Saint Germain, the well-known arrondissement on the left bank is one of the most popular in Paris to visit and to live in. The history and beauty are endless and extend past the gate of the Jardin du Luxembourg. In the last couple of weeks on the La Vie Creative - Paris History Avec a Hemingway podcast we have shared just a fraction of the best statues in the garden, this week we head south a bit.
Starting outside the beautiful Eglise Val de Grace. The Abbey was first built by Anne of Austria in the 17th century for Marguerite de Vény d’Arbouze. The first stone was placed 398 years ago on July 3, 1624, At the time Anne of Austria was desperate to get pregnant and give the king an heir so she spent most of her time having abbeys and churches built. She made a promise that if God blessed her with a child that she would build a church at the abbey.
On April 1, 1645, when Louis XIV was just 7 years old the first stone was laid, fulfilling her promise.
Francois Mansart was first asked to design the Latin cross-shaped church in the Baroque style but wasn’t able to complete it Jacques Lemercier took over the project. Lemercier also designed the Palais Royal and the Chapel of the Sorbonne and the Pavillon d’Horloge of the Louvre.
Inside the church which is rarely open to the public except for the Patrimoine weekend in September are an amazing canopy and high altar that was designed by Gabriel le Duc with its twisted columns and the nativity by Michel Anguier. If you get a chance, make sure to visit!
Anne of Austria had the Sainte Anne chapel installed to the left of the altar to hold over 40 of the hearts of the kings and queens of France. During the Revolution, Louis Francois-Petit Radel took advantage of the pillage at the time and took many of the hearts, and sold them to a paint crusher. Mummy brown was one of the most sought-after colors and was created from mummified remains. The painting Interieur d’une Cuisine by Martin Drolling can be found in the Louvre on the 2nd floor of the Sully wine in salle 938. I have looked closely and have not seen any pieces of the former queen in the painting.
Rue de Val de Grace
No 6 Alfons Mucha lived, don’t miss looking through the door.
No 7 & 9, Guillaime Fouae a 19th-century artist lived here at the end of his life. The garden is lovely through the door
Avenue de l’Observatoire
No 15 Sculptor Antonin Mercié lived and died here in 1916. He designed the Genius of the Arts on the Denon wing of the Louvre on the Pavillon Lesdiquières in 1877.
No 1, one of the most stunning buildings, was built on the corner in 1923 by Henri Delormé. The facade includes lion and elephant heads, corbelled windows, and even mascarons that age as you rise through each floor. At the lower level they are babies, then teens, adults, and middle-aged mascarons at the top.
Rue Auguste Comte, named for the French philosopher and runs between the lower and upper Jardin du Luxembourg.
Statue to President Gaston Monnerville who served from December 8, 1958, to October 2, 1968.
No 2 was Built in 1895 for the Colonial school opened from 1899-1934 and now is the National School of Administration. The Moorish architectural details are amazing.
No 4-6 Faculty of the Pharmacy dates back to 1629
No 8 Institut d’Art et d’Archéologie built in 1925 by Architect Paul Bigot and funded by Marie-Louis Arconati-Visconti. She was married to Gianmart Arconti-Visconti who died 3 years after they were married and she inherited his vast fortune. She loved art and had a vast collection of over 300 pieces she donated to the Louvre but also gave 2 to 3 million Francs to have this building created. She died before it was finished but the rest of her estate was given to the University of Paris which continued to fund building projects for the university.
Paul Bigot used a combination of Internationalism and Art Deco style in concrete and red brick from Vitry-sur-Seine. Look closely at the frieze that runs around the building, The terracotta designs include some of the famous pieces that are studied there. The gargoyles of Metapontum, Ludovisi’s throne, and Cantoria of Luca della Robbia. They were created by the famous house of Sèvres. The doors incorporate Roman lattice and medieval quatrefoil.
Rue Michelet, named for historian Jules Michelet.
No 4 Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz lived. She was the niece of Charles de Gaulle and a resistance fighter and leader. Arrested on the Rue Bonaparte in 1943 she was deported to Ravensbrucj on February 3, 1944. Because of her uncle, she was used as a bargaining chip and was somewhat protected. She survived and was liberated on April 25, 1945.
Married Bernard Anthonioz who was working for the newly formed Ministry of Culture but still worked tirelessly for the survivors and those that perished under the Nazis and later those that suffered through poverty. On February 15, 2002, she died here in her apartment, and on February 21, 2015, Francois Hollande announced they were moving her remains to the Pantheon. Her family refused to allow her body to be moved from its grave in the Bossey cemetery and on May 27, 2015 dirt from her grave was symbolically interred in the Pantheon.
Rue d’Assas named for the Captain under Louis XV, Louis d’Assas
No 100 the Musée Zadkine was created in the former home and atelier of Russian artist Ossip Zadkine. Arriving in Paris in 1910 he and his wife moved to this location in 1928. The first cubist sculpturist served in the Foreign Legion during WWI but was later dismissed when he was charged with using potatoes as projectiles when intended for food. After his death in 1967, the home was given to the city of Paris by his wife in 1978 and opened in 1982. His pieces can be found around Paris in the Jardin du Luxembourg and Place Saint Germain des Prés.
No 82 & 84, today the building is modern but in the 19th & 20th centuries it was the home of a few great artists that may be mostly forgotten, In 1879 Sculptor Jean Gautherin lived here, he is the man behind the statue of Diderot that looms over the Boulevard Saint Germain.
From 1906-1930 Martha Stettler and Alice Dannenberg were two artists that also created the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere just a few streets away that is still there today. Zadkine, Bourdelle, and Léger were all a part of this historic school. Martha and Alice painted many lovely scenes of the Jardin du Luxembourg
Also in this spot was the former home of Auguste Bartholdi who lived and died here on October 4, 1904.
Into the Jardin du Luxembourg on the southwest corner and to visit an old friend. Liberty Lighting the World, aka Statue of Liberty has stood in the Jardin du Luxembourg since 1905. Originally placed inside the Musée du Luxembourg it was moved to the garden near the museum in 1905. The original statue that was here is now in the Musée d’Orsay.
Triumph de Silene by Jules Dulou is always a statue that catches your attention. The drunken Silenus, related to the god of wine Dionysys, is often seen surrounded by satyrs and they are trying to hoist him onto a donkey. It was placed in the garden in 1897
Rue Guynemer runs along the western edge of the park and is a mix of 19th century and more contemporary buildings but at the start of the street have two you want to take a look at. At no 2 the 1914 building designed by Louis Périn is gorgeous even if the Germans took over many of the apartments during the Occupation.
No 4 next to it was built in 1893 by Germain Cahn-Bousson and is now owned by the Vatican Francois Mitterand once lived there.
However, it is the one on the opposite corner at no 58 Rue de Vaugirard that I love. The door is a stunner and above it has a balcony with a statue of Zeus that at times moves from one corner to the other, F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald once lived here and just a few blocks from Hemingway where he gave strict orders not to tell anyone where he lived. Hem and Zelda had a strong dislike for each other and he thought they were drunk too much.
Along the Rue Bonaparte is the Allée Seminaire Jean Jacques Olier which in the spring is under a canopy of wisteria. The Fontaine de la Paix that is here started its life in the Marché Saint Germain to the Place Saint Sulpice nearby and moved here in 1937.
Just across the street is the bronze Andres Lapis statue of the woman under the hat in front of the Hungarian Institute.