Petit Luxembourg

The original sixteenth-century building is of obscure origin, File:Hôtel de François de Luxembourg, reconstitution par Hustin 1910 p80 (cropped).jpg|Perspective view File:Plan du premier étage du Petit Luxembourg au XVIIIe siècle - Hustin 1910 p77.jpg|Floor plan with some later modifications made by Marie de Médicis In 1627 Marie de Médicis gave the Petit Luxembourg to Cardinal de Richelieu, who occupied it while his own grand palace, the Palais-Cardinal, was constructed on the rue Saint-Honoré. Richelieu left the Petit Luxembourg to his niece, the Duchess of Aiguillon. It was inherited in turn by the Grand Condé, who left it to his son, Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé. The latter's widow, Anne of Bavaria, Princess Palatine, engaged the architect Germain Boffrand to enlarge and redecorate it between 1710 and 1713. ==Boffrand's alterations==

Boffrand demolished the service buildings to the west of the courtyard, replacing them with a new wing for the Palatine officers. The new wing preserved the style of the old corps de logis to the east and incorporated vestiges of the Couvent des Filles-du-Calvaire, founded by Marie de Médicis in 1622. These can still be seen in the winter garden and the Mannerist interior of the Queen's Chapel. Between the street and the courtyard Boffrand added an entrance screen which connected the old to the new. The focus of the décor was high in the spandrels between the arches, not in the wall panels as seen with Lepautre. This principle, first employed by J. H. Mansart at the Grand Trianon, kept the main part of the wall surface free for hangings, such as tapestries and paintings. The band of ornate spandrels running around the room achieves a unity, which is further emphasized by the slightly vaulted ceiling. Boffrand's decorative motifs, "the linked C-scrolls entwined with palmettes and festoons," are more similar to those of Jean Bérain than Lepautre. File:Porte du Palais du petit Luxembourg Pl45 Livre d'architecture par G Boffrand - INHA (cropped).jpg|Coach entrance on the rue de Vaugirard from Boffrand's ''Livre d'architecture'', 1745 ==Later history==

During the French Revolution, from 6 October 1789 until their departure into exile on 20 June 1791, the Petit Luxembourg was the assigned residence of the Count of Provence (the future Louis XVIII) and his wife. After Napoleon's coup of 18 Brumaire (on 9 November 1799), he became First Consul on 11 November, and he and his wife Joséphine moved from the Hôtel de la Victoire into the west wing of the Petit Luxembourg, evicting the directors he had just brought down. Napoleon took the former apartment of Louis Gohier on the ground floor, and Joséphine, the former apartment of Jean-François Moulin on the floor above. They used the east wing for official functions. Finding their living quarters at the Petit Luxembourg "too cramped", they moved to the Tuileries after three months. Under Napoleon, the Conseil d'État (Council of State) was seated at the Petit Luxembourg from 25 December 1799. Since 1958, the Petit Luxembourg has been the official residence of the president of the French Senate. ==Images of the Petit Luxembourg==

File:Cour petit luxembourg.JPG|Courtyard side of the entrance File:Jurdin d'hiver lux3.JPG|Winter garden File:Petit-luxembourg-chapelle.jpg|Chapel (1622–1631) File:Statue de la nuit dagonet.JPG|Grand staircase, reflected in a mirror File:Plafond escalier boffrand.JPG|Stair hall ceiling with 1894 painting by Hippolyte Berteaux File:Couder - Installation du Conseil d'Etat.png|''Installation of the Conseil d'Etat at the Petit Luxembourg, 25 December 1799'', by Couder, 1856 File:Marbre lettre napoleon.JPG|Napoleonic marble plaque inserted in 18th-century boiserie File:Bureau du president du senat 1.JPG|Office of the Senate President File:Fontaine du Petit Luxembourg - Hustin 1905 p116 - Gallica 2012.jpg|Garden fountain, 1905 File:Jardin du Petit Luxembourg.JPG|Garden ==Notes==