Paris on the Potomac

<div> <p>In 1910 John Merven Carrère a Paris-trained American architect wrote Learning from Paris made Washington outstanding among American cities. The five essays in <i>Paris on the Potomac</i> explore aspects of this influence on the artistic and architectural environment of Washington D.C. which continued long after the well-known contributions of Peter Charles L'Enfant the transplanted French military officer who designed the city's plan.</p> <p>Isabelle Gournay's introductory essay provides an overview and examines the context and issues involved in three distinct periods of French influence: the classical and Enlightenment principles that prevailed from the 1790s through the 1820s the Second Empire style of the 1850s through the 1870s and the Beaux-Arts movement of the early twentieth century. William C. Allen and Thomas P. Somma present two case studies: Allen on the influence of French architecture especially the Halle aux Blés on Thomas Jefferson's vision of the U.S. Capitol; and Somma on David d'Angers's busts of George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. Liana Paredes offers a richly detailed examination of French-inspired interior decoration in the homes of Washington's elite in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Cynthia R. Field concludes the volume with a consideration of the influence of Paris on city planning in Washington D.C. including the efforts of the McMillan Commission and the later development of the Federal Triangle complex.</p> <p>The essays in this collection the latest addition to the series Perspectives on the Art and Architectural History of the United States Capitol originated in a conference held by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society in 2002 at the French Embassy's Maison Française.</p> </div>