#jacques douai

[philoursmars]

Douai, la veille de mon anniversaire, au Nagoya, un resto japonais (et oriental) en terrasse avec Philippe

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, Thon mi-cuit (et même du riz pour les fourmis !).

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Tell me the story of robespierre's father from the beginning.

[what happened to robespierre's father after he left? Did he leave his country? Or settled in another province after that? Did he never made any contact with one of his family? did his children knew anything about him through their lives like for example the time when he died?]

Maximilien Barthélémy François de Robespierre was born in Arras on 17 February 1732 and baptised five days later. There exists some controversy in regards to what his real first name was, considering we have one document designating him as Barthélémy-François, and another one as just Barthélémy (although ironically, it has been more common among authors to call him François and not Barthélémy). Historian Hervé Leuwers still insists that his real firstname seems to have been Maximilien, as it’s what his contemporary Abbé Proyart calls him in his La Vie et les Crimes de Robespierre: surnommé le tyran: depuis sa naissance jusqu’au sa mort (1795), as well as the only name indicating his inhumation in 1777.

Whatever the case, Maximilien was the oldest of five children (of which four reached adulthood). Their mother was Marie-Marguerite Françoise de Robespierre (born 1708, née Poiteau) and their father the lawyer Maximilien de Robespierre (born 1694).

On April 21, 1749, a seventeen year old Maximilien presented himself, along with his companion the Sieur Gorbu, to the monks of Dammartin to prepare his novitiate. But June 17 the same year, he declared to the abbot "that he was not made for the religious stall, and had only desired it in order to please his parents.” He therefore left and returned to his hometown. After classical studies at the Jesuit college in Arras, he studied law at the University of Douai, where he obtained his license, and on December 30, 1756, he was received as a lawyer at the Council of Artois and took the required oath. 

The reports we have regarding Maximilien’s persona are few, often contradictory, and perhaps colored more by what its authors thought about his son with the same name than by the actual facts. The two most used accounts are on one hand the memoirs (1834) of his oldest daughter Charlotte, who is bias in his favor, and on the other hand the aforementioned La Vie et les crimes de Robespierre, surnommé Le Tyran… (1795) by his contemporary Liévin-Bonaventure Proyart, who is holtile towards him. According to the latter, Maximilien was ”a lawyer with little occupation at the Superior Council of Artois. [He] had the reputation, in the town of Arras, to be somewhat scatterbrained, and above all, fond of his own opinions.” Charlotte on the other hand writes that her father ”had acquired great consideration by his probity and his virtues; he was honored and cherished by the whole town.” According to La jeunesse de Robespierre et la convocation des Etats généraux en Artois (1870), Maximilien was charged with 34 cases in 1763 and 32 in 1764, which suggests he carried some prestige as a lawyer. A thermidorian pampleth it also titled La Jeunesse de Robespierre still claims that Maximilien ”had lights and probity, but his economy was not a virtuous one. Not knowing how to proportion the product of his labor to expenses, he sought resources in loans, contracted debts and died insolvent” and M. Devienne, former procureur at the Council of Artois, called him ”un avocat pauvre et un pauvre avocat.”

At some point, Maximilien met Jacqueline Marguerite Carraut (born 1735), daughter of an arragois brewer. On January 2 1758, when Jacqueline was already around four months pregnant, their marriage contract was signed before M. Crépieux and M. Botte, notaries, M. Corroyer, prosecutor, as well as Jacqueline’s mother Marie-Marguerite Carraut (born 1693, née Cornu), father Jacques-François Carraut (born 1701) and younger brother Augustin-Isidore Carraut (born 1737). One day later the wedding ceremony was held, now in the presence of M. Monvoisin, practitioner, M. Corroyer, prosecutor, M. Botte, notary, Jacques-François Carraut and Augustin Carraut. Maximilien’s parents, as we can see, were present for neither of these two events, perhaps a sign they disapproved of the hasty marriage that was undoubtly related to Jacqueline’s pregnancy. We can however imagiene they made their peace, considering Maximilien’s father was made godfather of the expected child when it was born in May the same year. Maximilien’s mother was also made godmother of the couple’s third child, born three years later.

On April 17 1762 Maximilien’s father died, at the age of 67. Maximilien’s name featured on the death certificate when he was buried in the church of Saint-Aubert two days later. When his wife Jacqueline on July 16 two years later died in the aftermath of the birth of their fifth child (that died as well) his signature does however elude said certificate.

On August 6 1764, Maximilien retook his duties as lawyer after having spent a few weeks without doing any business, winning and losing a case that very same day. However, on November 16 his name disappeared from the court register again, and on January 7 he was received as a lawyer at the court of Oisy, about 20 kilometers from Arras, after having been called on by Eustache-Joseph d'Assignies, count of Oisy, to take a prestigious seat there, “on the express condition of taking up residence in said Oisy and not being able to demand from us any sums for fees in criminal cases” eight days earlier.

It’s hard to tell if he had lived alone with his four children up until that point, or if he had handed them off to relatives right after his wife’s death. Regardless, the second option must at least have happened now. According to the memoirs of Charlotte, she and the youngest daughter Henriette went to live with their father’s two surviving siblings, Eulalie and Henriette, while their two brothers were taken in by their maternal grandparents.

If we’re to believe Abbé Proyart, this was not the first time Maximilien had abandoned his family, he had in fact already done so about a year before his wife’s death:

Either from oddity of character or inconvenience of profession, on the run from a lost lawsuit, he abruptly left his country, where he left his wife and the four children of whom we have just spoken. […] Robespierre, a few years after the disappearance of his father, lost his mother, and found himself orphaned at the age of nine [sic].

However, I could find no historian noting any absences in the court register prior to November 1764, so it’s possible Proyart is mistaken here. 

Charlotte on the other hand, makes her father’s leave be all about a broken heart:

[Jacqueline] was no less of a good wife than a good mother. Her death was a lightning strike to the heart of our poor father. He was inconsolable. Nothing could divert him from his sorrow; he no longer pleaded, nor occupied himself with business; he was entirely consumed with chagrin. He was advised to travel for some time to distract himself; he followed this advice and left: but, alas! We never saw him again; the pitiless death took him as it had already taken our mother. I do not know what country he died in. He will have doubtless succumbed to a sorrow which became unsupportable.

While Charlotte’s version is harder to completely dismiss, it can at least be nuanced. Unlike what her account leads you to believe at first, this was far from the final time Maximilien sat foot in Arras, as will be seen below. It’s however hard to know if this means he was in contact with his children anymore after this. It can be observed that Charlotte, Maximilien and Henriette spent the majority of the year away at schools far from Arras since 1768, 1769 and 1771 respectively, so it’s unlikely they met their father during at least any of his later stays in the town.

On March 13 1765 Maximilien was back in Arras again, four months before the expiration of his position at Oisy. He started pleading a case that carried on all the way into December of the same year. From the same month we also have this rather ironic letter to his fellow lawyer Maximilien Baudelot, which confirms he was still active in Arras. In the letter, Maximilien tried to get the lawyers of the town to all come together and publicy plead for the betterment of the the ill dauphin (Louis XVI’s father) who passed away eleven days later:

Monsieur, All the hearts taking their flight towards the sky, are resounding the aors of their plaintive accents; they pray, they conjure, they demand again with loud cries the worthy object of their love which they believe they have already delighted, so much do they fear losing it: ours are the only ones whose voices we do not hear; would they indeed be as mute and as motionless as they appear? No, mine answers for all; all at this moment breathe through it. I don’t know what has kept their movements secret until now, and they have undoubtedly prevented, in spite of themselves, from showing outside the fires of love which consume them within. Several times, I have seen it, we have come together to deliberate on certain matters which do not deserve our attention: deciding nothing then, is what we could have done best: only once when it is a question of giving the King a pure, solemn, and indispensable pledge of our attachment to the royal family, shall we fear that it might be said that we have assembled? Lawyers, this title honors us; subjects of France, is a quality a thousand times more glorious for us; it is only by fulfilling it as the most glorious of our duties, in a noble and uncommon manner, that we will truly prove the nobility of our profession and that we will maintain under the asylum of the throne freedom and independence. I expect, Monsieur, from your feelings, the justice due to mine. I have the honor to be with the deepest respect Monsieur,  Your most humble and obedient servant Derobespierre (sic), Lawyer Arras December 9th 1765

We find Maximilien pleading yet another case in Arras on March 3 1766. A few weeks later, on March 22, he borrowed seven hundred livres from his sister Henriette, who supposedly asked that he in turn resign from any inheritance from their mother. Two years later, on October 30 1768, we therefore find the following note:

I, the undersigned, lawyer at the Provincial Council of Artois, renounce, for the benefit of my sisters, my rights and shares in the movable and immovable estates of my mother, acknowledging that I have received from said mother beyond the share that I could claim, both for me and for my children. Written at Arras, the thirtieth day of October, 1768 (Signed): DEROBESPIERRE

Sometime after this Maximilien left Arras again. His two sisters were however aware of his whereabouts, as they were able to inform him about their death of their mother on June 8, 1770. In return, Maximilien wrote the following note, confirming his resignation from the inheritance. As we can see from it, he was by then residing in the German town of Mannheim:

I, the undersigned, lawyer at the Provincial Council of Artois, hereby renounce for the benefit of my sisters all rights and shares in the movable and immovable estates of my late mother, acknowledging that I have received from said mother beyond the share that I could claim, both for me and for my children. Written at Mannheim, June 8, 1770

On October 3 1771 Maximilien was once again back in Arras and once again affirming his resignation from the inheritance:

Before the undersigned royal notaries of Artois appeared M. Maximilien-Barthélemy-François de Robespierre, lawyer at the Superior Council of Arras, residing in said Arras. Who recognized that, by an act made under his private signature, in the city of Mannheim, on the eighth day of June 1770, he declared that he renounced the movable and immovable successions of lady Marie-Marguerite-Françoise Poiteau, his mother, at the time of her death widow of M. Maximilien de Robespierre, lawyer at the Council of Artois. But, having since considered that this renunciation could not have its effect, considering that at that time, he did not have full and complete knowledge of the forces of said succession and that, since his return to this town, three months ago, he has taken perfect knowledge of said estates by inspecting the letters and papers abandoned by said mother, which Marie-Marguerite-Alexandrine-Eléonore-Eulalie and Amable-Aldegonde-Henriette de Robespierre, his sisters, represented and entrusted to him. This is why said sieur appearing has, hereby, declared to renounce said successions and to claim nothing hereunder, giving power to the bearer of the bulk hereof to reiterate where and to whom it will belong. And just now said ladies Marie-Marguerite-Alexandre-Eléonore-Eulalie and Aimable-Aldegonde-Henriette de Robespierre have appered; these have recognized that said sieur de Robespierre, their brother, has given them the titles and papers mentioned herein. Passed in Arras, the third of October, 1771. (Signed): de ROBESPIERRE; de ROBESPIERRE, the older; de ROBESPIERRE, the younger, (and as notaries): MERCHIER, HUSSON.

Maximilien now returned to plead in Arras again for a while — his name reappears on the court register of the Council of Artois from February 17 to June 4 1772. After this however, there’s no sign of any activities in the town. In 1795, Proyart claimed to know more details about his whereabouts:

We had ignored until now the route he had taken. We have just discovered that on leaving his homeland, he went to Belgium, from where his family originated. He passed from there to Germany, and lived for some time in the town of Cologne, where, to survive, he opened a French school for children. Unsatisfied with his new profession, he left Cologne, announcing the intention of going to London and then to the Isles, where it was possible that he still lives: well done, in that case, if, by the silence of the differetion, he hides what would reflect upon him the shameful celebrity of his son.

Regardless, on November 6 1777 Maximilien was buried not in London but in Munich, aged 45. All historians I’ve checked up on have concluded that it’s unlikely his relatives found out about his death (as suggested by a decree written around 1795 by Armand Joseph Guffroy (old lawyer colleage of Maximilien II and friend/ally? of Charlotte), stating that ”their father who had abandoned them died in a hospital at [blank]” and Charlotte’s own memoirs where she underlines ”I do not know in which country he died”). It would however appear they settled with the conviction that he would never return, because when Maximilien’s sister Henriette and her husband François-Gabriel Durut in 1780 wanted to get back the money he had borrowed fourteen years earlier and never returned, they turned to his oldest son to get him to pay what his father owed rather than trying to get into contact with said father again:

Hearing of April 4, 1780: M. Corne, for François-Gabriel Durut, doctor of medicine, and Amélie-Aldegonde-Henriette Derobespierre, his wife; Against François-Maximilien-Barthelemy de Robespierre; Gentlemen give default against François-Maximilien Robespierre and for the benefit, hold the signature affixed by the defaulting party at the bottom of a recognition of March 22 1766 which it is about for recognized; Consequently, we condemn said defaulting party to pay to the parties of the attorney Corne, for one part, the sum of seven hundred and eleven livres ten sols, centenary in said recognition, and for another part, the sum of one hundred livres paid in his acquittal to the notary Husson, for pension provided to him according to the receipt of March 14, 1772 and in question, in the interest of the sums quoted from the day of the judicial demand and at the costs, liquidated at fifteen livres eighteen sols eight denarii.

-

Sources: same as for this post

[the-paintrist]

Louis-François, Baron Lejeune (3 February 1775 in Strasbourg – 29 February 1848) was a French general, painter, and lithographer. His memoirs have frequently been republished and his name is engraved on the Arc de Triomphe.

He produced an important series of battle-pictures based on his experiences. He had kept his paintbrushes with him on the battlefield and the popularity he enjoyed was due to the truth and vigour of his work, which was generally executed from sketches and studies made on the battlefield. His works are known for their lofty perspective' "offering a panoramic view of the totality of the battle's events." When his battle-pictures were shown at the Egyptian Hall in London, a rail had to be put up to protect them from the eager crowds of sightseers. He is best known for his paintings of the Battle of Guisando, which appeared in 1819 to enormous success, and of the Battle of Borodino, his masterwork. Many of his battle-pictures were engraved by Jacques Joseph Coiny and Edme Bovinet. He also produced several studies of uniforms in the French Imperial Army, such as those of the lancers of Berg under Murat and of Berthier's aides-de-camp.

Among his chief works are The Entry of Charles X. into Paris, 6 June 1825 (commemorating the Coronation of Charles X) at Versailles; Episode of the Prussian War, October 1807 at Douai Museum; Marengo (1801); Lodi, Thabor, Aboukir (1804); The Pyramids (1806); and Passage of the Rhine in 1795 (1824).

The Bear Hunt at the Lac d'Oo waterfall, near Bagnères-de-Luchon

by Louis-François Lejeune

[michelangelob]

La Scultura del giorno: Ercole e il Centauro Nesso del Giambologna sotto la Loggia dei Lanzi

La scultura del giorno che vi propongo oggi è il gruppo di Ercole e il Centauro Nesso scolpito dal Giambologna nel 1599, custodito sotto la Loggia dei Lanzi, a Firenze. Lo scultore fiammingo Jean de Boulogne, italianizzato in Giambologna, nacque in Francia, a Douai. Dopo aver studiato presso la bottega dello scultore Jacques Dubroeucq, compì un viaggio a Roma per studiare dal vero le antichità e…

[cabaretcapricho]

MARCEL - Jos Houben & Marcello Magni from MimeLondon on Vimeo.

This video will be available to view until Sunday 5 February 2023.

Théâtre de Complicité original members, Jos Houben and Marcello Magni opened LIMF‘16 with a masterclass in comic performance, produced by Peter Brook’s famous Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris. In Marcel, they are a brilliant double act: Houben, the tall, brisk figure of authority putting the shorter, Magni, through a series of demanding physical and mental tests that must be passed to gain, or perhaps retain, qualifications whose significance remain a mystery. As the tests become more arduous, so Magni’s need to take short cuts becomes more pressing and ingenious.

In a tender and blissfully funny exploration of the perils of ageing, these two distinguished performers revisit their early days with Complicité in celebrating the art of physical comedy and the beauty of the ‘gag’. Jos and Marcello met as students at the Ecôle Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Prior to Marcel they last appeared on stage in London together in Peter Brook’s production of Samuel Beckett’s Fragments, in 2008.

"A gag is a poem. It makes us laugh by the effect of surprise, the virtuosity of the performance and the humanity it reveals. It frees us from day-to-day predictability, celebrates the art of the actor in close complicity with his audience and reveals the universality of our physical condition" Jos Houben and Marcello Magni

This online screening is dedicated to the memory of Marcello Magni, who died too early, in September 2022.

Runs: 66 mins Age Guidance: 8+ Performed in French, with English subtitles

By and with Jos Houben and Marcello Magni Set and costumes design Oria Puppo Lights Philippe Vialatte Stage management Arthur Franc

Film © Fabien Plasson, Maison de la Danse, 2016

Production C.I.C.T. / Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord Coproduction Tandem Douai-Arras / Théâtre d’Arras

Thank you to the Maison de la Danse, Lyon, for allowing us to screen this recording.

[jbgravereaux]

Avec Luc Bérimont, 4/4 (extrait)

Jacques Layani, Léo Ferré études et propos : ...Il est d’autres enregistrements (sur des textes de Luc Bérimont), comme celui de Quand tes cheveux étaient courts par Michel Aubert ou celui de La Complainte du bourreau par Jacques Douai, sur une musique du même...                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlDaUzmB4A                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbXIVuSdo0Q        http://leoferre.hautetfort.com/archive/2006/11/21/avec-luc-berimont-4-4.html

[djrimbaud]

CLAUDE ROY •• LA NUIT Musique : Jacques Douai Interprète : Jacques Douai Elle est venue la nuit de plus loin que la nuit à pas de vent de loup de fougère et de menthe voleuse de parfum impure fausse nuit fille aux cheveux d’écume issue de l’eau dormante Après l’aube la nuit tisseuse de chansons s’endort d’un songe lourd d’astres et de méduses et les jambes mêlées aux fuseaux des saisons veille sur le repos des étoiles confuses Sa main laisse glisser les constellations le sable fabuleux des mondes solitaires la poussière de Dieu et de sa création la semence de feu qui féconde les terres Mais elle vient la nuit de plus loin que la nuit à pas de vent de mer de feu de loup de piège bergère sans troupeaux glaneuse sans épis aveugle aux lèvres d’or qui marche sur la neige. — Poésies

[beautiful-belgium]

Colars de Douai, Jacquemon de Nivelles et Jacques d'Anchin - Châsse de Sainte-Gertrude (1272 - 1298), Eglise Sainte-Gertrude, Nivelles

Photographié avant le bombardement de mai 1940

© KIK-IRPA, Brussels

[nicoooooooon]

Prénom Carmen (1983), lobby card featuring Maruschka Detmers and Jacques Bonnaffé

[feluz9]

Jacques Douai - Notre amour

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdovjH0SMbY)

[philoursmars]

Douai (Nord), le Musée de la Chartreuse. Une visite pour la Nuit des Musées.

Pâris Prévost - buste de Henri d'Oultreman - 1605

pensionnaire de Saraceni : "Le Reniement de Saint Pierre"

Rochus Hoppesteyn - vase-bouteille et vases à décor chinois - Delft, 1686

école de Simon Vouet : "Deux Musiciens"

Jan Van Scorel - Polyptique de Marchiennes (la vie de Saint Jacques le Majeur et de Saint Etienne)

plan-maquette de Douai en 1710 (49 ans avant la construction de ma maison !)

[focusmonumentum]

L'École Militaire

Nous retrouvons Ange-Jacques Gabriel, l'architecte des grands hôtels de la place de la Concorde, cette fois outre-Seine, dans le 7ème arrondissement, au sein d'une grande perspective parisienne, courant du Trocadéro au rond-point de Breteuil, scandée par des monuments iconiques telle la Tour Eiffel, ou cette institution qu'est l'École militaire, à l'autre bout du Champ-de-Mars.

Fondée en 1751 par Louis XV, proposée par le maréchal de Saxe, appuyé par Madame de Pompadour, financée par Joseph Pâris Duverney, l'École militaire a pour vocation initiale d'instruire à l'art militaire cinq cents jeunes gens nobles et nés sans fortune. Gabriel, le premier architecte du roi, avait pour projet un ensemble monumental plus grandiose encore que les Invalides, situés sur la même plaine de Grenelle. Mais les "guerres en dentelle" menées par Louis XV vident les caisses du royaume, ce qui pousse l'architecte à revoir son projet à la baisse. Les travaux s'éternisent, mais dès 1756, 200 premiers cadets sont accueillis dans les premiers bâtiments de service achevés alors. Le roi achète à l'abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés les carrières de Vaugirard (alors une commune située en dehors de Paris, mais proche du chantier -dans l'actuel XVème arrondissement), afin d'accélérer la construction. Les travaux ne s'achèvent qu'en 1780, sous le règne de Louis XVI. Gabriel aura tout de même réussi à édifier un ensemble monumental d'une emprise très respectable de 13 hectares. Pour le corps central (surnommé "le Château"), il s'inspire de l'architecture des pavillons du Louvre, au dôme quadrangulaire, avec une façade monumentale côté "Champ"(de Mars) à laquelle répond une façade toute aussi grandiose côté cour (d'honneur), arborant une horloge par dessus son fronton, encadrée par deux statues, l'une d'une vieille femme aux pieds nus tenant un livre, allégorie de l'étude, l'autre d'une jeune femme aux seins nus montrant l'heure, représentation de Madame de Pompadour. 

Cette horloge, dûe à Jean-Baptiste Lepaute, est toujours entretenue par l'entreprise Lepaute, 250 ans après son installation. Le "Château" abrite un escalier d'honneur monumental, une salle des gardes, un salon dit "des Maréchaux", la bibliothèque patrimoniale, ainsi qu'une chapelle, consacrée au saint patron des armées, Saint-Louis (comme aux Invalides). Cette chapelle vit en 1785 la confirmation du cadet Bonaparte, futur Napoléon, qui y donnera un bal monumental vingt ans plus tard, pour célébrer l'anniversaire de son sacre, l'École étant fermée depuis 1787, faute de fonds... Devenue caserne Impériale sous le Premier Empire, elle est finalement désaffectée, servant de dépôt de matériel. Il faudra attendre 1878 pour qu'elle rouvre, avec la création de l'École supérieure de Guerre.

Les deux ailes encadrant le "Château" sont alors modifiées, l'une dévolue à l'artillerie, avec magasins (de stockage), l'autre destinée à la cavalerie, avec manège (d'équitation), chacune de ces ailes enclosant des cours. La Cour Morland verra la dégradation du capitaine Dreyfus en 1895, et la cour Desjardins accueillera sa réhabilitation en 1906. Le centre des hautes études militaires s'installe dans l'école en 1911, puis de nombreuses institutions et associations militaires au cours du XXème siècle. L'École a même accueilli le collège de défense de l'OTAN, de 1951 à 1966, année où De Gaulle fait sortir la France du commandement intégré de l'OTAN.

De grands travaux de purge et de ravalement ont été entrepris en 2012, permettant la mise en valeur volontaire de nombreux stigmates balistiques, à l'intérieur comme à l'extérieur, précieux témoins des affrontements qu'a connu le monument. De la Révolution française de 1789, des impacts sont visibles sur les premières marches de l'escalier d'honneur. De la Commune de 1871, une balle est fichée dans le grand miroir du salon des Maréchaux, tirée par un homme de la troupe versaillaise du général Douay, lors des combats visant à reprendre l'École, alors tenue par les fédérés. De la Première Guerre Mondiale, des éclats de bombe, d'un raid aérien allemand en juin 1918, sont visibles contre un mur de l'aile d'artillerie. Enfin, de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, des centaines d'impacts de tirs alliés, dirigés contre les occupants allemands, dont certains profonds de 15cm, témoignent de la fureur des combats de la Libération de Paris, en août 1944 (cf. Ministère de la Guerre).

Le Champ-de-Mars, avec ses 24,5 hectares en faisant l'un des plus grands espaces verts de Paris, tire son nom (et son aménagement) de la création de l'École militaire, nécessitant un vaste espace dédié aux manœuvres et aux parades (inspiré en cela du champ de Mars romain, nommé d'après leur dieu de la guerre).

De nombreux grands événements de l'histoire de France s'y déroulèrent, sous le regard des statues de Jean-Baptiste Pigalle couronnant le fronton de l'École. La Fête de la Fédération du 14 juillet 1790, grand moment d'allégresse révolutionnaire, y tint lieu, mais également la tragique fusillade du 17 juillet 1791, le guillotinage de Bailly en 1793, la démente Fête de l'Être Suprême, organisée par Robespierre en 1794, les Olympiades de la République sous le Directoire, puis la première Exposition des produits de l'industrie française, préfigurant les Expositions Universelles devant s'y tenir au XIXème siècle. Napoléon y distribua ses aigles à ses grenadiers en 1804, Louis-Philippe ses étendards tricolores à la Garde Nationale en 1831, la Fête de la Concorde s'y déroula en 1848... Un gigantesque bâtiment, le Palais Omnibus, fut construit afin d'accueillir l'Exposition universelle de 1867, ayant pour emprise la totalité du Champ-de-Mars. Construit en un temps record de 2 ans, il fut démoli en un temps également record de 2 mois, dès la fin de l'exposition... Le Palais du Champ-de-Mars, édifié à l'occasion de l'Exposition universelle de 1878, connu le même destin éphémère. Tout comme la gigantesque Galerie des Machines, faisant face à l'École militaire, bâtie à l'occasion de l'Exposition universelle de 1889, démantelée 20 ans plus tard. La même chose aurait pu advenir de la "Tour de 300 mètres" fermant le Champ, élevée la même année, mais elle fut pérennisée (nous y reviendrons dans le prochain article...) Enfin, le monumental Palais de l'électricité, édifié au milieu du Champ pour l'Exposition universelle de 1900, n'existe plus qu'en photographie... Renouant avec la tradition de ces monumentales constructions temporaires, le Grand-Palais Éphémère, toutefois conçu de manière éco-responsable, délocalisant les activités et expositions du Grand-Palais durant ses travaux de rénovation, reflétera jusqu'en 2024 la façade de l'École militaire dans ses vastes baies vitrées, abritant la statue équestre du maréchal Foch, tel un écrin artistique à la gloire militaire. 

Crédits : ALM’s

[transparentgentlemenmarker]

La Fontaine de Neptune avenue Van Praet Gros Tilleul

L'original de la fontaine Jean de Bologne à Laeken date du XVIe siècle. Il fut conçu par notre fameux compatriote Jean de Bologne pour décorer la Piazza del Nettuno à Bologne entre 1563 et 1567. Cette fontaine est l'une des plus belles œuvres de la renaissance.

Élève du flamand Jacques Dubroeux, Jean de Douai (ou de Bologne) se rendit à Rome où il y reçut les conseils de Michel Ange et se rendit ensuite à Florence ou les Médicis se l'attachèrent.

Passant un jour par la ville de Bologne, Léopold II fut charmé par la perfection de ce Neptune triomphant et par la grâce des sirènes qui l'encadrent et qui déversent des filets d'eau par leur seins.

Il fit faire un moulage de la fontaine et monter sa réplique exacte à Laeken près du domaine royal. Elle fut placée en avril 1903 et a été réalisée par le sculpteur romain Sangiorgi. Elle coûta à l'époque près de huit millions de francs payés entièrement par le roi.

Chaque année, de l'automne au printemps, elle est entièrement recouverte par un paillage afin de la protéger des intempéries de l'hiver. À noter une particularité en regardant la statue de profil elle comporte une particularité .... c'est son pouce

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Mapping The World With §ound§ in St-Amand-les-Eaux (Nord) - église St-Martin

Cloche 4 - La plus aigüe

« J’ai été fondue le 10 janvier 1922

Je m’appelle Jeanne Pauline Marthe Paule Jacqueline

Brisée par les allemands avec mes ainées en 1918. Je réssucite la première pour chanter la gloire de Dieu, la paix victorieuse et le sacrifice héroique des morts de la grande guerre. La famille Davaine-Piérard me prête à St-Martin en mémoire du Sous-Lieutenant Jean Davaine tombé au champ d’honneur à Hérie-la-Vieville (Aisne) le 29 aout 1914. J’ai eu pour parrain Jacques Davaine et pour marraine : veuve Lejosne-Davaine René Behague étant curé doyen de la paroisse. J. Mention et G. Micheaux vicaires St-Amand-en -Pevelle – 1922 Wauthy – fondeur à Douai »

Remerciements : Monsieur Degroote

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Fila la lana - Spin the Wool - by Fabrizio De Andre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IhmgGT64eQ

‘Nella guerra di Valois il Signor di Vly è morto, se sia stato un prode eroe non si sa, non è ancor certo.

In the war of Valois the Seignior of Vly died. Whether he was a valiant hero is unknown, it’s still not certain.

Ma la dama abbandonata lamentando la sua morte per mill'anni e forse ancora piangerà la triste sorte.

But the woman left abandoned lamenting his death, for a thousand years, maybe more, will mourn his sad destiny.

Fila la lana, fila i tuoi giorni illuditi ancora che lui ritorni, libro di dolci sogni d'amore apri le pagine sul suo dolore.

Spin the wool, spin your days, keep fooling yourself that he might return. Book of sweet dreams of love - open the pages to its sorrow.

Son tornati a cento e a mille i guerrieri di Valois, son tornati alle famiglie, ai palazzi alle città.

They returned by the hundreds and by the thousands, the warriors of Valois. They returned to their families, to their palaces, to their cities.

Ma la dama abbandonata non ritroverà il suo amore e il gran ceppo nel camino non varrà a scaldarle il cuore.

But the abandoned woman won’t find her love again, and the big log in the fireplace will be of no use for warming her heart.

Fila la lana, fila i tuoi giorni illuditi ancora che lui ritorni, libro di dolci sogni d'amore apri le pagine al suo dolore.

Spin the wool, spin your days, keep fooling yourself that he might return. Book of sweet dreams of love - open the pages to its sorrow.

Cavalieri che in battaglia ignorate la paura stretta sia la vostra maglia, ben temprata l'armatura.

Knights who in battle ignore the fear, may your chain mail be tight, your armor well-tempered.

Al nemico che vi assalta siate presti a dar risposta perché dietro a quelle mura vi s'attende senza sosta.

To the enemy who assaults you be ready to give riposte, because behind those walls you’re awaited without cease.

Fila la lana, fila i tuoi giorni illuditi ancora che lui ritorni, libro di dolci sogni d'amore chiudi le pagine sul suo dolore.

Spin the wool, spin your days, keep fooling yourself that he might return. Book of sweet dreams of love - close the pages on its sorrow.’

"Fila la lana" was presented as a translation of a popular medieval French song from the 15th century. In fact the French source song was "File la laine" composed by Robert Marcy in 1948, popularized by Jacque Douai in 1955. The War of Valois in De André's version is better known as the War of the Breton Succession (1341-1364). The original French version speaks of the "Monsieur of Malbrough" which refers to a 1709 battle in the War of the Spanish Succession depicted in one of the most famous of French folk songs, "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre."