Versailles

This past weekend, I went to Paris, France. It is amazing how much history there is in Paris. One of the days that we were there, we went to Versailles and saw the Chateau de Versailles. This was really interesting because in our politics and culture class we learned about the peace treaty of Versailles that was implemented at the end of the first world war.

The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that ended the war between Germany and the other allied countries. This treaty was signed on June 28, 1919. This is interesting because this is exactly 5 years after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which is one of the tragic events that started the war. After the actual treaty was signed, it took another 6 months of negotiations to come to a conclusion about the treaty. All of this occurred at the Paris Peace Conference. One of the most important and controversial aspects of this treaty was to make sure that Germany accepted the responsibility of starting the war, paid reparations, and to disarmed their army. In the end, though, this treaty did not leave Germany permanently weakened, as this would later prove to be one of the leading factors that would trigger the second world war.

During our visit to Versailles,I learned that Versailles is not only famous for the actual building and the treaty of Versailles, but for being an absolute monarchy. I also learned a lot about the treaty and where it was signed. I got to walk and see the actual room that the Paris Peace Conference was held and where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in. Since I have learned about the treaty, I thought that it was really neat! The treaty was signed in the room directly next to King Louis bedroom, which I thought was a little odd. But I later learned that, back then, they were very open with people and did not even mind if there were people in the room while they were either sleeping or even dressing. However, King Louis was not alive when the treaty was signed and the monarchy fell in France during the war. Overall though, this was a very interesting and informative trip!

This is a picture of “The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919.”

Le Corbusier

For my art appreciation class, I had the chance to visit the Barbican Centre. In this centre there was a special exhibit on Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, an urbanist, a designer, a writer, and a painter. Le Corbusier is the man who pioneered what is now called Modern architecture. He was also the most famous architect of the 20th century, he was known for both his architectural projects and his theoretical thought. Although Le Corbusier was born in Switzerland, he moved to France when he was in his thirties. During the first world war though, he moved back to Switzerland making sure not to return to Paris until the war was over. Here, he taught at his old school and worked on various architectural ideas/projects.

Le Corbusier had a large impact on cities all around the world. Although he has not been directly apart of many construction projects, his ideas have been. His designs often get used over and over again. Many of his designs were not seen in North America but they were a huge part of the solution to the housing shortage in Europe after WWII. It is amazing to me to see how much of his work and his ideas had such a huge impact on other people and places, especially during the housing shortage after WWII. This was a huge issue, and it was because of Le Corbusier's ideas that this big problem was resolved. Many of his works were destroyed throughout WWII. They were oftentimes damaged or bombed by the Nazi's in France.

One of Le Corbusier’s first contributions was called the Domino house, done in 1914. He decided to do this because he thought that WWI would be ending shortly and that there would be a much-needed construction effort. The Domino house was based on a standard concrete form. It "imposed a uniformity" that Le Corbusier thought was missing from the city.

Similar to Picasso, Le Corbusier's style of work completely changed post-war. He would oftentimes come up with his best works post war. After seeing all of the destruction that the wars caused, Le Corbusier would come up with better ways than his pre war ways to fix buildings and homes. Another interesting fact that I learned about Le Corbusier was that he had many collaborators who would help him with his projects. Many of these collaborators, including one of his closest friends Jeanneret, stopped working with Le Corbusier to move back to Switzerland to join the resistance during WWII. This would really affect his work.

Le Corbusier was a very interesting man and I learned a lot about him and his works through viewing the special exhibit on him. I love learning about new people who had such an affect on the world. He also played such a large role during WWI and WWII. I never knew who Le Corbusier was before attending this exhibit. I am surprised that I had never heard of him just because it seems as if he played an important role during the wars.

Here is a picture of Le Corbusier: