The West Hall

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vestibule

The West Entrance Hall forms the main entrance.

Upon your arrival, your attention will immediately be attracted, on your left, by a full-length portrait of Richelieu by the Minister Michel Debré.

To reach the first floor, you take the main staircase.

After passing the two columns in the entrance hall, you will note at the bottom of the staircase two children each bearing an oxidised bronze candelabra. These are the work of Victor Paillard, as are the stair knobs.

On the middle landing is a hanging, The History of Scipio, the Conference, in the style of Jules Romain. Woven at the Gobelins Factory, it is based on a sixteenth-century Brussels hanging, formerly the property of the French crown.

Looking even higher, hanging from the cove of the ceiling, are eight plaster caryatids sculpted in 1852 by Dominique Molknecht. The rest of the sculpture is by the Huber brothers.