Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
Largest triumphal arch in the world. A masterpiece of Romantic Classicism, it is one of the best-known monuments of Paris. It stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western terminus of the Champs-Élysées. Initiated by Napoleon, designed by Jean-Francois-Thérèse Chalgrin, and constructed in 1806–36, the monument is 164 ft (50 m) high and 148 ft (45 m) wide. Decorative relief sculptures celebrating Napoleon's victorious military campaigns were executed on the arch by François Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot, and Antoine Etex.
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