15.2.11

Statues, sculptures - Montmartre Cemetery

We haven’t yet left the Montmartre Cemetery. I have too many photos and I just have to show them. :-)

Below, there are some examples of the many statues, sculptures, you can find, especially on the older 19th century tombs, but also on some of the more recent ones. Some of these statues have already appeared in previous posts, but most of them are new.

But first... I would like to draw the special attention to a few, which I have not shown before.

The top photo is of one of the most beautiful ladies in the cemetery. It was made by the mother of a young man; he died at the age of 20 in 1910 and was called Robert Didsbury. Surprisingly enough I have found no information about the mother, who obviously was a very gifted sculptor. It seems that it is a self-portrait and goes under the name of "Douleur". The brother of Robert who died in 1971 is also buried here as well as a Jacqueline Didsbury, who was born the same year as Robert died; she died in 1995. Is the mother also buried here?


A second tomb is the rest place of David Iffla (1825-1907), better known under the name of “Osiris”. The statue (by Antonin Mercié) is a copy of the Michelangelo statue of Moses which can be found on the tomb of the Pope Julius II in the Saint Peter Church in Rome.

David Iffla was known under the name of Osiris, an Egyptian god, the god of “afterlife”. I have found two explanations why he took this name, one that this was the name of a ship he saw in Bordeaux during his childhood; the other one should be linked to his adoration of his wife, who died young (the "afterlife"). “Osiris” was a very wealthy – and generous - man, who gave his money to charity, to the building of several synagogues, to artists, to the creation of Marie Curie’s Radium Institute … and who bought and renovated the Château de Malmaison, the home of Josephine de Beauharnais (and Napoleon) and offered it to the French state. Today it’s a museum well worth a visit (in the Paris suburb Rueil-Malmaison).
On the grave of another wealthy man, who worked for the fashion house Nina Ricci, Klaus Peter Preis (1936-2003), an important and generous art collector who donated a lot to museums, is a statue by Paul Landowski. Paul Landowski (1875-1961) has made a great number of sculptures - some 50 to be found only in Paris – and has his own museum (at Boulogne-Billancourt, another Paris suburb) - including the “Sainte Genevieve” on the Pont de la Tournelle (see previous post), “Les fils de Caïn” in the Tuileries Gardens (see previous posts), a monument to the glory of the French army, Place de Trocadéro (see previous posts: 1, 2)… He is of course particularly famous for the “Christ de Corcovado” (Christ the Redeemer) at Rio de Janeiro.

And now a collage of other statues and sculptures:









































Here is where you can find the specific statues I referred to above:

35 comments:

Olivier said...

la premiere statue est magnifique, l'expression est tres bien rendue

Barbara L said...

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

Elizabeth said...

I was hoping to spy Dalida's monument. So sad.

Amanda said...

It is such an amazing place. I will just have to go back as I missed so much. Thank you Peter.

Jim said...

Amazing sculptures.

Jack said...

Outstanding again, Peter. The photos of the woman in the top and subsequent photos are absolutely haunting.

Virginia said...

We are delighted to see more Peter. From experience I know that when I have just an hour or so, I miss so much that you have taken the time to photograph and share with us. So tell me,will there be Passy posts as well? Let me know and I"ll run some and we can tag team ! :) Your photographs are grand and of course you add so much with your reasearch, something I need to work on!
V

Catherine said...

wonderful images - I cannot wait to visit!! that first sculpture is indeed a real beauty...

Alain said...

On ne peut pas les commenter toutes, mais certaines sont assez drôles. Le cimetière de Montparnasse, également, possède une belle collection de sculptures.

Dianne said...

All those beautiful sculptures - they must be shown! The top photo with a soft patina is exquisite
"All Things French"

Dianne said...

All those beautiful sculptures - they must be shown! The top photo with a soft patina is exquisite
"All Things French"

Shionge said...

Wow...so much history behind these lovely statues ;)

Sorry for the long absence Peter..been a frenzy month and I am sad that I did not meet my blog pal who came over to Singapore :(

Cezar and Léia said...

I'm happy that you are sharing your pictures, they are wonderful, thanks a lot!
The first sculpture is dramatic!
And I also like the modern one, that you also show in this post!
Léia

Ola said...

The culpture of the lady is very dramatic, the pain is visible on her face and yet she is beautiful in her sadness

hpy said...

Certaines sont vertes de peur!

Cynthia Schelzig said...

This is all so very interesting! The very top sculpture is amazing...very moving to say the least and so beautiful. Wonderful fotos of so many more.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
claude said...

Elles sont toutes belles ces sculptures, même la moderne, mais j'ai une préférence pour la première, elle est réellement magnifique.

arabesque said...

hi peter,
i have mixed feelings about those statues, although, the attention to detail was extraordinary and really beautiful.
the fact that it came from a cemetery seems to be quite disturbing and a bit eerie. ^0^

Studio at the Farm said...

Wonderful photography. And a most delightful education! Thank you, Peter.

PeterParis said...

I deleted one comment above, a spam - or at least I considered it as such. (No censorship in general here.)

caterpillar said...

Those are some real amazing statues....and it definitely talks volumes about the sculpturers who carved them...

Owen said...

Hi Peter, wow, I see you have been busy since yesterday ! You certainly did take alot of photos in there... is there anything you did not take a photo of ?

Thanks so much again for your very kind gift yesterday, which we finished off over dinner with no problem after you left...
:-)

Simony said...

The very first one made me sad... So realistic I could feel her pain.
And the Christ in Rio de Janeiro made me feel homesick!
Thanks for sharing such pretty images with us.

Starman said...

I find most interesting the postures and the facial expressions used by the artists.

Bagman and Butler said...

Amazing. The French really knew how to do death.

Ash said...

Gorgeous photos, Peter. And I fully agree with the commenter above (Bagman and Butler)

delphinium said...

Baudin, il a vraiment pas l'air bien... bon moi toutes ces tombes, ça me déprime.

joanna said...

Peter:

My days have been busy barely able to post or make comments, but a breather today, and cold and snowy sprinkles gives me the luxury of time to visit your superb blog.

YES the first sculpture is magnificent under the name of "Douleur". Perhaps some Historian or family member will revel the answer to your questions: Is the mother also buried here?
I am thrilled there are no vandals -- these sculptures are priceless.

joanny

PoliticsFrance said...

As ever Peter your photographs are a credit to you and Paris! Sadly i have never been able to find the time to visit Monmartre Cemetery, I must get roudn to it! I've just got a new blog up and running and I have linked to your site:

www.politicsfrance.wordpress.com

Nathalie said...

Peter, la douleur is a beautiful sculpture, all the more moving when we think that it was made by a mother for her son.

Harriet said...

The sculpture, La Douleur, is exquisite. This is a cememtery I must visit.

Jeanie said...

I know everyone has their favorites, but that jester! Wonderful! I could have used some of those sad beautiful women in the post on my book blog, Chopsticks and String --I think I went through every stone angel I had in my current post! These are, as always, splendid, Peter.

Trotter said...

It's fantastic! Paris' cemeteries are better than many museums...

Philip CARTER said...

Jacqueline Didsbury
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bou5zou57ki1208yasu/3963628712