The other day I took a walk along the streets you can see traced on the map. Nothing extremely spectacular about this (nice) area, but thanks to a friend, Rodolphe Trouilleux, who just published a new version of his bestseller “Paris Secret et Insolite”, I paid attention to a few buildings.
The first one is definitely not to be remarked among the others, except for a bird, a duke, on the facade. The very special thing is that it was built and inhabited by a very famous architect, Eugène Viollet le Duc (which explains the duke), who built it in 1862 and lived and worked here most of his last 17 years. Eugène is especially well-known as the person who was responsible for the restoration of more particularly Notre Dame, but also of the Vézelay basilica, the Sainte Chapelle (see previous post), the Saint Denis basilica (see previous post), a number of castles, the Avignon ramparts... and a lot more. His practical and theoretical works inspired many of the art nouveau architects (Gaudi, Guimard, Horta...).
A bit further on I observed two extremely decorated buildings. One, from 1901, is abundant of leaves, flowers, birds, made in ceramics by Alexandre Bigot, who participated in the decoration of a number of the most famous art nouveau buildings in Paris and collaborated with e.g. Guimard, Lavirotte.... (If you are interested you can check some of my previous posts on Guimard here and here and on Lavirotte here and here.)
The other building is two years older, in a completely different style. Obviously the architect and the sculptor have taken a lot of pleasure and I presume that there were no serious budget restrictions.
My goal was close to Place Franz Liszt. Franz spent many years in Paris (but not here), was the friend of Chopin, George Sand, Balzac, Berlioz, Delacroix... and especially of the countess Marie d’Agoult. They had three children; Cosima married Wagner.
Here is the church Saint-Vincent-de Paul (1844), surrounded by a small park. Around the church, the streets give the impression of another century (see top picture), very calm, but there are also two or three nice small restaurants.
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36 comments:
Living in such elegant surroundings is bound to have some influence on you. Do you ever get to go inside and have a look around?
Nice photography, as usual, Peter.
Hello dear Peter!
Amazing post! This architect Eugène looks to be very important and talent but what a different name ! LOL
I loved those buildings with great art nouveau details! :-)
Wow so beautiful pictures indeed! Many thanks for sharing!
Léia
Oh, to wander the streets of Paris in such a leisurely fashion. Thank you for sharing your walks with us. Great photos!
Great post as usual. I have never been to any of those places.
You know my next words.......... add it to the list! ha
I really mean it! I can't be sure where it is but surely it can be worked into a stroll! Nice photos as always , Peter.
V
And I forgot, I have a book for you and your devoted readers, " The Quiet Corners of Paris". A delightful book chock full of out of the way gardens, courtyards and places in Paris that are free! I hope to find many on this visit.
Narrow streets and alleys are the best, streets paved with beautiful buildings.
Thanks for the walk, Peter.
I really like the way you take us on this walk with you. The first photo is a great opening.
I don't think anyone really did before what you're doing here for us, taking us along a street and paying interest to buildings, parks and street life along the way.
I think it's a great concept!
J'aime beaucoup ta première photo. Est-ce bon Chez Michel?
Renaissance style architecture truly is grand! Very well captured Peter! As Always!
Felt like I was walking through the streets. Nice post...
encore des découvertes dans Paris, j'aime beaucoup l'église Saint-Vincent-de Paul. La première photo, fait vraiment petit village.
"Condorcet", "Fénelon", tu pourrais aussi faire la tournée des lycées après celle du grand Duc.
"Cosima", une prof de sofège des enfants porte ce prénom < parents musicophiles (cela se dit ?)
On arrive à trouver de la beauté partout en levant les yeux mais dans certains coins plus qu'à d'autres... Gardons les yeux ouverts, et marchons d'un bon pas !
Bonne journée à toi, Peter !
Oh là là ! Mais qu'est ce qu'ils sont beaux ces immeubles ! Ce sont des oeuvres d'art d'architecture.
Tu vois ce qui me fait oeur, c'est que quand on démolit, on reconstruit des horreurs.
This is an unusual walk, but certainly not without interest. I'm still working on publishing a full PDF walk which runs south of this, but I would never have thought of following this line. Most of what you describe is either Haussmannian or post-Haussmannian, so the streets around and behind the church are a nice surprise.
On a toujours des surprises en levant les yeux à paris. Je ne suis pas fan du style rococo mais une belle ballade. on dirait que tu t'es essayé à un virage sépia dans la 1
I'd have to agree with your assertion that these architects were not much affected by budget restrictions. THat kind of freedom sure makes for beautiful buildings. I wish we could have more of that today.
Right from the first photograph I'm intrigued. At first, nothing to do with the history, which is fascinating, but that marvellous street sign and its fabulous colours. But then goodness, what a treat to see these fabulous Art Nouveau buildings and to read the history. I agree with Nathalie - a wonderful tour. See you soon in Menton!
The first picture is most capturing. Very rare from you.
Encore une petite enclave de charme que nous decouvrons sous tes yeux.
Comme le dit Virginia c'est a rajouter sur la liste..
La 1ere photo fait rever.. un Paris tel qu'on l'imagine.. Intemporel..
j'aime beaucoup la première photo même si je la trouve un peu lugubre. Un peu de soleil aurait pu réchauffer un peu l'atmosphère. Je suis toujours étonnée de voir que tu arrives à trouver des endroits si calmes dans Paris. Cela mérite en tous les cas le détour.
je t'embrasse
Ah, this time Abe was first ;-)) and I'm always late. I've never noticed the richness of decoration on many buildings in Paris and I didn't realize that there are so many art déco houses. Very nice walk through touristically unknown areas of Paris.
Beautiful buildings! Their façades are amazing! Lovely photos!
Regards!
Hi Peter! Paris Secret et Insolite! What a nice title to stroll around!! These buildings are off the beaten track, but well worth the «detour»...
Hope you have a greta weekend!
Blogtrotter
This one is particularly interesting to me, Peter. I have been a fan of Art Nouveau for quite some time, in decoration, art, and architecture. Guimard's work is my favorite, but I think you've introduced me to things I was unaware of. It is really incredibly amazing how intricate the sculptural details are on these buildings. Thank You...
David
Celui-ci m'est particulièrement intéressant, Peter. J'ai été un fanatique d'art Nouveau pendant une tout à fait certaine heure, dans la décoration, l'art, et l'architecture. Guimard' ; le travail de s est mon favori, mais je pense you' ; le VE m'a présenté aux choses que j'étais ignorant de. Il est vraiment incroyablement étonnant combien complexe les détails sculpturaux sont sur ces bâtiments. Merci… David
Ton "Duke" est vraiment impressionnant, avec ses moustache il a une vague ressemblance avec les caricatures que les Français faisaient de Guillaume II avant la guerre de 1914.
La première photo avec ses volets fermés, aucun signe de vie, pas de passants, semble être un décor de cinéma. Cela fait très province, un dimanche.
Les immeubles sont somptueux. Lever les yeux et admirer dans les rues de Paris, je le fais souvent.
Abe:
Of course I get inside, sometimes, not everywhere. :-)
Léia:
Sometimes when you really think about the meaning of a name... :-)
Harriet:
The kind of promenade that often is the nicest! :-)
James:
Still time! :-)
Virginia:
OK. If you insist! :-)
Virginia bis:
I hope you will have some time for the quite places, with the heavy program you have! :-)
SusuPetal:
Maybe one day you can join me for real? :-)
Nathalie:
I have already made a few streets like this, but there are a few thousands left! :-)
hpy:
J'allais souvent il y a une quinzaine d'années. C'était bien. Je n'ai pas verifié récemment. :-)
Rakesh:
Happy you liked it! :-)
Shaun:
Good if you felt it like that! :-)
Olivier:
C'est tout calme à coté et derrière l'église! :-)
Cergie:
Quand on blogue, on apprend à ouvrir les yeux! :-)
Claude:
Heureusement qu'on trouve quand' même quelques exceptions! :-)
Adam:
You need time to discover all the streets and areas, especially if you go so deep as you! :-)
lasiate:
Le sepia est venu tout seul! :-)
Jessica:
There was obviously much money available - for some - a century ago! :-)
Jilly:
When I write this, we have met! It was really nice! :-)
Azer:
It just came out like this! :-)
Marie-Noyale:
Tu fais aussi une liste? :-)
Delphinium:
Il faut qu'on se promène ensemble un jour! Je t'embrasse également! :-)
April:
Yes, there is much to discover - for all of us! :-)
m_m:
Sincere thanks! :-)
GMG:
It's a book worth reading! :-)
SparkleMirror:
Bravo! You write in French - also - now! :-)
Alain:
Tu vois toujours des choses que les autres ne voeint pas! :-)
Catherine:
Je suis sur que tu le fais aussi! :-)
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