Go through the fascinating history of the Arc de triomphe through a historical and political construction site and find here the main stages of its construction, from to ! In particular, they opted for an arch with a simple opening , since it would also serve as a gateway to the city. This architectural bias makes direct reference to ancient arches such as the Arch of Titus in Rome 85 AD.
Among the many sources of inspiration for the two architects, we can also identify the Arch of Saint-Denis built by Blondel or the Arch of Constantine in Rome AD for Attica and the Corinthian order. The imperial couple left the Palace of Saint-Cloud where the civil wedding had taken place the day before to reach the Louvre Palace to celebrate their religious wedding.
At the time, the construction of the Arc de triomphe was not completed. The base of the four pillars was barely above ground. It was then decided to build a life-size model. Chalgrin ordered from Louis Laffitte an arch of painted frames and canvas and five hundred workers were hired to meet the deadline.
The carpenters then began a strike to denounce the working conditions and the low wages. While the Prefect of Police had six of them arrested, the others saw their wages increase from 4 francs per working day to 24 francs per working day. The total cost of the temporary construction amounted to , francs, but it allowed the architect Chalgrin to make changes to his plans, particularly to add projections , the removal of the pedestals , as well as the choice of ornamentation for the fronts.
On January 20, , Chalgrin died while the pillars of the Arc de triomphe were only a dozen meters high, that is to say, at the level of the bases of the vault of the great arch. Louis-Robert Goust , his student, succeeded him at the helm of the project. In , the architect Bernard Poyet proposed to raze the existing pillars. This project, ordered by Napoleon, did not find favor with the monarchists. Many proposals were made between and , but none of them caught the king's attention. The king decided, in fact, to celebrate not the imperial army but the Army of the Pyrenees.
