September 24, 2007

Some ceramic buildings

Walking in area you would seldom visit, unless you live there, I found a building which is worth some attention (rue Belliard, 18th arrdt., see below). It was built in 1912 and the architect was Henri-Louis Deneux (1874-1969). He had his own apartment in the top floor and lived there his last thirty years. Apart from this building, Deneux hardly created any new buildings, but spent most of his active years to save and reconstruct the Reims Cathedral (the place where most French kings have been coroneted), seriously damaged during the First World War. This reminded me of some other remarkable ceramic buildings. Here you can see two buildings created 1900-01 (Avenu Rapp, 7th arrdt.), in a rather extreme “art nouveau” style by Jules Lavirotte (1864-1928). The façade, especially on one of them, has a very rich decoration, a mixture of vegetal and more or less erotic symbols (the entrance door - top picture - was almost “censored”). The last building I wanted to show today was built in 1903 (rue Franklin, 16th arrdt.) and the architect here is Auguste Perret (1874-1954). Perret later worked in a style, much closer to Le Corbusier. One of his major achievements was the reconstruction of Le Havre after the Second World War, much criticised in the beginning, but today in much higher esteem.
Perret is also the architect of one of Paris’ top theatres, often used for classical music, le Théatre-des-Champs Elysées (built 1913, Avenue Montaigne, 8th arrdt.) which also hosted the famous “Ballets Russes”.

You may possibly wish to refer to my previous posts on Guimard, Le Corbusier
You can find some of the original photos from this post on my other blog, "Peter - photos".

30 comments:

Mona said...

unbelievable! I had no idea that something so beautiful could be accomplished with ceramics.

Perret's work is awesome!

Shionge said...

Something about that first door...looks like a 'monster' :)

Amazing photos Peter!

Azer Mantessa said...

magnificent!

Keshi said...

just WOW!

Keshi.

Olivier said...

la premiere photo ferait 'presque' peur, cette porte me fait penser à une porte de sorciere dans un conte pour enfant. (a ce que je vois je ne suis pas le seul).
ces murs en mosaique sont magnifiques, en plus tu nous offres une belle vue sur miss tour eiffel, encore bravo

hpy said...

Auguste Perret, oui. Depuis que Le Havre est classé monument historique d'UNESCO les prix ne cessent de grimper, les havrais sont tombés en amour avec leur ville, et poourtant avant ça ne plaisait à personne. Bon, il y a peut-être eu autre chose de fait par l'actuelle municipalité aussi.

hpy said...

Auguste Perret, oui. Depuis que Le Havre est classé monument historique d'UNESCO les prix ne cessent de grimper, les havrais sont tombés en amour avec leur ville, et poourtant avant ça ne plaisait à personne. Bon, il y a peut-être eu autre chose de fait par l'actuelle municipalité aussi.

Kunterbunt said...

That's phantastic. And you are right, no normal tourist would find it. You must walk through the city for hours or live there to find such beautiful and interesting places.
(I'll be on tour the next two days - holidays; the weather is great at the moment)

Cergie said...

DIS DONC ! Quelle bavarde cette HPY chez toi aujourd'hui !!!!!

Peter, ne te laisse pas impressionner par les autres bloggueurs. Si tu as qch à dire dis le et si tu as envie de faire court, ne dis rien. Le rpincipal est que tu te sentes bien chez moi



L'art nouveau, c'est l'art de Nancy aussi. Le café "l'Excelsior", la villa Majorelle

Très proche de la nature. J'aime beaucoup. Tu t'en doutes.

Delphinium said...

La dame Hpy ne doit pas avoir encore digéré sa bouteille au goût de noisette. Elle se répète, comme les gens un peu joyeux. :-))) Il va falloir la surveiller sérieusement pendant mon absence. En effet, je pars quelques jours pour me changer les idées. Concernant votre post, moi j'aime beaucoup la première photo avec cette belle porte. Je trouve que les portes peuvent être un peu le miroir de ce qui se trouve derrière dans l'appartement ou la maison. Ainsi, ma Mamam met toujours une décoration sur la porte de son appartement. En période de Noël, il y des petites choses toutes brillantes qui respirent la joie. En ce moment, elle a mis une sorte de chat en tissu. Il faut dire que ma Maman aime les chats et le travail sur les tissus, comme le patchwork ou autres trucs merveilleux. Alors la porte sur la première photo me donne envie de rentrer, une part de mystère, une sensation ni agréable, ni désagréable.

Je vous embrasse et à bientôt

Anonymous said...

Another nice and interesting post, Peter. I was especially fascinated with the first door. It haunts me.

Peter said...

I can see that, for the moment, nobody has found (or dared to admit it) the symbolism of the design of the door! Let's see!

hpy said...

Je radote, je radote.

Anonymous said...

Lavirotte's signature is encroyable!

Peter said...

mona:
Perret was the one who changed style with the years. What he did at Le Havre - restyling the whole centre which was bombed out after the war - was in the immediate very much discussed and critisised. When I saw it for the first time some 30 years ago, I did not like it, but taste and fashion change and today it's getting very much accepted and appreciated. It's now classified by the World Heritage Fund.

shionge:
Well, there are other interpretations!

azer:
There is certainly a wish to create!

keshi:
WOW is perhaps the right word!

Peter said...

olivier:
Comme déjà dit plus haut, il y a des interpretations différentes du dessin de la porte!

hpy:
Tu confirmes ce que j'ai répondu à Mona! Tant mieux!

april:
The "normal" tourist would not have all the time I have nowadays! Have a nice trip!

Peter said...

cergie:
hpy m'a toujours impressioné! Rien à faire!
Tu as raison, Nany est LA ville de l'art nouveau!

delphinium:
Ca fait trente ans que je connais hpy...!
D'avoir une belle porte est important, mais ce qui se cache derrière encore plus!
Bon voyage; je pars aussi bientôt!

oldmanlincoln:
Thanks! Yes this door has been a lot commented over the years!

Peter said...

hpy:
Mais non, mais non! Selon toi, c'est DD qui radote!

ruth:
Yes, already his signature is a real piece of art nouveau!

Maxime said...

Fantastique, la photo du haut! Personnellement, rien ne ferait frapper à cette porte : ce serait comme mettre la tête dans la gueule d'un fauve !

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Peter.
I Love the ceramics Peter also the history, the collage, the information about Paris , Paris is so big I think you can go on for ever ad ever, I like that very much! THANKS!!!!

Thanks for reacting on my blog and email :)

JoAnn

Peter said...

maxime:
Mais non, la maison est sans doute très bien féquentée! Tu as vu l'adresse!

joann:
Yes, I believe I have still things to see - and maybe to tell!

Pijush said...

Waoww.. nice pics, You have a wonderful blog Peter. I am glad I stop by here. Will keep coming

Heather said...

More beautiful and impressive architecture! That first door is amazing!

Peter said...

pijush:
Thanks for your visit and comments! I believe you are one of Cuckoo's many friends.

heather:
Yes, especially the door impresses a lot!

hpy said...

Alors, comme ça je fais peur :(

Anonymous said...

tank you very much Peter for showing us these magnificent houses. It's "un régal" so delightfull to follow you walking around Paris.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Amazing pictures of remarkable buildings, Peter! I am always enchanted with the beauty of Paris and your wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing!

Peter said...

hpy:
Non, je n'ai pas peur, du respect, bien sur!

catherine:
Thanks for the compliments!

sonia:
... same comments as for catherine!

EVERYBODY:
Normally the door in question is supposed to have a rather erotic motive. Maybe you would easier imagine it if you enlargen the photo? ... or maybe you are all so "innocent"?

Anonymous said...

I think it was Paul Bigot who did the ceramic work for many of these buildings, including rue franklin

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