Sunday 14 July 2013

CDP (Missing?) Theme Day: Bastille Day - Bailly à la salle du jeu de paume

So it's Bastille Day. I'm sure you know a bit about the French Revolution! These photos of the statue of Sylvain Bailly, who presided over the Tennis Court Oath which was one of the founding acts of the French democracy on 20 June 1789, were taken... inside the former royal tennis court which is located in Saint-Louis neighbourhood. The large painting in the first shot is a copy of Jacques-Louis David's famous but unfinished work depicting the oath (the copy was executed by Luc-Olivier Merson). The original drawing can be seen at the palace. Below is a commemorative medallion made with lead from the Bastille fortress by Pierre-François Pallois in 1790. Normally you would click here to view more takes on the theme but the theme seems to have disappeared...

Nous voilà déjà le 14 juillet ! Vous connaissez tous un peu l'histoire de la Révolution Française. Ces photos de la statue de Sylvain Bailly, qui présida le serment du jeu de paume ont été prises... dans la salle du jeu de paume où il eut lieu le 20 juin 1789. Elle se trouve dans une petite rue du quartier Saint-Louis. La grande peinture de la première photo est une copie (exécutée par Luc-Olivier Merson) du célèbre dessin de Jacques-Louis David, l'original se trouvant au château. Ci-dessous, un médaillon commémoratif exécuté avec du plomb provenant de la Bastille par le citoyen Pierre-François Pallois en 1790. 

16 comments:

Lowell said...

This is an interesting slice of history. I know few of the details of the Revolution or its aftermath. I did see the movie about Marie Antoinette, so that should count for something! Right?

It is quite a handsome statue of Sylvain, who I'm sure would be pleased if he knew he had been so immortalized on the royal tennis court. :)

Stefan Jansson said...

Enjoy Bastille Day.

Sylvia K said...

Great history, Ciel, and great shots for the day! Thanks for sharing! A handsome statue it is indeed! Celebrate and enjoy!

Jack said...

NIce images to celebrate Bastille Day, Ciel. With Julie's illness, I think the CDP bloggers are without an energetic leader to organize the theme posts.

Wayne said...

Happy Bastille Day! It's late, I need to go to bed.

Dave said...

Lets hope a Frenchman wins todays stage of Le Tour. It's a very hard stage with the finish on top of Ventoux.

Randy said...

Wonderful photos. Enjoy the day!

VP said...

Why is doing a Roman salute?

cieldequimper said...

@ VP: I think he's taking the oath and therefore swearing...

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Happy Bastille celebrations Ciel..hmmm! This may give me an excuse to post on of my Paris pics :)
P.s. I guess we are lucky here Ciel, very rarely in winter we may have a day when it goes down to 1C overnight resulting in a bit of ice on the windscreen, but not often at all..

Unknown said...

Great post, Ciel! My today post is somehow dedicated to you, French guys. :-)

I guess the café I posted on yesterday was named after Jacques Tati once the guys who own it are related to cinema and always have a large number of events going on there whether it's movies or music.

Thérèse said...

Joli rappel.

Birdman said...

Nice history lesson this morning. Funny name. Tennis Court Oath???????

cieldequimper said...

@ Birdman: the oath was taken in the former royal tennis court.

Anonymous said...

I salute you and Enjoy Bastille Day.

Loree said...

Enjoy Bastille Day. My parents are in Paris right now and they loved the parade.