Exposition Universelle (1855)
The Exposition Universelle of 1855 (French pronunciation: [ɛkspozisjɔ̃ ynivɛʁsɛl]), better known in English as the 1855 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des Beaux-Arts de Paris 1855. It was the first of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. Nowadays, the exposition's sole physical remnant is the Théâtre du Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, designed by architect Gabriel Davioud, which originally housed the Panorama National. The exposition was a major event in France, then newly under the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. It followed London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and attempted to surpass that fair's Crystal Palace with its own Palais de l'Industrie. The arts displayed were shown in a separate pavilion on Avenue Montaigne. There were works from artists from 29 countries, including French artists François Rude, Ingres, Delacroix and Henri Lehmann, and British artists William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. However, Gustave Courbet, having had several of his paintings rejected, exhibited in a temporary Pavillon du Réalisme adjacent to the official show. According to its official report, 5,162,330 visitors attended the exposition, of whom about 4.2 million entered the industrial exposition and 900,000 entered the Beaux Arts exposition. Expenses amounted to upward of $5,000,000, while receipts were scarcely one-tenth of that amount. The exposition covered 16 hectares (40 acres) with 34 countries participating. For the exposition, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality. The result was the important Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Adrien Chenot Elizabeth M. L. Gralton, 'Lust of the Eyes: The Anti-Modern Critique of Visual Culture at the Paris Expositions universelles, 1855–1900', French History & Civilization (2014), Vol. 5, pp 71–81. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. Official website of the BIE Rapport sur l’exposition universelle de 1855 (official report, published 1856, in French) Fanfare for the New Empire 1855 Paris (BIE World Expo) - approximately 70 links ExpoMuseum