Plan Drawing	Section Drawing	Section Drawing
Engraving

Poster Image - Paris Opera Front Elevation Rendering
Poster Image - Kiss at the Opera House

"Although described by a contemporary critic as 'looking like an overloaded sideboard', it (the Paris Opera House) is now regarded as one of the masterpieces of the period. Here Garnier triumphed over a cramped and difficult site, handling the carriage-ramps and approach steps, the foyers and staircases, both in section and plan, with confidence and skill. The style is monumental, classically based and opulently expressed, as the times demanded, in an elaborate language of multicoloured marbles and lavish statuary. Throughout his life, Garnier was criticized for his excessive use of ornament, as Napoleon and Haussman are still accused of being inspired by an out-of-date and imperialist showmanship expressed in a language already debased. Such critics forget that every city needs its occasional monuments and occasions of grandeur, and that thanks largely to these three men, Paris remains one of the most beautiful cities in the world."

— John Julius Norwich, ed. Great Architecture of the World. p214.

Details

The Garnier Opera is a grand landmark at the north terminus of the Av. de la Opera in Paris.