|
Arthur
Gillette takes us now to a stroll in an area I evoked already in my reviews of the 16th arrondissement. But he is a professional, and I'm only an amateur, learning a lot from his enormous experience and knowledge. That's why Arthur and me invite you to this series about " "Architecture with a smile", the Parisian Art Nouveau.
From where did Art Nouveau take its inspiration? Difficult to define in one word. Roughly it was a heady cocktail of often contradictory ingredients, a large spectrum coming from:
Nature---notice the asymmetrical swoops and swirls-but often lean and not overabundant (as nature can be). "Throw away the flower but keep the tendril", urged the famous Belgian Art Nouveau Pope, Victor Horta.
The Past---Art Nouveau architecture is not deprived of medieval/gothic reminiscences.
Elsewhere--- Art Nouveau was strongly enriched by Japanese aesthetics and inter actions with North and Latin America and Africa.
The Future--- (Art Nouveau means "New art") is clearly visible with such far-sighted innovations as the use of new materials like visible steel, often glazed-brick, previously regarded as "vulgar", bound to be hidden.
Populism---The main novelty of this art was that art should not stay confined in an effete ivory tower, it should become a mass product. In Paris, various public structures such as the original metro entrances, department stores, theatres, newspaper headquarters and even a synagogue were built in the style. Despite very object was designed with a craftsman's loving care, Art Nouveau products like furniture, lamps, vases, tableware and many more were industrially mass produced and sold via catalogue.
This stroll will be, unfortunately, confined by looking to architecture from the street. We cannot burst into private homes, can't we? Just imagine the artistry that sometimes has been saved to grace interiors until today. On the other side, since Art Nouveau examples in Paris are so overwhelmingly numerous, the stroll will focus on the district where art Nouveau is most prevalent: the 16th arrondissement. And here also, we will be compelled to choice and selectivity, since more than 400 buildings are catalogued. But Arthur has studied it very well and traced out a tour that would not shrink below a certain quantitative threshold.
So this will be in fact two sub-strolls, which can be made on the same day separated by lunch (see my restaurant recommendations in the 16th or an Art Nouveau café suggested later).
Or you do it in two different half-days, if the "noodle style" of Mr.Hector Guimard turns out to be a bit indigestible.
Despite a lot of architects today, journalists and other critics, point a finger of derision at the oddity of "noodle creations n Art Nouveau cocktail had its own bubbling whimsy, which set it apart from all the other architectural schools of the previous centuries. As the "London Economist" puts it, it can be "downright fun".
For the start of the first part of the stroll, see my next article in this
series.
If you want the illustrated brochure of all strolls mail to
Armedv@aol.com
Bibliography (Architecture with a smile, Parisian Art Nouveau, stroll no. 9, by Arthur Gillette, publ.
Media-Cartes)
|
