Monumento a los Caídos en el Mar, Montevideo

Monumento a los Caídos en el Mar

Monumento a los Caídos en el Mar (War Memorial at Sea) is an enigmatic sculpture by Spanish Uruguayan artist Eduardo Yepes Diaz. The monument-sculpture in honor of the fallen in Acts of Service of the Navy, is a large bronze abstract conception, which represents the poignant moment of death. In this work are represented marine animals and hands of a man clinging to the shapeless mass.

Eduardo Diaz Yepes

This artist was born in Madrid, Uruguayan citizen since 1956, along with other sculptors start the path to a new figuration, culminating in the abstraction of forms, beginning the period of modern sculpture. It will be a hollow sculpture and conquer interior spaces will use new materials: stone, wood and clay. He taught at the National School of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of San Francisco de Asis. He is well known his "War Memorial at Sea" (1960) located in the Plaza Virgilio in Punta Gorda. In Uruguay his work is in the National Museum of Visual Arts, Municipal Museum of Fine Arts "Juan Manuel Blanes", Engelman Ost Collection, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Humanities and Education, la Pinacoteca del Banco República, Building "Palace of Light" of UTE, Instituto Clemente Estable, Church of Barrio Obrero de Atlántida y en Paysandú.

See: uruguaynatural, wikipedia

Monumento La Carreta, Montevideo

La Carreta Monument

Sculptor: José Belloni (1882-1965)

Inauguration: October 14, 1934

Location: Parque Batlle y Ordoñez, on Avenida Dr. Lorenzo Merola

Material: Bronze

Base material: Bronze and pink granite

Description: It consists of a cart, three yoke of pulling oxen and two on the back. In front of the latter, to the right of the vehicle, a gaucho on horseback wielding the baton. The whole in the top of a grass covered slope, overlooking a pond in the growing "wild straw."
La Carreta Monument recalls the classic means of transport and loading, used by country people of our country, before the introduction of railways and motor. It is one of the most admired works of its kind, having achieved international fame.
José Belloni, son of European immigrants (1882-1965) settled with his family in Switzerland in 1890, where he studied and began his artistic career.
Years later, settled again in Uruguay, he worked as a professor in the Faculty of Architecture, keeping it parallel to the front of his shop with an amazing artistic production.
His works, located in preferential public places, part of Montevideo idiosyncrasy: Ansina, José Enrique Rodó, La Diligencia, Juan Manuel de Blanes, Dr. Luis Morquio, El Aguatero, El Entrevero or decorative figures and bas-reliefs in the Legislative Palace, among others.
Belloni monuments are an essential part of Uruguayan culture.

See: montevideo

Parque Batlle

Parque Batlle (formerly: Parque de los Aliados) is a barrio (neighbourhood or district) and a major public central park in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is named in honour of José Batlle y Ordóñez, President of Uruguay from 1911–1915.

Location

The barrio is located south of Italia Avenue and north of Rivera Avenue and includes the districts Belgrano, Italiano, Villa Dolores and the park area. It borders the barrios Tres Cruces to the west and north, La Blanqueada and Unión to the north, Buceo to the east and Pocitos to the south.

The park covers an area of 60 hectares and is considered the "lung" of Montevideo owing to the large variety of trees planted here. It is home to the Estadio Centenario national football stadium, as well as the national monument "La Carreta".

History

In 1907, Pablo Nereo Gabriel Antonio Pereira (1838–1906) donated eleven acres of his land, which was then named after him as "Campo Pereira," for a building a park, to the Economic Management Board, and the idea of a park was created by an Act of March 1907 which also projected wide boulevards and avenues. The project's landscape French architect, Carlos Thays, began the plantings in 1911 and completed it with all the attendant embellishments required for a park. In 1918, the park was named "Allied Park," following the allied Army winning the World War I thus honouring the heroes of the Allied Forces. The park was further expanded to the present status, which covers an area of 60 hectares (150 acres). This extension was made possible owing to an estate that Antonio Pereira in his "Will" had bequeathed partly to the municipality in May 1930. The Board then further acquired more land and created the Great Park Pereira seen in its present status. May 5, 1930, it was again renamed as Parque Batlle y Ordóñez, in memory of the prominent Politician and President of Uruguay, who had died in 1929. In the same year, the Estadio Centenario was opened. Between 1935 and 1938, the athletics track and the municipal velodrome were completed. It was designated a National Historic Monument Park in 1975.

See: wikipedia

Pater Vincktoren

Pater Vincktoren

The Father Vinck Tower is a 14th century tower that was part of the so-called second wall of the city.

During the 13th century Maastricht expanded rapidly and there was a need for a new, larger defense network. After an initial earthwork followed a stone wall with gates and towers built during the 14th century.

The tower was part of the junction where the first and second walls of Maastricht joined together. During the 19th century, the walls of the city were demolished. The tower, meanwhile in dilapidated state, was restored. He also got a new name. The Father Vinck Tower was formerly called simply Toren achter de Faliezusters, to the monastery that once was close. Nowadays the Father Vinck tower is a picturesque part of the city park.

See: ifthenisnow

Pater Vincktoren

Pater Vincktoren

The Father Vinck Tower is a 14th century tower that was part of the so-called second wall of the city.

During the 13th century Maastricht expanded rapidly and there was a need for a new, larger defense network. After an initial earthwork followed a stone wall with gates and towers built during the 14th century.

The tower was part of the junction where the first and second walls of Maastricht joined together. During the 19th century, the walls of the city were demolished. The tower, meanwhile in dilapidated state, was restored. He also got a new name. The Father Vinck Tower was formerly called simply Toren achter de Faliezusters, to the monastery that once was close. Nowadays the Father Vinck tower is a picturesque part of the city park.

See: ifthenisnow

Hellgate

Hellgate

The Hellgate is the only spared medieval city gate of Maastricht. The gate is part of the first walls dating from the middle of the 13th century. In the Middle Ages the port was called Hoogbruggepoort because they just lay behind a high Jeker Bridge. The name Hellgate was only created in the 18th century and is derived from the nearby house "In Hell": this house name is more common in forges and bakeries.

Helpoort

The Helpoort is a former city gate in Maastricht, located directly across the Pest Huys. The gate dates from 1229 and is the oldest existing city gate of Netherlands. Until the 18th century the gate was nemed Alde Poort op den Ancker.

History

As a result of gaining city rights, Maastricht also got the right to protect themselves with a city wall. In 1229 the first enclosure, of which the Helpoort was a part. The first wall soon proved too small and they started just west of the Helpoort with the construction of a second wall. Late 14th century, this second wall was completed. Because the course of the river Jeker in time moved to the south, the gate was no longer directly protected by a moat. To solve this problem, the walls of the Nieuwstad was built, which had no gates. The Helpoort lost its traffic function and that is why probably the gate is preserved today.

Use in later times

The gate had been used to store gunpowder, and later, in the late 19th century, converted into a house. In the twentieth century, the area above the port was in use as a studio of the painter Jef Schipper (1910-1967). After some extensive restoration is the gateway for a number of years the home of the Maastricht Vestingstad Foundation. During the summer months it can be visited by tourists. On the floors is an exhibition on the history of Maastricht as a fortified city.

See: wikipedia

Jeker tower and Hellgate

Jekertoren

The southeast corner tower of the first city wall dating from the late 13th century. Around 1550 the tower was significantly reduced in height for military reasons. In the early 20th century, the tower had fallen into ruin. On the initiative of Jhr. Victor de Stuers the corner tower was almost completely reconstructed in 1911. It completed the romantic view of the city wall east of the Helpoort.

Hellgate

The Hellgate is the only spared medieval city gate of Maastricht. The gate is part of the first walls dating from the middle of the 13th century. In the Middle Ages the port was called Hoogbruggepoort because they just lay behind a high Jeker Bridge. The name Hellgate was only created in the 18th century and is derived from the nearby house "In Hell": this house name is more common in forges and bakeries.

Helpoort

The Helpoort is a former city gate in Maastricht, located directly across the Pest Huys. The gate dates from 1229 and is the oldest existing city gate of Netherlands. Until the 18th century the gate was nemed Alde Poort op den Ancker.

History

As a result of gaining city rights, Maastricht also got the right to protect themselves with a city wall. In 1229 the first enclosure, of which the Helpoort was a part. The first wall soon proved too small and they started just west of the Helpoort with the construction of a second wall. Late 14th century, this second wall was completed. Because the course of the river Jeker in time moved to the south, the gate was no longer directly protected by a moat. To solve this problem, the walls of the Nieuwstad was built, which had no gates. The Helpoort lost its traffic function and that is why probably the gate is preserved today.

Use in later times

The gate had been used to store gunpowder, and later, in the late 19th century, converted into a house. In the twentieth century, the area above the port was in use as a studio of the painter Jef Schipper (1910-1967). After some extensive restoration is the gateway for a number of years the home of the Maastricht Vestingstad Foundation. During the summer months it can be visited by tourists. On the floors is an exhibition on the history of Maastricht as a fortified city.

See: wikipedia

Watermill 'De Ancker' (1775)

The Pest Huys

The Pest Huys is the common name for the water mill The Ancker, a former paper mill on the river Jeker in Maastricht, located on Vijf Koppen in the front of the Helpoort. The building, constructed mainly of brick, limestone blocks and Namur stone is whitened on the north and east facade. The west facade is situated on the river Jeker. The name 'Pest Huys' is actually incorrect, since the building was never the function of plague house had. The proximity of barracks for plague sufferors before the 18th century has probably led to this misnomer.

History

The Pest Huys was originally a by Mr. Willem Frederik Jacobi, deputy high bailiff at Maastricht in 1775 built paper mill that made use of hydropower. This factory, erected on the remains of an exploded 16th century gunpowder mill and the former city warehouse, originally had two waterwheels. Mid 19th century, after the construction of the canal Maastricht-Liege, the mill came through siltation of Jeker in disuse and in 1876 it was dismantled. The complex is registered in the register of national monuments. Nowadays it is in use as a house and theater.

See: wikipedia

Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile

Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. It should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

The Arc de Triomphe is the linchpin of the historic axis (Axe historique) – a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre, to the Grande Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages.

The monument stands 50 metres in height, 45 m wide and 22 m deep. The large vault is 29.19 m high and 14.62 m wide. The small vault is 18.68 m high and 8.44 m wide. It was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is built on such a large scale that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.

History

The Arc is located on the right bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years and, in 1810, when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811 and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. During the Bourbon Restoration, construction was halted and it would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, between 1833 and 1836, by the architects Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury. On 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena, Napoleon's remains passed under it on their way to the Emperor's final resting place at the Invalides. Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc during the night of 22 May 1885.

The sword carried by the Republic in the Marseillaise relief broke off on the day, it is said, that the Battle of Verdun began in 1916. The relief was immediately hidden by tarpaulins to conceal the accident and avoid any undesired ominous interpretations. On 7 August 1919, Charles Godefroy successfully flew his biplane under the Arc. Jean Navarre was the pilot who was tasked to make the flight, but he died on 10 July 1919 when he crashed near Villacoublay while training for the flight.

Following its construction, the Arc de Triomphe became the rallying point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day Military Parade. Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945. A United States postage stamp of 1945 shows the Arc de Triomphe in the background as victorious American troops march down the Champs-Élysées and U.S. airplanes fly overhead on 29 August 1944. After the interment of the Unknown Soldier, however, all military parades (including the aforementioned post-1919) have avoided marching through the actual arch. The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism. Both Hitler in 1940 and de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom.

By the early 1960s, the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot and automobile exhaust, and during 1965–1966 it was cleaned through bleaching.

In the prolongation of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a new arch, the Grande Arche de la Défense, was built in 1982, completing the line of monuments that forms Paris's Axe historique. After the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, the Grande Arche is the third arch built on the same perspective.

The design

The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin (1739–1811), in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture (see, for example, the triumphal Arch of Titus). Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire. The main sculptures are not integral friezes but are treated as independent trophies applied to the vast ashlar masonry masses, not unlike the gilt-bronze appliqués on Empire furniture. The four sculptural groups at the base of the Arc are The Triumph of 1810 (Cortot), Resistance and Peace (both by Antoine Étex) and the most renowned of them all, Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 commonly called La Marseillaise (François Rude). The face of the allegorical representation of France calling forth her people on this last was used as the belt buckle for the honorary rank of Marshal of France. Since the fall of Napoleon (1815), the sculpture representing Peace is interpreted as commemorating the Peace of 1815.

In the attic above the richly sculptured frieze of soldiers are 30 shields engraved with the names of major Revolutionary and Napoleonic military victories. The inside walls of the monument list the names of 660 people, among which are 558 French generals of the First French Empire; the names of those who died in battle are underlined. Also inscribed, on the shorter sides of the four supporting columns, are the names of the major victorious battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The battles that took place in the period between the departure of Napoleon from Elba to his final defeat at Waterloo are not included.

There was at the top of the Arc from 1882 to 1886, a monumental sculpture by Alexandre Falguière, "Le triomphe de la Révolution" (the Triumph of the Revolution), a chariot drawn by horses preparing "to crush Anarchy and Despotism", that remained only four years up there before falling in ruins.

Inside the monument, a new permanent exhibition conceived by the artist Maurice Benayoun and the architect Christophe Girault opened in February 2007. The steel and new media installation interrogates the symbolism of the national monument, questioning the balance of its symbolic message during the last two centuries, oscillating between war and peace.

See: wikipedia