Antoine Blanchard “Champs Elysees”
Source: Champs Elysees – the streets of Paris remain very active and we are pleased to inform you that this Antoine Blanchard (1910-1988) has made its way to a new home.
The thoroughfare unintentionally originated in 1616 when Marie de Medicis decided to have the Palais de Tuileries garden’s axis extended with a tree-lined street. In 1667, Louis XIV had ambitious plans to ‘modernize’ Paris and had his gardener, André Le Nôtre (1613-1700), redesign the avenue, from fields and marshes, into a promenade lined with elm trees, further enhancing the view from the Tuileries Gardens. The newly fashioned majestic avenue was named Champs-Élysées (Elysian Fields); a name originating in Greek mythology… from ‘Elusia,’ a land of perfect peace and happiness.
During the 18th century the boulevard was extended stretching from the Place de la Concorde to Chaillot Hill, now the location of the Arc de Triomphe at Place Charles de Gaulle-Étoile (formerly called the Place de l’Étoile). More improvements were made in the early 1800s when the avenue was widened and sidewalks, along with an outer roadway and gas street lights, were added. The Champs-Élysées is divided by the traffic circle known as the ‘Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées. Gardens, museums, theaters, cafés and restaurants line the avenue going toward Place de la Concorde. In the opposite direction, toward the Arc de Triomphe, is a commercial area featuring designer boutiques. Today, the Champs-Élysées has become the center for festivities and official parades (i.e. military parade on Bastille Day), as well as an attraction for tourists.