Léon-Auguste Mellé (French, 1816-1889)

The construction of the Tuilleries palace was overseen by Catherine de Medici from 1564. The grand palace became the residence for many royal and imperial rulers, including Napoleon. This magnificent building with its large façade and considerable gardens was also the seat of the First Republic and the Consulate. During the Commune of Paris – the French uprising against the government following France’s defeat in the Franco-German war – the palace was destroyed by arson. On 23 May 1871 Jules-Henri-Marius Bergeret, Victor and Stephen Bénot Boudin set light to the palace, and it burned over three days. In 1883 the ruins were razed to the ground, and remains of the palace can be found incorporated in monuments and buildings all over Paris.