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)!

Northern Marais

It seems a bit unclear which exact areas are included in what you call the Marais (The Marsh... or referring to Market-gardens). Some indications are according to the red line on this plan, but I believe that the borders are a bit vague. Basically we talk about the major parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, which were hardly touched by the 19th century Haussmannian restructuring of Paris and which were definitely saved by laws and decrees in the 1960’s; since then this area is slowly being rehabilitated. I have taken some freedom with the more or less official borders during a walk through the northern parts of the area (partly in heavy rain – sorry for the raindrops, also on the lens!), including what is within the orange dotted line.




I have already made posts about the central parts of the Marais including Place des Vosges, of the St.Paul area and more recently about what you find just behind the Paris Town Hall. There are also things to see north of the Picasso Museum, which is housed in an old 17th century “hôtel particulier” since 1985 and which at the moment has a Daniel Buren (famous for his Columns at Palais Royal) exposition including an enormous mirror, doubling – or cutting ? – the surface of the courtyard.

There are a lot of landmarks if you really start to look closely, but first I would rather talk about a general feeling. This northern part of the Marais is much less visited and somehow gives a more authentic atmosphere. As you can see, there are a lot of old narrow streets, cobble stones, backyards (you have to push the door gates), cafés... and also a real barber shop, not mentioning a small message to celebrate February 14th.


 Some special words about a few places (I will be back with more one day):

The Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs Church was originally part of the Abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs (to which I will soon revert). With 12th century origins, the present church dates from 1420 with modifications during the 16th and 17th century. As most other churches, it suffered from the Revolution and lost a great deal of its decoration, but quite a bit was saved. Especially the retable from 1629 is remarkable and there are a number of paintings by artists like Claude Vignon, Georges Lallement.... The problem, like in many churches, is that they are in the dark and not easy to see, nor to photograph.
The Saint-Denys-du-Saint-Sacrement Church is more recent, from 1835. It replaced a Benedictine chapel. It may especially be worth a visit for a mural painting by Delacroix from the 1840’s, the “Deposition of the Cross”, also referred to as the Pieta.

Le Marché des Enfants Rouges has an odd name which can be translated as the Market of the Red Children. It dates from 1615 and is actually the oldest still existing covered market in Paris. The name has its origins in a nearby orphanage, created in 1534 and which remained until the 18th century. The children wore red uniforms. It’s a modest market, space wise, and the entrances are hardly visible. It was threatened to be demolished a few years ago, but is now obviously saved. You cannot only buy food here, but there are also a number of small bars and bistrots. It’s worth a visit for its atmosphere (39, rue de Bretagne).

A building on rue Volta has sometimes been claimed to be the oldest still remaining in Paris. This seems now not to be true, but I believe it’s still under discussion whether it dates from the 13th, 14th ... or the 17th century. Most sources claim that the oldest one is the Nicolas Flamel buiding (see previous post). Just round the corner is Rue au Maire, which obviously was the first little China Town in Paris, since then followed by several others, more important.

I wish you a nice weekend!

As the 15th this month is on Sunday I will make an exception to my normal "rules" and then - although it's the weekend - post under the mid-month theme "subways", where now also London will participate.