Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Porte Saint Martin

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Type
  
Triumphal arch

Opened
  
1674

Completed
  
1674

Architect
  
Pierre Bullet

Porte Saint-Martin

Location
  
10th arrondissement, Paris, France

Address
  
Boulevard Saint-Martin, 75010 Paris, France

Similar
  
Porte Saint‑Denis, Flame of Liberty, Musée Fragonard d'Alfort, Saint‑Augustin - Paris, Place des Victoires

The Porte Saint-Martin is a Parisian monument located at the site of one of the gates of the now-destroyed fortifications of Paris. It is located at the crossing of Rue Saint-Martin, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin and the grands boulevards Boulevard Saint-Martin and Boulevard Saint-Denis.

Contents

History

The Porte Saint-Martin was designed by architect Pierre Bullet (a student of François Blondel, architect of the nearby Porte Saint-Denis) at the order of Louis XIV in honor of his victories on the Rhine and in Franche-Comté. Built in 1674, it replaced a medieval gate in the city walls built by Charles V. It was restored in 1988.

Description

The Porte Saint-Martin is a heavily rusticated triumphal arch, 18 meters high, built in limestone and marble. Recesses are occupied by bas reliefs:

  • North side left: La Prise du Limbourg en 1675 (The Capture of Limbourg) by Pierre Legros I, a sitting woman next to a lion
  • North side right: La Défaite des Allemands (The Defeat of the Germans) by Gaspard Marsy, Louis XIV as Mars carrying the shield of France and pushing back a German eagle to protect a woman and an old man
  • South side left: La Rupture de la Triple Alliance (The Breaking of the Triple Alliance) by Étienne le Hongre, Louis XIV as Hercules, partly nude
  • South side right: La prise de Besançon (The Capture of Besançon) by Martin van den Bogaert, Louis XIV dressed as Fame, standing in front of an olive tree and receiving keys from a woman

    • References

    Porte Saint-Martin Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA