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Viking Raids on Paris
Throughout the 9th century CE, Viking raids on the region of Francia (roughly modern-day France) increased in frequency, destabilizing the region, and terrorizing the populace. The raids seem to have been inspired by the death of the Holy...
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The Paris Impressionist Exhibitions, 1874-86
The impressionist exhibitions in Paris through the final quarter of the 19th century were organised by a group of avant-garde artists who struggled to have their innovative works accepted by the art establishment. Although ridiculed by many...
Definition
Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a French composer of classical music best known for his innovative piano pieces and orchestral works like Bolero and Daphnis et Chloé. Sometimes called an 'impressionist' composer, much was made of a practically...
Definition
Oenone
Oenone was a nymph in Greek Mythology, the daughter of the river god Cebren and sister of the nymph Asterope/Hesperia. She was given the gift of prophecy by Rhea (mother of the gods) and the gift of healing by Apollo. Her name comes from...
Definition
September Massacres
The September Massacres refers to a series of mass killings that took place in the prisons of Paris between 2 and 7 September 1792, during the French Revolution (1789-99). Sometimes known as the first Terror, the massacres saw between 1,100...
Definition
Storming of the Tuileries Palace
The Storming of the Tuileries Palace, also commonly known as the Insurrection of 10 August, was a defining moment in the French Revolution (1789-99) that saw the armed revolutionaries of Paris invade the residence of King Louis XVI of France...
Definition
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was a French impressionist painter who used many different media to capture dancers, bathers, horse races, and scenes from Parisian café society. A keen photographer, Degas' paintings frequently show real-life captured...
Image
Paris Observatory
An 18th-century engraving of the Paris Observatory, founded in 1667. Image taken from Wolf, Charles J. E. (1902) Histoire de l’Observatoire de Paris de sa fondation a 1793.
Image
Mosaic of the Judgement of Paris
A Roman floor mosaic depicting the judgement of Paris, Antioch, Syria. 115-150 CE. (Louvre, Paris)
Definition
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was the leading French composer of Romantic music, best known for his innovative Symphonie fantastique and use of large-scale orchestras and choruses in works like The Trojans opera. Berlioz's innovative style brought...