Editing Panthéon (section)

==Architecture and art==
===Dome===
The final plan of the dome was accepted in 1777, and it was completed in 1790. It was designed to rival those of [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome and [[St Paul's Cathedral]] in London. Unlike the dome of {{lang|fr|[[Les Invalides]]|italic=no}} in Paris, which has a wooden framework, the dome is constructed entirely of stone. It is actually three domes, one within the other, with the painted ceiling, visible from below, on the second dome. The dome is 83.0 metres (272&nbsp;ft) high, compared with [[List of tallest domes|the tallest dome in the world]], St. Peter's Basilica at 136.57 metres (448.1&nbsp;ft).

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Paris Panthéon Kuppel 3.jpg|Dome
Pierre-Antoine de Machy - Le Panthéon.jpg|The Panthéon represented with a statue of Fame at its top
Dome Panthéon Paris 23 detail.jpg|The present-day cross atop the [[roof lantern]]
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The dome is capped by a cross. However, a statue of Saint Genevieve was initially supposed to sit at the top of the dome. A cross was put temporarily in 1790. After the transformation into a mausoleum in 1791, it was planned that the cross would be replaced by a statue representing Fame. The project was however abandoned. Between 1830 and 1851, a flag was put instead. The cross returned after Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte restored the building to church use. The cross was replaced with a red flag during the [[Paris Commune]] in 1871. A cross returned subsequently.

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Panthéon de Paris fresque de Gros.jpg|The fresco by Gros seen from inside the dome
Apothéose de st Geneviève 3.jpg|The ''Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve'', in the dome by [[Antoine-Jean Gros]] (1811–1834)
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Looking up from the crossing of the transept beneath the dome, the painting by [[Jean-Antoine Gros]], the ''Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve'' (1811–1834), is visible through the opening in the lowest cupola. The triangle in the center symbolizes the Trinity, surrounded by a halo of light. The Hebrew characters spell the name of God. The only character seen in full is Saint Genevieve herself, seated on a rocky promontory. The groups around the painting, made during the Restoration of the Monarchy, represent Kings of France who played an important role in protecting the church. To the left of Saint Genevieve is a group including [[Clovis I|Clovis]], the first King to convert to Christianity. The second group is centred around [[Charlemagne]], who created the first universities. The third group is centred around [[Louis IX of France]], or Saint Louis, with the [[Crown of Thorns]] which he brought back from the Holy Land to place in the church of [[Sainte-Chapelle]]. The last group is centred around [[Louis XVIII]], the last King of the Restoration, and his niece, looking up into the clouds at the martyred [[Louis XVI]] and [[Marie-Antoinette]]. The angels in the scene are carrying the ''Chartre'', the document by which Louis XVIII re-established the church after the French Revolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Lebeurre|2000|p=56}}</ref>

The four pendentives, or arches, which support the dome are decorated with paintings from the same period by [[François Gérard]] depicting ''Glory'', ''Death'', ''The Nation'' and ''Justice'' (1821–37).

===Façade, peristyle and entrance===
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Paris - Panthéon (27378584206).jpg|Main façade
Fronton Panthéon Paris 2016-12-03.jpg|The pediment, with the central figures of the Nation and Liberty: statesmen and scholars to the left, soldiers to the right
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The façade and [[peristyle]] on the east side, modeled after a Greek temple, features [[Corinthian columns]] and [[pedimental sculpture]] by [[David d'Angers]], completed in 1837. The sculpture on this pediment, replacing an early pediment with religious themes, represents "The Nation distributing crowns handed to her by Liberty to great men, civil and military, while history inscribes their names". To the left are figures of distinguished scientists, philosophers, and statesmen, including [[Rousseau]], [[Voltaire]], [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]], and [[Bichat]]. To the right is [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], along with soldiers from each military service and students in uniform from the [[École Polytechnique]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lebeurre|2000|pp=43–45}}</ref> Below is the inscription: "To the great men, from a grateful nation" ("Aux grands hommes la patrie reconnaissante"). This was added in 1791, when the Panthéon was created. It was removed during the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Restoration]] of the monarchy, then put back in 1830.

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File:Colonnes chapiteaux pantheon.jpg|The richly detailed [[Corinthian order]]
File:Pantheon entrance ceiling DSC 1948w.jpg|Bas-reliefs below the peristyle
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Below the peristyle are five sculpted bas-reliefs; the two reliefs over the main doors, commissioned during the Revolution, represent the two main purposes of the building:  "Public Education" (left) and "Patriotic Devotion" (right).

The façade originally had large windows, but they were replaced when the church became a mausoleum, to make the interior darker and more somber.

===Narthex and naves===
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File:Pantheon wider centered.jpg|Panoramic view of interior
File:Puvis de Chavannes, Sainte Geneviève as a child in prayer 1876 a.jpg|Saint Genevieve as a child in prayer, by [[Puvis de Chavannes]] (1876)
File:Lenepveu, Jeanne d'Arc au siège d'Orléans.jpg|[[Joan of Arc]] at Orleans, by [[Jules Eugène Lenepveu]]
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The primary decoration of the Western Nave is a series of paintings, beginning in the Narthex, depicting the lives of [[Saint Denis of Paris|Saint Denis]], the patron saint of Paris, and longer series on the life of [[Saint Genevieve]], by [[Puvis de Chavannes]], [[Alexandre Cabanel]], [[Jules Eugène Lenepveu]] and other notable history painters of the 19th century. The paintings of the Southern nave and Northern Nave continue this series on the Christian heroes of France, including scenes from the lives of [[Charlemagne]], [[Clovis I|Clovis]], [[Louis IX of France]] and [[Joan of Arc]]. From 1906 to 1922 the Panthéon was the site of [[Auguste Rodin]]'s famous sculpture ''[[The Thinker]]''.

===Foucault pendulum===
{{main|Foucault pendulum}}
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File:Panthéon Pendule de Foucault2.JPG
File:Panthéon Pendule de Foucault1.JPG
File:Péndulo de Foucault-20110815-125224-2191-1000d-a2b2.jpg
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In 1851, physicist [[Léon Foucault]] demonstrated the rotation of the Earth by constructing a {{convert|67|m|ft|adj=mid}} pendulum beneath the central dome. The original sphere from the pendulum was temporarily displayed at the Panthéon in the 1990s (starting in 1995) during renovations at the [[Musée des Arts et Métiers]]. The original pendulum was later returned to the [[Musée des Arts et Métiers]], and a copy is now displayed at the Panthéon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://itotd.com/articles/362/foucaults-pendulum/ |title=Foucault's Pendulum: Interesting Thing of the Day |publisher=Itotd.com |date=2004-11-08 |access-date=2014-02-21 |archive-date=2012-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312175754/http://itotd.com/articles/362/foucaults-pendulum/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It has been listed since 1920 as a ''[[monument historique]]'' by the [[Ministry of Culture (France)|French Ministry of Culture]].<ref name="merimee">{{Base Mérimée|PA00088420}} Ancienne église Sainte-Geneviève, devenue Le Panthéon</ref>