New York City: Rockefeller Center [Friendship between America and France - by Alfred Janniot]

Friendship between America and France - by Alfred Janniot

1934 / Bas relief

Gilded cast bronze / 19-foor high, 11-foot wide

Location: Above the main entrance to La Maison Francaise

[ 610 Fifth Avenue]

Top panel: Two heroic-size females holding hands

 symbolize the alliance between Paris and New York

Bottom panel: Three females

representing three Graces: Poetry, Beauty and Elegance

From the website of Rockefeller Center, click here..

Sparkling above the main entrance to La Maison Francaise, Friendship reads in narrative from top to bottom. The top two heroic-size females holding hands symbolize the alliance between Paris and New York, while the three females below represent three Graces: Poetry, Beauty and Elegance. The winged horse of mythology symbolizes inspiration and imagination.

Unlike much of the art found at Rockefeller Center, this piece cannot be considered Art Deco, due to classicism and vibrant ornamentation.

Paris [what's inscribed?] 





New York



Poetry

Poetry

Beauty

Beauty

Elegance

Elegance

 

The mythological winged horse, symbolizing Inspiration and Imagination..

Gallic Freedom - by Alfred Janniot

1934 / Cartouche

Polychrone and gilded, carved limestone

10-foot high, 11-foot wide.

From the Rockefeller website .. click here..

Perched above the entrace of La Maison Francaise, this massive, majestic figure is symbolic of French freedom, as she proclaims Liberte, Egalite, Fratenite [Liberty, Equality, Fraternity] to the world. her gilded Torch of Freedom evokes the flame of revolution and its triumph. The carving's strong details, twisted pose and depp undercuts are typical to Janniot' style. Gallic Freedom references the energy and patriotism of the fames 1830's painting Liberty leading the People by Eugene Delacroix.

Seeds of Good Friendship - by Lee Lawrie
1937 / Intaglio relief
Carved limestone, polychrome, gilding.
Location: Above Channel Gardens entrance to La Maison Francaise

From the Rockefeller Center website.. click here..

Pure Art deco, this panel relief features an allegorical gilded female figure sowing seeds in the form of stylized fleur-de-liz, the symbolic flower of France. Muscular and robust, she wears the helmet  of authority and the garb of a peasant woman, underscoring her connection, with the ordinary people. She indomitably strides across multicolored, gilded field while effortlessly carrying a heavy sack.

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New York City.. click here..

2011: Two weeks of Summer Vacation [Trip to New York City, Washington DC, New Jersey and Philadelphia] ... click here..