World Fairs of Paris

This article treats different World Fairs which were held with Paris, and which partly worked the French capital that one knows today.

National exposure of 1844

August 1st It is about a national exposure which took place in 1844 in a temporary structure installed on the Fields-Élysées with Paris. It was one of a series of eleven exposures which started in 1798 and which encouragaient the agricultural and technological development of the France. The success of the first exposure to Paris with the end of the year 1849 gave following a series of imitations through Europe such as the Great Exposure of London into 1851 which brought together craftsmen of the whole world. Other European exposures followed: that of Bern and Madrid in 1845, Brussels and Bordeaux in 1847, that of Saint-Petersbourg in 1848 and Lisbon in 1849.

The exposure started again with Paris in 1849 and was called l' Exposition of the Second Republic or l' National Exposition of the products of agricultural and manufacturing industry .

World Fair of 1855

The first World Fair of the products of industry (of Paris) was held, by imperial Décret of March 8th, 1853, on the Field-of-March of the May 15th to the October 31st 1855. It took place four years after the World Fair of London and tried to compete with this one. Thus, the Palais of Industry tried to be equal Crystal De luxe hotel of London.

This event was very important and accommodated close to: 5100000 visitors.

The World Fair of 1855 played a decisive part in the introduction in France of English races like the Durham cow or the Southdown sheep, which opened the way with races known as “improved” resulting from crossings, such as for example the Southdown-berrichon sheep. One also found there, always for the agricultural part of the Exposure, agricultural machinery of which the goal was to improve profitability by a profit in effectiveness and a recourse to a labor fewer. One can quote the mechanical excavator of Barrat, or the horse rake of Howard.

The only current vestige of this exposure is the Théâtre of the Roundabout of the Fields-Élysées designed by the architect Gabriel Davioud, then called the National Panorama (instead of the circus built by the architect Jacques Hittorff with the crossing of the Fields-Elysées and the avenue of Antin (Avenue Franklin-D. - Roosevelt). One can also note the subsistence of another effect of the exposure of 1855: the official Classification of the wines of Bordeaux of 1855 wanted by Napoleon III.

World Fair of 1867

August 1st The second World Fair was then held of April 1st with the November 3rd 1867 on the Field-of-March. 41 countries were present for the exposure.

World Fair of 1878

World Fair of 1889

World Fair of 1900

It is the most important World Fair in France, it attracted 50,8 million visitors. Some heritages and attractions: - a travelator called " Street of the avenir" , the projection of films of the brothers Light on giant screen, the first open underground line for the exposure (carries of Vincenne- carries Maillot), of new stations (Orsay, Invalides, Lyon), the luminous fountain and the night use of electricity.

The station of Orsay, the Small and Large palace, the Pont Alexandre-III is built to celebrate the World Fair. The Small and Large palace are built on the site of the Palais of Industry, fruit of the preceding one World Fair (1855). Presentation during this exposure of the Cinéorama.

A Grande wheel was built which occurred of Suffren (current Swiss village). It had a Diamètre of 100 meters and was demolished in 1937. Photographs

The Olympic Games of summer of 1900 are organized during the exposure.

Photographs and postcards of the exposure

The French Pavillon of decorative Arts is created by Georges Hoentschel.

International exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts Modern of 1925

Artistic creation in France during the Mad years is marked especially by the organization of the International exhibition of decorative and industrial Arts modern which is held in Paris from April at October 1925. With this occasion, the international ideas of avant-garde concerning architecture and the applied arts are confronted.

Mr. Dufrêne says that “the art of 1900 was the art of the field of imagination, that of 1925 is field of the reason. ” However, during the Exposure, two tendencies dominate: a first style influenced by the language of the Art nouveau and a second known as “modern” who is characterized by a vocabulary innovating, borrowed Cubisme and Russian Constructivisme.

The style Art déco takes its rise well before the war in the dispute and the abuses caused by the Art nouveau. Its blooming takes place with the major event of the middle of the Twenties in France, the International exhibition. Located between the Esplanade of the Invalids and the accesses of the Large and Petit Palais, the exposure accommodates: 4000 guests during the inauguration, the April 28th and of the thousands of visitors each day.

Name Art déco implies a will of decorative style. However two tendencies are distinguished: contemporaries and the old decoration of the years 1900 (Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann) and partisans of the modernism, the international Style, the Purism. The specificity of the creator Art déco is that he is regarded as a “interior designer”, it must create the totality of the part chosen, ground with the ceiling, it must harmoniously conceive architecture and furniture, accessories.

Le Corbusier, for the House of the New Spirit which it conceives in July 1925 with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret at the time of the Exposure, also constructs the whole of furniture that it names “equipment rather”, kinds of racks standard, incoporés with the walls or flexible. The House of the New Spirit is a transitory building, illustrating the concepts of purism and New the Esprit review founded by Amédée Ozenfant and Le Corbusier in 1920. Inside the cell of dwelling, pictorial works of Leger ( balustrades It ), Ozenfant, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso and Le Corbusier ( Still life of the New Spirit ) are exposed.

As for Ruhlmann, it realizes at the time of the exposure, the Pavillon of the Collector , while being surrounded of a good number of craftsmen and artists. Pierre Patout conceives the structure of the building, of rather traditional style: round projection side garden, planks decorated with low reliefs, projection of the oval living room, columns simplified (without base nor capital). Decoration interior, luxurious, elegant, from great quality, returns in Ruhlmann which encumbers the parts of pieces of furniture, of refined and invaluable objects, inspired of the style of the 18th century. This house causes the admiration of all the visitors and is then regarded as the height of the French good taste.

Note: The colonial Exposition of Paris of 1931 was not a World Fair.

World Fair of 1937

The International exhibition “Arts and Techniques in the Modern life”, which was held in Paris from May 25th to November 25th, 1937, is the first exposure organized in France according to the rules of the Convention of Paris of 1928 on the International exhibitions. It is also the last event of this kind to have taken place in Paris.

A law of July 6th, 1934 decides the organization of an international exhibition to Paris, on July 19th Edmond Labbé is named General Commissaire by the French government. It must gather various proposals of the French Parliament in a coherent project of exposure. It chooses to show that Art and the Technique are not opposed but that their union is on the contrary essential: the Beautiful and the Useful one must be, says it, indissolubly dependant. In a context of economic crisis and tensions international policies, the Exposure of 1937 must also promote peace.

The project is in the modest beginning, the Exposure must settle mainly over Field-of-March and in the gardens of Trocadéro. The grounds are the subject of two successive enlargings and extend from the bridge of Alma to the Island with the Swans, with appendices out of Paris. The majority of the buildings are temporary, with some exceptions: the Palais of Chaillot replaces the Ancien Palate of Trocadéro (See here).

The Palais of Tokyo is built on the grounds of military handling and the embassy of Poland (this one is demolished and the Hotel of Sagan bought by the French State is offered to Poland in compensation). It must receive the Museum of Modern art of the Town of Paris on the one hand and the National museum of Modern art on the other hand whose collections were hitherto exposed to the Palate of Luxembourg. The Public house of Work is preserved, it shelters the Economic and Social Council today. The width of the Pont of Iéna is doubled.

article detailed on the architecture and the sculptures of the exposure of 1937

The social movements born of the Popular front involve great delays in work and of many incidents on the building sites: strikes, blockings. The French government is obliged to pay extra pays to make work the workmen the evening and Sunday, and in spite of that the Exposure opens with one month of delay on the calendar envisaged.

Photographs of the exposure of 1937

See too

“House of new times, expresses CIAM: test of museum of popular education (town planning)”, where Eileen Gray is invited to expose its project of Vacation center.
“World Fair of 1889” of E.Monod
International office of the exposures
Innovation in Europe to the Beautiful Time
All vestiges of the old World Fairs

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