Today we take you to a few of the streets that are just off the Parc Monceau. I first discovered the Rue Fortuny five years ago just by chance. I love to just wander down streets taking time to see what I can find and this street had me saying “oh my” over and over again.
The streets of Paris are covered with plaques and other little markers that give you a hint to its past and just enough of a clue to send me down a rabbit hole of discovery. The Rue Fortuny is just such a street. Let’s take a little walk.
Named after Mariano Fortuny i Marsal, a Spanish painter who lived near here for two years in 1868. The area surrounding the lovely Parc Monceau began to be laid out in 1848 and became a popular place with the elite looking to build new homes. The streets we walk on today were once the property of artist Louis Godefroy Jadin who once lived here and painted many of the walls and ceilings of the Palais des Tuileries. In 1861 the Pereire brothers then owned the land and started to build grand mansions for everyone from the Rothschilds to the Camondo’s.
Rue Fortuny
No 2 was once the home of Edmond Rostand who wrote Cyrano de Bergerac and lived here from 1891 - 1897. He died in 1918 of the Spanish Flu but his works live on and are adapted every year. Composer and organist August Chapuis who counted the Eglise Notre Dame des Champs and Saint Roch as his own ateliers lived and died here on December 6, 1933.
No 8 built in 1882 by architect Alfred Boland in Troubadour - Gothic style for Emilie Streich. Notice the amazing sculptures in the niches of the facade.
No 9 with its ceramics and terracotta frieze was built in 1891 for Benjamin Morel by architect Paul-Adrien Gouny, The sculptures are by Jules Paul Loebnitz. The loggia is so magical.
No 12 built the next year in 1892 for Madame Huguet de Chataux by Henri Grandpierre
No 13 an architect that built many in the area, Paul-Casimir Fouquiau in 1879 designed this Hotel Particulier for artist Paul Payson. Payson was a landscape artist that concentrated on the rural landscape often dotted with farm animals. Later filmmaker and author Marcel Pagnol who was prolific in the 1930s to 1950s lived here for a short period.
No 15, another by Fouquiau who is well known for his brick facade buildings, In the Belleville neighborhood you can find countless identical houses he designed.
No 17, architect Charles-Edouard Weyland designed this home for Louis Herbette who served as the Prefect of the Loire-Atlantique from 1879-1882. The Renaissance- Louis XV-style building was also the location where the Black September group bombed the Jewish Agency that was located here on January 9, 1973, in protest of Golda Meir in Paris.
No 19 Jean Brisson designed the building and brothers Joseph and Jules Chéret created the amazing carvings and ironwork. French politician Arsène Picard served in Parliament for just one year.
No 27 with its defining stripe facade was built in 1878. The Hotel Englebert by Adolphe Viel was built for Spanish actress and courtesan Carolina “La Belle” Otero. Otero arrived in Paris in 1889 during the Universal Exhibition and quickly met Joseph Olier, owner of the Moulin Rouge, and began to perform on stage. Her performances took her to the Folies Bergère and onto the US, Russia, and Europe. With the stage often comes the life of a courtesan and she was one of the most popular of the Belle Epoque. As the biggest rival of Liane de Pougy (listen to the story of her life in the podcast episode we did last year). Known as the Sirène de suicide due to the fact that many men killed themselves or died in duels because they couldn’t be with her.
Next door at no 29 was also built by Adolphe Viel for Genevieve Lantelme who was also an actress and courtesan. At 14 years old her mother sent her off to work at a brothel in Paris where she met important men like Henry Poidatz who owned Le Matin. Poidatz introduced her to Alphonse Franck who owned the Theatre du Gymnase and gave her the introduction to the stage. At the Paris Conservatory, she studied acting which gave her more opportunities in Paris. Her unique style captured the attention of everyone and her image graced the covers of the papers and magazines of the time, especially in her large hats.
In 1906 she began an affair with Alfred Edwards who was the original owner of Le Matin but his 4th wife Misia Serves wasn’t as thrilled. Misia, the “Queen of Paris” followed Genevieve around Paris and tried to emulate her style and hats. The tale even inspired Marcel Proust in Remembrance and became the story of Robert de Saint-Loup, Gilberte Swann, and Rachel.
Genevieve became wife number five on July 5, 1909, and on July 24, 1911, the couple went on a cruise down the Rhine that didn’t end well. That night after a bit too much champagne she opened the window to get some air and sit on the ledge. The boat lunged a bit and she fell into the Rhine. Two days later her body was discovered. She was immortalized in one of the amazing paintings by Boldini,
At no 35 the amazing Sarah Bernhardt lived in this Nicolas-Félix Escalier built in 1876. She had the best of the best to paint the walls, and ceilings and add glass roofs. Sadly she had to sell it in 1885 but it is still part of her amazing story, complete with two stone rats playing on the edge.
Across the street at no 42, Alfred Boland built for glassmaker Joseph-Albert Ponsin who also designed the glass ceiling for Sarah Bernhardt. Notice the lovely caryatids up above.
Around the corner on the Avenue de Villiers is a lovely little museum. The Musée Jean-Jaques Henner is housed in the former home and studio of artist Guillaume Dubufe. In 1921 the niece of Henner purchased the home with the intent of making it a museum, sixteen years after his death. Henner is known for his paintings of women with red hair with an ethereal look to them. It is rarely busy and you can explore one floor after another in the world of Henner. Open Wednesday - Monday 11 am - 6 pm, 6€
At no 42-44 is a set of buildings that will surely catch your eye. Built-in 1800 by Lucien Magne who had once studied under Viollet le Duc, The Gothic Revival structures are joined with an arched portico. Behind the arch and the buildings is the start of a building site that has become quite the lightning rod for the area.
Just a few steps away is the green space of the Place du Général Catroux with a few statues you may not want to miss including the Dumas family.
Alexandre Dumas by Gustave Doré inaugurated November 4, 1883. His most famous character, D’Artagnan sits on the rear of the base, and on the front three ladies read one of his well-known pieces.
Across the street is a monument to his son, Alexandre Dumas Fils by Rene de Saint-Marceaux placed here in 1906. The allegories looking up towards him represent Pain, Resignation, and Youth. Dumas junior lived just a few steps away at no 98,
The newest statue in Paris is in the Jardin Solitude which was renamed and added on May 10, 2022. Solitude is named after the Guadeloupe slave who died in 1802. Rosalie was her real name and was raped by a white sailor when she was taken to the West Indies as a slave. 1802 was the year that Napoleon reinstated slavery and she of course opposed but did what few could do, she stood up against it. The Didier Audrat sculpture shows her very pregnant and running through the streets holding up a rolled parchment. She is also the first statue of a black historical woman in Paris,
Nearby is a set of two huge chains that are dedicated to General Thomas Alexandre Dumas. “Fers” replaces an earlier monument to Dumas that the Vichy government melted down.
Heading toward the big beautiful building ahead, look below and spot the stone monument to Sarah Bernhardt. Depicted in her role of Phèdre by Francois-Leon Sicard.
Now for this amazing building just past Sarah. The Hotel Gaillard was built in 1884 by Jules Férrier. It may look much older but the Neo-Renaissance building was inspired by the chateaux of the Loire and specifically Blois where Marie de Medici was once held as a prisoner by her son. Émile Gaillard had a very large collection of Medieval and Renaissance art and needed something larger to hold it. Férrier created the perfect building that also reflected the owner's love for the period. Gaillard died in 1902 and the structure was sold and the contents up for auction. Eventually, in 1919 the Banque de France purchased it and it was the fanciest bank branch for almost 100 years.
In 2011 the Banque de France announced that the building would become the Cité de l’Economie and after an extensive renovation it finally opened in 2019. It may not sound so exciting but it is amazing and really interesting and few people are ever there. Just to get a glimpse of the inside is worth it. Check it out next time you are in Paris and of course the nearby Parc Monceau.
