Twenty-three years after its opening, the Musée d’Orsay, former railroad station turned museum, will be undergoing substantial renovation. Beginning on 1 December and continuing through March of 2011, one-third of the surface of the museum will be involved, at a cost of 11.4 million euros.

The Musée d’Orsay has the largest collection of Impressionists in the world, and the projected alterations will make it possible to exhibit a considerably larger number of them. The architect in charge of the project is Jean-Michel Wilmotte, whose other projects include the galerie Richelieu of the Louvre and the Collège des Bernardins. 

In addition to the work on the Impressionist gallery, a new pavilion will see the day, the Amont, which will provide more than 2,000 square meters of exhibition space on four levels. Plans call for the decorative arts to be housed here, as well as a new bookstore. This portion of the project is the work of Dominique Brand of l’Atelier de l’Ile.

The Café de l’Horloge, located on the last floor, will be given an Art Nouveau look by Brazlian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana.

The museum will remain open to the public during the renovations, but only the principal collections, concentrated on the ground floor, will be accessible.

(Photo Credit: Ugolin and His Sons by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Musée d’Orsay – Wikipedia Commons)

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2009 Jan del Monte

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“Pride goeth before a fall, and a haughty spirit before destruction.” Proverbs, 16:18

If only Nicolas Fouquet had heeded that admonition, we might not have today one of the most splendid monuments in all of France. For, you see, it was his château, Vaux-le-Vicomte that inspired Versailles as we know it.

Fouquet was the minister of finance and faithful to Louis XIV. His loyalty did not go unrewarded, nor did it prevent him from skimming the Treasury. That, coupled with two successive “good” marriages, allowed him to amass an impressive portfolio of real estate; the jewel was Vaux-le-Vicomte. For this property, he called upon upon a trio of brilliant stars of the epoque — Louis Le Vau, first architect of the King; the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun, who essentially controlled the arts during Louis’s reign; and André Le Nôtre, the noted landscaper. 

The work was completed in 1661. The result was a château that was innovative at the time and remains one of the finest examples of 17th century French architecture. It is surrounded by a moat and connected to the grounds by drawbridges. Nor did the grounds disappoint. Le Nôtre had created the first jardin à la française, with boxwood hedges in the form of arabesques, echoing the motif of an Oriental carpet, lagoons and canals, grottoes and fountains.

To inaugurate his property, and at the urging of the King, Fouquet hosted a grandiose celebration on 17 August 1661. The 3,000 guests (including the court of France, with the King as guest of honor) enjoyed a spectacular visit that included pieces of theatre, fireworks, and even the sight of a whale in one of the ponds. At nightfall, thousands of candles lighted their way as they discovered the interior and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner.

As the evening progressed and evidence of Fouquet’s wealth became more and more evident, the King grew increasingly annoyed. How could this upstart live in such grandeur, when the King’s palaces were in shabby disrepair? Louis wanted to arrest Fouquet on the spot, but was dissuaded by the queen mother. Two weeks later, Fouquet was siezed at Nantes, far from his Parisian supporters. After a trial, he spent the last 15 years of his life in prison.

The arrest of Nicholas Fouquet cannot be solely attributed to that evening, as the King had for some time (and not without reason) suspected him of diverting funds.

While Fouquet’s pride in his domaine was justifiable, one might argue that it was the haughty spirit of his King that led to his destruction. In the words of Voltaire, “The 17th of August at 6 o’clock in the evening, Fouquet was the King of France; at 2 o’clock in the morning, he was nothing.” There could be but one King of France.

As for Louis XIV, he engaged the trio, Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre, to undertake the renovation of Versailles. It incorporates many characteristics of Vaux-le-Vicomte, but on a much grander scale. Finally, the King had the most magnificent house in all of France.

Every Saturday night until the 10th of October (excluding the 12th of September), the château recreates its 17th-century splendor, offering visits by candlelight. More than three hours of preparation are necessary to light some 2,000 candles that illuminate the château.

 Vaux-le-Vicomte is open to visitors daily from the 14th of March until the 8th of November from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (closed on Wednesday, except in July and August). Acess by SNCF or RER ( Ligne D, Châtelet) from Paris to Melun; shuttles are available from the station in Melun to the château. Details are available (in French and in English) at www.vaux-le-vicomte.com.

(Photo credit: Direct Matin)

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2009 Jan del Monte

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The folie d’Artois and the parc de la Bagatelle were born of a wager between the comte d’Artois, younger brother of Louis XVI, and Marie-Antoinette. Artois had acquired the hunting pavillion, which was in a delapidated state; the Queen, amused when she first saw it, told her brother-in-law that she expected to be received there within two months. Artois rose to the challenge, and, due to the efforts of his architect and 900 workers, the folie was finished within the allotted time. The original gardens were designed by the Scottish gardener Thomas Blaikie, and subsequent owners have contributed to the evolution of the property.

Last  Monday, one of the most (and perhaps last) beautiful days of the year, I took advantage of the weather, accompanied by two clients who were as delighted as I. If you are in Paris this month, it is well worth the trip. The exhibition “Jardins de Cristal” continues through 2 November in the parc (and its Trianon).

The folie d'Artois

Fountain of the Maharajah of Jodhpur, Cristallerie Saint-Louis

In the Trianon, by Cristallerie Saint-Louis

In the Trianon, by Baccarat

In the Trianon, by Daum

Flowers along the trail

Bear, by Baccarat

The gloriette, a pagoda in metal, crowns a grotto

Another fantasy by Baccarat

A resident peacock with justifiable pride of place

The pagoda in the Anglo-Chinese style, à la mode at the time.

As in the 18th century, the residents are naturally elegant...

...as are their counterparts, executed by Lalique.

And finally, a family of scarecorws in front of the gardener's cottage

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

 © 2008, Jan del Monte

Life is good these days for Jean Nouvel. In March, he was awarded the 2008 Pritzker prize, architecture’s most prestigious; his firm is currently involved in projects around the world, from Abu Dhabi to Manhattan by way of numerous European cities; and now he has beaten out such formidable competitors as the American Daniel Libeskind and the British Norman Foster to design a high-rise project that has been described as “the most important architectural event since the Eiffel Tower.”

The Signal Tower, as the building is known, is at the center of a program designed to inject some new vitality into the rather sterile La Défense, the business district  situated on the western boundary of Paris. Nouvel sees his building as “the first expression of a new center for the development of a Greater Paris…without replacing the historic center.”

The 71-storey building consists of four superimposed cubes, with enormous atriums forming windows facing in alternating directions. It will contain offices, apartments, hotel rooms and retail space. The building is projected to be 301 meters in height, the tallest skyscraper in France. The Eiffel Tower is 324 meters high, including its antenna. Cost of the project is estimated at €600 million, with completion scheduled for the end of 2013.
 

Rigorous statutes prohibit any new building exceeding 37.5 meters within the limits of Paris. Bernard Délanoë, the mayor of Paris, worried that Paris will lose prestigious tenants (and the tax revenue they provide), has recently proposed building industrial parks around the city to stimulate disadvantaged areas of the capital.

This victory is particularly sweet for Nouvel, who attempted to build a tower at La Défense in 1989. The project failed. He now describes himself as “overjoyed.”

I have just been looking at the site for the project. The decision of the jury must have been difficult, because the contenders are spectacular. If you’re interested in taking a look, click here.

Photo Credits: Jean Nouvel, Le Point; Tour Signal, Le Figaro.

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue due Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2008 Jan del Monte

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Who would have guessed there are only two degrees of separation between a French feminist icon and a valiant hero of the American silver screen? Allow me to explain.

Marguerite Durand began her career playing ingenue roles at the Comédie Française, and then, after marrying, undertook a second career as a journalist. Sent by Le Figaro to cover an international women’s congress, she returned a committed feminist, devoting the rest of her life to women’s causes. She was an elegant rebel, as  passionate about animals as about everything she did, and was often seen strolling around the Parc Monceau with her pet lioness (called Tigre), whom she had raised in her garden. 

Lee Duncan was an American serviceman stationed in France during World War I. He adopted two puppies, a male and a female, from a litter found in a bombed-out kennel in Lorraine. The female contracted distemper and died shortly after arrival in the States. The male proved to be very intelligent, and Duncan trained him to do a number of tricks. In 1923,  he had his first starring role with Warner Brothers and is credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy. Duncan called him Rinty; you know him as Rin Tin Tin.

In the 19th century, the status of animals began to change. In England, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed, and in France in 1899, Marguerite Durand and Georges Harmois, a publicist, founded the world’s first animal cemetery at Asnières-sur-Seine, a village on the left bank of the Seine. Although known as the Cimetière des Chiens, there are cats, birds, rabbits, tortoises, mice, hamster, horses, fish, monkeys, a gazelle.

For a pleasant excursion outside of Paris, one need only cross the Pont de Clichy to arrive at the cemetery; it is feels like another world, another time. The entrance is the work of architect Eugène Petit. Conceived in the Art Nouveau style, a central portal is flanked by two pedestrian entries. Just inside the entrance, in the shade of a large tree, stands a  sculpture commemorating Barry, the famous rescue dog of the Hospice du Grand Saint Bernard.

The mouments vary in style and in grandeur.  All attest to the love shared between these animals and their human companions. A stone bears a message from her master to Hera, “lover of the sea, may the Seine cradle your final repose.”

We learn that Frou Frou died of grief in 1908, the day after the death of her mistress. On another grave, a simple slab of marble supports a globe in the center, filled with tennis balls. Many bear pictures of the departed pets, such as that of Ulysses, a Siamese cat, with the inscription, “Happy is he who, like Ulysses, lives in our hearts.”

Some, like the memorial to Barry, bear witness to the heroism of certain dogs (of course, some of us think all dogs are heroes). There is a monument in honor of the police dogs who have died in the line of duty. A little dog raises his paw to a soldier. It is Mémère, the mascot of infantrymen in World War I.

In 1958, a dog died just outside the gates of the cemetery. A monument was erected to her, “the 40,000th beast who has found her final rest at the Cimetière des Chiens d’Asnières.”

This tranquil necropolis has its living residents, as well. The colony of cats who live on the grounds are fed and cared for by volunteers. They may be seen sunning themselves on the gravestones or frolicking on the sculptures.

Ah, yes — the connection. When his beloved Rinty died in 1932 at the age of 14, Lee Duncan arranged to have his body taken back to his native land. Rin Tin Tin’s grave is at the Cimetière des Chiens, where he shares his final resting place with Tigre, Marguerite Durand’s lioness, and her racehorse.

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2008 Jan del Monte

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French architect Jean Nouvel, the creator of more than 200 projects worldwide, including the Institut du Monde Arabe and the Musée du Quai Branly (left) in Paris, has been designated to receive the most prestigious honor in the world of architecture, the Pritzker prize. The decision was announced on Sunday by the prize’s organizing committee; the official announcement will be today.

Mr. Nouvel is the second French architect to receive the prize. In 1994, it was awarded to Christian de Portzamparc. The jury credited him with having “greatly expanded the vocabulary of contemporary architecture” through his willingness to take risks. The chairman of the jury, Lord Peter Palumbo, praised him for the relevance of his buildings to their environment and purpose, noting “…a context, interpreted in the broadest sense to include culture, location, program and client, provokes him to develop a different strategy for each project.”

The prize, which consists of a cash award of $100,000 and a bronze medal, will be presented to Mr. Nouvel at a ceremony to be held on 2 June at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The New York Times has produced a brilliant slide show of a number of his works.

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

Photo of Musée du Quai Branly courtesy Wikipedia.

© 2008 Jan del Monte

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Just to the right of the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, on the side adjacent to the boulevard Saint-Germain, there is a small garden that dates from the days of the ancient abbey. It is now known as Square Félix Desruelles, in honor of the sculptor whose work, a pastoral fountain, is on the west side of the garden. 

It is found on one of the busiest streets, in one of the busiest neighborhoods in Paris, and yet a surprising number of people don’t know it’s there. Although I had walked past it for years, I confess that it was only last year that I discovered it.

In the center of the garden stands a statue representing the Renaissance ceramicist Bernard Palissy, and, at the east end, there is another structure that commemorates French accomplishment in the area of ceramics.

It is a section of the facade of the pavilion built to display the products of the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres at the Universal Exposition of 1900. It is the work of the sculptor Jules-Félix Coutan and the architect Charles Risler. The pavilion was conceived  in the Art Nouveau style that was prevalent at the time and constructed entirely of glazed ceramic. 

Just below the cornice on either side is a cartouche bearing the dates 1793 and 1900, respectively, the former being the date work began on the current location of the Manufacture, which was formerly at Vincennes, and the latter, the date of the Exposition. 

There is an accumulation of ornamental elements that are characteristic of the Art Nouveau style — oak leaves, thistle, mistletoe, scarab beatles. A central medallion with a young woman (see detail, above right), surmounts a frieze in high relief (seen below) that depicts a central figure of a woman, surrounded by young boys who seem to be working at various stages of the potter’s trade.  

As you can imagine, there was a wealth of details from which to choose, and it was no easy matter choosing something to use in my header. I have learned, living in Paris, that there are three things without which one should never leave home — sunglasses, an umbrella, and a camera.  

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2008 Jan del Monte

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