Palais de la Découverte Project, Paris, France (Aerial perspective)
Oscar Nitzchke
American, born Germany. 1900–1991
Frantz Jourdain
French, 1847–1935
Paul Nelson
American, 1895–1979
1938
An architectural aerial perspective by Paul Nelson imagining his 1938 proposal for the Palais de la Découverte, drawn in ink, graphite, and colored pencil on paper to present a dramatic circular exhibition building and its site.
You’re struck by a gigantic radial “sunburst” roof centered on an egg‑shaped core, linked to sinuous, sculptural volumes and pale blue water features, all drawn with delicate linework and tiny figures that make the monumental scale readable on the stained paper.
This work captures 1930s modernist thinking about museums as theatrical, science‑oriented civic machines—an experimental fusion of organic form and program that helped prefigure later exhibition and pavilion design.
Medium
Ink, color ink, graphite, and color pencil on paper mounted on board
Dimensions
28 x 28 x 1/2" (71.1 x 71.1 x 1.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architects
Accession
95.2013
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
