Editing Palais Garnier (section)

====Grand staircase====
The building features a large ceremonial staircase of white marble with a balustrade of red and green marble, which divides into two divergent flights of stairs that lead to the Grand Foyer. Its design was inspired by [[Victor Louis]]'s grand staircase for the [[Théâtre de Bordeaux]]. The pedestals of the staircase are decorated with female torchères, created by [[Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse]].  The ceiling above the staircase was painted by [[Isidore Pils]] to depict ''The Triumph of Apollo'', ''The Enchantment of Music Deploying its Charms'', ''Minerva Fighting Brutality Watched by the Gods of Olympus'', and ''The City of Paris Receiving the Plan of the New Opéra''. When the paintings were first fixed in place two months before the opening of the building, it was obvious to Garnier that they were too dark for the space. With the help of two of his students, Pils had to rework the canvases while they were in place overhead on the ceiling and, at the age of 61, he fell ill. His students had to finish the work, which was completed the day before the opening and the scaffolding was removed.<ref>Kirkland 2013, pp. 283–284.</ref>

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File:GarnierOperaParis.jpg|[[Louis Béroud]]: ''L'escalier de l'opéra Garnier'', 1877 ([[Musée Carnavalet]])
File:Palais Garnier Grand Escalier d'Honneur - Garnier 1880 vol2 plate8.jpg|Engraving from Garnier's ''Nouvel Opéra'', 1880
File:Opera Garnier Grand Escalier.jpg|The grand staircase of the Palais Garnier
File:Monumental stairway of the palais Garnier opera in Paris.jpg|The grand staircase
File:Amphitheater-Entrance-Palais-Garnier.jpg|The Amphitheater Entrance. The two caryatids by Jules Thomas. Tragedy with her sword (left) and Comedy with her harp (right).
<!--File:Lynch OperaGarnier-Staircase.jpg|thumb|Grand Escalier, ascending from the lower level-->
</gallery>