Palais de la Découverte Project, Paris, France (Plan at Ground Level)
Oscar Nitzchke
American, born Germany. 1900–1991
Frantz Jourdain
French, 1847–1935
Paul Nelson
American, 1895–1979
1938
A large penciled ground‑level architectural plan by Paul Nelson proposing a monumental circular Palais de la Découverte in Paris, with a central rotunda and surrounding exhibition galleries.
The eye is arrested by a near‑perfect concentric geometry—rings, a central circular hall and fan‑shaped galleries—drawn in precise pencil with a numbered program listed at left and paper discoloration that hints at age and use.
The sheet exemplifies 1930s modernist thinking about museums, turning scientific display into an ordered, civic monument that shaped visitor circulation and exhibition design.
Medium
Pencil and green pencil on white print mounted to 1/2" board
Dimensions
Sheet: 28 1/2 x 35 1/2" (72.4 x 90.2 cm)
Composition: 28 1/2 x 28 1/8" (72.4 x 71.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architects
Accession
99.2013
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
