18.2.09

Saint Martin des Champs - Art et Métiers


Well, as I showed the metro station “Arts et Métiers” in a previous post (last Sunday), it seems logical that we now make a visit to what you can find on the ground, above the station. What was created during the revolutionary years (in 1794) as the National Conservatory for Arts and Crafts (Arts et Métiers) is still today a higher education state establishment, and since 1802 also a fabulous museum. Originally this was the Priory (or Abbey) of Saint-Martin-des-Champs (St.Martin-in-the-Fields), with very old origins, officially (re)founded in 1060, then well outside the city limits. It’s amazing to see the surface St.Martin – together with the nearby Temple – occupied. St. Martin played for centuries a great role in the French religious history and had some famous priors, including Richelieu.
Contrary to what happened with the Temple (see previous post), some of the old buildings of St.Martin were left to the posterity after the Revolution, including churches, chapels and also a refectory which now is the library of the Conservatory (same architect as the Sainte Chapelle (see previous post) – Peter de Montereau). Some new Conservatory buildings were added during the 19th century and two big new streets crossed the area, including Rue Réaumur (see previous posts), which even made its way between two of the churches, St. Martin and St.Nicolas-des-Champs (see previous post) – see the difference between the 1739 map and today.



The St. Martin church is now part of the museum, the most spectacular from architectural point of view. It was built between the 12th and 14th centuries. This is where you can find some of the bigger objects (top picture) like steam engines, cars and even some of the early aeroplanes including one on which Louis Blériot crossed the Channel in 1909. This is also where you today find (a copy of) the Foucault Pendulum (the original is now transferred to the Panthéon – see previous post), which proves that the globe is rotating. (Umberto Eco’s book “Foucault’s Pendulum” is clearly related to the “Art et Métiers” Museum.)












 
The museum has totally some 80.000 objects and some 15.000 drawings to testify how techniques of different kinds have developed during centuries. You can see the first photographic equipment (Daguerre...), the first telephones, radios, televisions, calculating machines (one of them is a copy of the one I had on my desk in my first job!), computers, satellites... There are also models of some important construction work, including the NY version of the Statue of Liberty. (In previous posts I have talked about the original statue in the Luxembourg Gardens, about the place where the NY version was constructed...). Of course, a great number of beautiful early precision instruments, clocks... are also exposed. I also found the 1948 model of my 2008 Solex (today electrically driven)!

39 comments:

Michelle said...

Such amazing architecture. I love the plane hanging there.
As usual a history lesson. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I can say, it is an eye opener for me.
Thanks.

Karen said...

Oh, more I want to see.. I'll have to spend every waking hour visiting all these marvelous places.. or make many trips.. :=]

Wonderful photos and research as usual.

Rhi said...

Love these pictures. And I agree, the architecture is fantastic! Hope all is well.

Olivier said...

j'aime la première photo, nous voila d'un coup dans une machine a voyager dans le temps

alice said...

Alors voilà, ce musée est extraordinaire mais il me pose un problème: il faut absolument que mon fils vienne avec moi, sans lui, je ne comprends rien à toutes ces machines, pendules et autres bizarreries, avec lui tout est simple, j'arrive même à croire que je pourrais avoir un soupçon d'esprit scientifique...

claude said...

Le musée est sans aucun doute intéressant mais je suis surprise que cette Eglise de Quartier soit devenu un musée. Il semble que les églises des quartiers de paris soient désertées comme celles de la campagne et qu'elles sont "recyclés" en beaucoup de choses qui n'ont rien çà voir avec la religion.
J'ai un reportage il y a 2 jours à la télé à ce sujet.
En face de la maoson de mes vacances dans le berry il y avait une toute petite chapelle abandonnée dans laquelle nous allions de temps en temps. Bien des années plus tards elle est devenue une maison.

hpy said...

On dirait que tu as mis les objets dans des écrins. Très beau, tout ça!

lyliane six said...

J'en ai entendu parler mais n'y suis jamais allée, une promenade de plus à faire.
Tu ne nous rajeuni pas avec tous ces objets qui sortent d'un autre siècle, pourtant pas si lointain...
J'ai reconnu un poste de TSF, comme il y avait chez moi. Le pendule de Foucaud je l'ai vu au Panthéon il y a peu de temps.

Delphinium said...

ah j'aurai bien voulu utiliser un téléphone comme celui-là! Je me rappelle que chez mes parents, on avait un téléphone avec un cadran et les chiffres et que c'était rigolo de mettre le doigt dans le trou du chiffre et de tourner. Dire que maintenant on se balade avec de tous petits téléphones et que sur ces téléphones, on peut aller sur internet, avoir un GPS et j'en passe et des meilleurs. :-))
Je ne suis jamais allée dans ce musée. J'aime tes photos, surtout la première. Tu le fais exprès de mettre toujours celle que je préfère en premier? :-)
Je t'embrasse

Adam said...

I'm not sure if I missed this in the post, but isn't the museum free now as well? If it isn't, it probably is at least on the first Sunday of the month.

Another thing it is reasonably well known for is its café, especially for brunch at the weekends.

Alain said...

Les premiers avions sont vraiment de drôles d'oiseaux ! Cela ferait de merveilleux cerfs-volants.

Anonymous said...

Those things found in your museum are priceless treasure of the past. Your photography is fabulous and your being able to assemble it all together like you do is magical.

Abraham Lincoln
Brookville Daily Photo

Ruth said...

Ooh I like those motor scooters.

Azer Mantessa said...

what displayed at the museum are fantastic. i was like ... whoaaa

saved some pictures too :-)

Catherine said...

Encore une visite à ajouter à ma liste !
En effet, les précieux avions en bois et toile sont tout de suite mis en valeur dans cet endroit sublime, rien à voir avec le hangar du bourget.
Un lieu pour les curieux.

Shammickite said...

Those architects and workmen of the 12th and 14th centuries had no concept of the amazing advances in technology that would one day find a home in their building! What a marvellous museumn, I wish I had visited it when I was in Paris.

Starman said...

I can't believe in all the times I've been to Paris, I've never been to this museum. It's a definite 'must do' on my next visit.

PeterParis said...

Michelle:
A fairly nice lesson, I hope!

Cuckoo:
Thanks for watching!

Karen:
A long stay again or many trips!

PeterParis said...

Rhi:
Everything is fine here! Hope the same!

Olivier:
Que la première? :-(

Alice:
On n'a pas besoin de tout comprendre ( heureusement), juste voir la beauté des objets suffit! (Mais si ton fils veut venir, bien sur!) :-)

PeterParis said...

Claude:
Ca fait depuis la Révolution que cette église n'es plus une église. Mais, tu traverses la rue et tu trouve une (St. Nicolas)!

hpy:
Beau, en effet!

Lyliane:
Encore une bonne raison de revenir à Paris!

PeterParis said...

Delphinium:
Bien sur que je le fais exprès! Tout pour te plaire! :-) Je t'embrasse également!

Adam:
Sorry, but you have to pay something to get in! But it's worth it!

Alain:
Il fallait du courage pour monter dedans!

PeterParis said...

Abe:
So, I'm a magiciain now! :-)

Ruth:
Do you want a ride with mine?

Azer:
You have quite a collection now! :-)

PeterParis said...

Catherine:
Tu ne connais pas? Alors il faut y aller!!

Shammickite:
Coming back?

Starman:
So, it's when your next visit?

Anonymous said...

I get a bit depressed these days when I see things in museums that I used to use everyday! For example the calculating machine with the handle and the little levers. We used those at school...

Fun stuff though

PeterParis said...

Richard:
... and for me it was even my first office equipment! The machine was invented and manufactured in St.Petersburg in 1874. The name, "Original-Odhner", was used since 1907. After the 1917 revolution, the production moved to Gothenburg (my birth place) and the last machines of this type were produced as late as in the 1970's, sometimes under the "Facit" label. There were also some other manufacturers, but this one dominated the market. (I have still got one in a box in my cellar, somewhere, I believe.)

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Great pictures Peter! Loved the pictures of the clocks!!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Mona said...

Wow! Those churches are awesome. Somehow I feel that they do not spend that much on building places of worship anymore...

The clocks are so wonderful! Relics of Antiquity!

Cergie said...

Adam, a parlé des deux points que j'aurais développé : le restau pour le brunch (il vaut mieux réserver) et la gratuité dont j'ai profité en mars 2008. Ce serait bien qu'il en soit encore ainsi : tu as vu l'ampleur de la collection, il faudrait revenir et revenir. Les ponts tiens, je ne les ai pas bien vus. Les machines à tisser. Et tant d'autres choses. La photographie.
J'ai tant aimé surtout l'architecture claire du lieu.

[L'arbre garotté est un faux noyer du Caucase (Pterocarya Fraxinifolia. Planté en 1891).]

Virginia said...

Fascinating post and your photos are all so interesting. I'm sure you spent hours in there looking around. I caught that "New York version of the Statue of Liberty" remark-HA!!!! Great joob as always.
V

Anonymous said...

love this museum

Unknown said...

Gorgeous selection of photos! Amazing architecture and displayed objects. Great post, as usual, Peter!

PeterParis said...

Rakesh:
It's a pleasure to share this kind of things!

Mona:
The few churches still built are certainly built in a - relatively speaking - cheaper way!

Cergie:
Donc, il faut que je retournes! ... en payant! :-)

PeterParis said...

Virginia:
All done in 15 minutes! (Of course not, but there is so much to see that you could spend days... which I din't! :-))

Mo:
It's a really nice one, everything so nicely exposed! :-)

JM:
Thanks for your always kind words! :-)

Starman said...

@Peter - My next trip to France is still in the planning stages. I would like to go to Spain in September and then possibly to Paris in October.

PeterParis said...

Starman:
If it's confirmed, hope to see you!

Marie-Noyale said...

Un endroit que je ne connais pas.
Il faut regler ce probleme des mon prochain passage!

PeterParis said...

Marie-Noyale:
Un "must"!

Julie Boston said...

We currently own a piece of this history! Our apt on Rue Bailly, it staircase is one of the 2 remaining towers from the original walled Abbey. The staircase is on the cover of a famous archicture ciffeetabl book that we have yet to acquire. Such history and if anyone has info would love to know as much as we can! Julie Boston