March 03, 2008

Ceramic facade

Walking along the Boulevard St. Germain - from places I showed on my most recent posts (including maps) -, heading for the church Saint-Germain-des- Prés, (or Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots or whatever) I would suggest that you stop at the small garden or ancient church yard, just behind the church, and have a look at this spectacular ceramic façade which covers the gable of an adjacent building – very few people seem to pay attention.

I had great difficulties to find any information about it, but it seems that it was originally part of the Sèvres Pavillion during the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris and later put here. Why here, I don’t know, possibly that we are close to the Rue de Sèvres, which leads to Sévres and the Sèvres Manufacture? I even found the names of the creators (Charles Risier and Jules Courtan), but nothing about them. I think that this “monument” would be worth some more attention!
Let’s remember that the 1900 Universal Exhibition somehow was an “art nouveau” exhibition and that the Pont Alexandre III bridge (see my post of June 7, 2007), the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Gare de Lyon, the Gare d’Orsay (now the Orsay Museum) and many other buildings were created for this occasion. (Most of the pavilions were of course considered as temporary and disappeared after the exhibition.) During this Exhibition, the first metros started to run. … and the second Olympic Games took place in Paris.

(A few of these pictures can be found on my photo blog.)

Before closing for today, I wanted to show you some further spring progress in “my” park, although the weekend weather could have been better.

The weather was anyhow good enough to allow Paloma and Mattias to have some outdoor fun in the Jardin du Ranélagh.


My new “toy” is fairly new on the market and draws some attention to it!




Addendum:
Thanks to Maxime we have answers to my questions above:
Charles Risler was a Parisian architect who also designed the pavilion for the department store "Au Printemps" for the same Universal Exhibition.
Jules Félix Coutan has made several sculptures around Paris which can be found e.g. at the Palais de Justice ("La Clémence"), Opéra Comique ("Cariatides"), the National Library ("La Calligraphie"), the Bir-Hakeim Bridge ("La Science", "Le Travail"). One of his monumental works ("Les Chasseurs d'Aigles") can be found at the Orsay Museum. (You can se the Bir-Hakeim sculptures on one of my previous posts.)

40 comments:

di.di said...

i love spring! cant wait to be there....

sonia a. mascaro said...

First of all, Paloma and Mattias are very beautiful! Sounds that both had a great fun in the Jardin du Ranélagh.

Lovely flowers in your park.

Have a nice week ahead.

SusuPetal said...

Oh, I believe the children are having the time of their life!
And the april in Paris is coming nearer!

Can you imagine: we got winter here! Now! It has been snowing and they have promised more snow and minus degrees for this week!
I can't believe this. It's soooo cruel, it should be spring!!!!!

Olivier said...

elle est superbe cette mosaique (la premiere est vraiment impressionnante). voila un des tresors de la ville de Paris.
Je vois que tu t'amuses bien avec ton Solex

alice said...

Tu as raison, malgré de nombreuses occasions, je n'ai jamais vu cette façade...Que de détails à observer pourtant!
Tes petits-enfants sont trop mimi! Paloma fait-elle déjà du vélo sans petites roues?
Bonne journée, Peter.

lyliane six said...

Ils sont superbes! les fleurs grandissent avec l'arrivée du printemps, mais les enfants aussi.
la façade de l'immeuble est très bien décorée je ne l'ai jamais vue ou bien je n'ai jamais fait attention, avant je ne me promenais pas dans Paris le nez en l'air, je n'avais pas de solex à surveiller, mais seulement les vitrines à regarder.

EMNM said...

Spring in Paris, nice view

Cergie said...

Si l'on veut te trouver lorsqu'il fait beau le dimanche tu es donc au jardin du Ranelagh qui est ton jardin de campagne à toi ?
Cette église St Germain a une histoire intriguante, si je me souviens bien, cela a rapport avec des tombes, tu nous en parleras, j'ai pas le temps de chercher j'ai du monde ce soir à diner et coucher

Je regardais justemt hier des détails en céramique sur le moulin de Boissy l'Aillerie, je me lancerai pas à les photographier, je n'ai pas ta maitrise du détail et au fond, je me contente de les admirer toute seule en passant ou de les faire admirer à ceux qui sont à coté de moi

;o)

claude said...

Merci, heureux papy, pour les détails écrits et visuels de cette magnifique façade. Merci aussi pour les fleurs très colorées de ton park. Cela fait du bien !

Anonymous said...

Concernant l'histoire que cergie voulait raconter, je serai absolument muette comme une tombe. ;-) Que voilà encore de belles photos, décidément les expositions universelles drainent leur lot d'artistes et de compositions toutes plus belles les unes que les autres.
Le printemps n'est pas aussi avancé chez nous et demain il va neiger. C'est déprimant et cela donne envie de faire des confitures. Pour l'histoire des confitures, relire mes différents commentaires de ce matin, c'est mon nouveau trip, faire des confitures.

Bises cher peter!

GMG said...

You're right, Peter. I've seen it and it's true that very few pay attention to that beauty. Actually, very few, except some «sans-abri», pay attention to the small garden! But, strolling between Lipp, Deux Magots, Petit Zinc et La Hune, you should at least once notice it...
Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

Your photographs are nice, Peter. The children especially and the flowers are nice too.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Hi Peter, thanks for your visiting. About Flora, sure, the false "publicity" has its benefit! (LOL). Here where I live in there is no postman, I must to get the mail in the district near 20 km from Enseada Azul. Have a nice week ahead!

Maxime said...

Charles Risler était un architecte parisien qui, à ma connaissance n'a rien laissé de plus remarquable que ce porche. Il avait aussi réalisé le pavillon du magasin du Printemps, pour la même exposition universelle.
Jules Félix Coutan a réalisé des sculptures allégoriques pour plusieurs monuments de Paris (palais de justice: la Clémence, Opéra Comique: Cariatides, Bibliothèque nationale: la Calligraphie, pont de Bir Hakeim: la Science et le Travail). Une de ses oeuvres monumentales, "les chasseurs d'aigles", est exposée au musée d'Orsay.

Maxime said...

Les chasseurs d'aigles

Anonymous said...

Spring there - our best winter fun month here - sun is shining , snow is sparkling, people are skiing and skating, everybody is satisfied in this part of Finland. We are waiting spring and those your wonderful spring flowers after March, not yet :)
Paloma and Mattias make your life rich and vice versa too, I believe.
You both are lucky to have each other so near.

Peter said...

di.di:
You will soon be here! (Hope that not all the flowers are gone by then.)

sonia:
Thanks, and I wish you a nice week as well!

susupetal:
Spring in Helsinki, early March, you are joking (sorry)!

Peter said...

olivier:
Oui, super! Dommage que je ne participai pas avec Daily Bloggers, samedi dernier!

alice:
Voilà la question à ne pas poser (j'ai bien cadré la photo)!

lyliane:
Lèche-vitrine ou bonne observatrice, il faut choisir !

Peter said...

matritensis:
This year it's March in Paris!

cergie:
Tu m'intrigues avec ton historie sur St.Germain des Prés... maintenant il va falloir que je cherche.

claude:
Le papy te remercie!

Peter said...

delphinium:
Sans les expositions universelles, beaucoup de monuments, ponts et bâtiments ne seraient pas là, à commencer par la Tour Eiffel !
Entretemps, j’ai revisité ton blog. Je vois que fais maintenant la confiture au lieu d’aller au travail ! Pas sérieux ! J’espère que tu vas quand’ même me faire gouter ! (J’ai gouté la confiture de Cergie – bonne - et elle me doit toujours un autre pot.)

Bises chère Delicium!

gmg:
I was sure!!! A great week also to you - not too much job and travelling I hope!

oldmanlincoln:
Thanks, dear old man!

Peter said...

sonia:
Thanks for revisiting! I was certain about the false publicity!
A nice week also to you!

maxime:
Un grand merci!! J'ai cherché sans trouver. Toi, tu as trouvé! Je vais faire un petit addendum à mon poste. Voilà ce que je cherche aussi en bloggant - un échange d'informations!

leenam:
Snow can be fun also and I know that you enjoy the winter together with your grandkids!

Anonymous said...

Don't you dare complain about your spring!! We still have snow, but it's melting today. Alas, more tonight though. I presume it will end one day . . .

Jessica said...

I am in love with ceramic facades. Thank you for opening my eyes to this beauty!

hpy said...

Problèmes de connexion, problèmes de mail, ma semaine commence comme celle de Delphinium!

Signé: l'esclave du boulot.

PS. Tes photos sont bien printanières et les gosses sont aussi beaux que leur pépé, papy, grand'papa, farfar.

Azer Mantessa said...

My interpretation on both Charles Risler and Jules Félix Coutan on the monument is that ... they admire the natural beauty ... I think they like the scenery of fall as the color is brownish and the shape of the architechture is more like trees ... nice blue sky coloring too.

i really admire the way they pattern the whole thing ... it's nice, cool and calm feeling.

very very nice.

Ming the Merciless said...

Paloma & Mattias are adorable. I hope they had a good time in the beautiful weather.

Your new bicycle definitely got a lot of attention. You should show us a photo of you riding it. :-)

Love the flower photos too.

isa said...

Yes, I've been there! What a pleasant surprise it was to find that ceramic wall! And there were some nannies with their "charges" enjoying the garden at the time...

(Les Chasseurs d'Aigles sculpture gives me the shivers ;-))

Olivier said...

Peter, il faut apprendre la patience, si tu trouves tout, que vais je t'apprendre demain ;o))

noushy syah said...

yeyyy!! Soon everything would be so colourful! And a spring-cleaning too..tehehhehe

Lovely pics Peter, Paloma and Mattias surely looked like having a gr8 time.

hahhaha, your new 'toy' captured women's attention as well..or they were hinting for the owner!lolz..

Shammickite said...

That ceramic facade is quite beautiful, I am surprised that it isn't more well known. Your spring flowers are making me envious, Paris in the spring must be gorgeous. We are still knee-deep in snow here... but today it is melting a little bit. Hooray!

Shammickite said...

That ceramic facade is quite beautiful, I am surprised that it isn't more well known. Your spring flowers are making me envious, Paris in the spring must be gorgeous. We are still knee-deep in snow here... but today it is melting a little bit. Hooray!

Peter said...

ruth:
Don't worry, I'm not complaining (and feel a little bit sorry for you - and in the meantime, you show us some beautiful winter pictures).

jessica:
I know you love art in general, well demonstratd on your blog!

hpy:
Je ne veux pas deux filles malheureuses, une suffit!

Peter said...

azer:
Yes, it's nice, isn't it?

ming:
It's an electrically driven bike, I must wear a helmet... you will not see me!

isabella:
So, you were there too and saw it! Congratulations! You could have met gmg!

Peter said...

olivier:
Je sais, je sais...! :-)

noushy:
My "toy" captured a woman's attention... sounds interesting! (False alarm!)

ex-shammickite:
I wish you a nice melting!

Kate said...

I am always impressed by your scholarly research that accompanies your photos. Although I always admire your pictures, I'm delighted whenever you add the photos of your grandkids.

Emilieee said...

The artwork of ceramic facade is simply fascinating! Lovely flower shots you've got! And I think Paloma has become skinnier! she should eat more. ;)

Mona said...

ah! spring time in Paris! & all the beautiful flowers show so many colors of springtime! :)

Everything is beautiful here, Paloma, Mattias. your garden & your electronic bike :) :)

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Anonymous said...

I really like when people are expressing their opinion and thought. So I like the way you are writing

doingkeywordresearch said...

Great pictures specially the facade of the building. The intricate detail of the tiles and the figurines.