The idea of a mosaic frieze, located behind the colonnade on the facade overlooking avenue Winston-Churchill is attributed to Albert Thomas, the architect who won third prize during the 1896 competition. The idea appealed greatly to Alfred Picard, general commissioner of the Universal Exhibition, who overruled the opposition of Deglane, the architect responsible for the avenue Winston-Churchill facade. Eighty yards long, the frieze has a total area of nearly two and a half thousand square feet and is the only polychrome feature in the exterior decoration of the main facade. Drawn by the painter Louis Édouard Fournier, it is a timeline through the main periods of art history.
The other mosaic decorates the rear facade of the Grand Palais (the entrance to the Palais de la Découverte on avenue Franklin-Roosevelt). Made in ceramic it is another look at the history of art, and the composition is by Louis Blanc.
Damaged by pollution and dust, the mosaics had become practically indistinguishable. The restoration work began in 2005, and the stoneware frieze was completed in 2008. It involved cleaning, refitting and consolidating the mosaic pieces and making replacements for missing pieces. The result shows just how bright the original mosaic was and gives us an insight into the vision of Art entertained by the designers of the Grand Palais. A history lesson in more ways than one.
