greek dramas.  On the front, delicate carving relief depicted people dressed or being naked in ancient Greek style, laying tributes on the tomb with an inscription of "Rousseau", and looked upon by two figures flanked by columns, of those two figures, I presumed to be Apollo and a muse.  The writing above the central group of figures and the tomb of the philosopher and writer, stated "Ici repose l'homme de la nature et de la vérité" (Here lies the man of nature and truth). 

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
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List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited  


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