Monday, February 01, 2010

Hector Guimard

I was browsing over at Peter'sParis, while tearing my hair out looking for something to post on this morning.


Peter is the master blogger on Paris architecture. He took me up to Montmartre (enfin) and showed me the highpoints - I have a tiny fear of heights (why I've never been...hmmm)

An expat resident formerly from Sweden, Peter knows Paris better than most Parisiens. Do visit. You'll be enthralled too



Today he was chatting about architect Hector Guimard, art nouveau creator of many Metro stations



Not by Guimard but certainly art nouveauesque non?
Do you know who designed Paris' kiosks?



Or this art nouveau cafe table leg?



Last time in Paris, I had lunch with Peter at Brasserie Flo..
7, cour des Petites Ecuries
(entrée par le 63, rue du Fg Saint Denis)
75010

You can't get more art nouveau than Flo



Even our huitres were art nouveauesque - just look at the organic flowing lines, harmony and continuity



Peter's steak tatare is not so art nouveau in my opinion, but then I don't eat red meat



However my macaron framboise dessert with twirly dollops of whipped cream = the ultimate of art nouveau desserts in my biased opinion



No one has yet requested to be painted in Paris at the Metro?Everyone wants to be painted at Cartiers it seems.
BONJOUR Paris Art Nouveau!

20 comments:

  1. LOL Bien Sûr. :) Chez Cartier SVP
    Love those huîtres...and yes they do have the nouveau- essness going on... miam miam...kindly do not tear hair...you would have to wear chapeaux...hm....berets are kind of macaron shaped now that I think of it...that could work...
    Bno matin, cherie!!

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  2. What education you share and so clever to end with a watercolor. Hector Guimand couldn't have done it better.

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  3. William Ternay, Jr.12:10 PM

    Your post stirred up the Romantic in me this morning, Carol.
    I always felt the flowing lines of Art Nouveau to be very sensual, like the hands of a lover; moving; enveloping. I'm reminded of Klimt, of course, and Beardsley.
    What a way to start the day.
    Bill

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  4. I love your Metro paintings, and this cute one with an accordian player, Carol! Great post! Excellent photos, too!

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  5. I can't tell you how many photos I've taken of those metro entrances. I think they're so beautiful! I suppose if you see them everyday, you'd start to not notice. But not me!
    It's all so lovely.

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  6. I love art nouveau, and you really picked some fabulous photos of it.
    Great post - I love the interior shots of the cafe, too.

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  7. The Metros are amazing over there....something I won't forget.

    I have been to Montmarte..went to the very top of the dome of the Sacre Coeur...:-) it was excellent.

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  8. Morning Carol, (it is in Australia anyway!)
    These pics make me realise what it actually is that I love so much about Paris...especially the metro entrances and the pic of the cafe table etc just stirs something inside, strange isnt it. Is it true you have NOT been to the top of your beloved tour eifel? NON.. Ce n'est pas vrai!
    Cheers to all
    Jill

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  9. I love art nouveau. I really enjoyed your discussion of these places and things. I'd love to visit the Flo - looks cosy!

    -Veronica

    http://mannequin-monoblogue.blogspot.com

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  10. Anonymous4:50 PM

    Uu steak tartare dans un endroit pareil ! Quelle horreur !

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  11. Thanks for these kind references to my blog ... and to our nice lunch! (I saw the comments by "anonymous", but the steak tartare was good!)

    You asked a question about who created the kiosques? I don't know. Have tried to find out. The design, basically always the same and obviously dating from the end of the 19th century, is clearly related to the advertsing columns you find everywhere in Paris, called Morris columns ("colonnes Morris" which were introduced a bit earlier, in the middle of the 19th century) and somehow also to the Wallace water fountains, introduced around 1870. The number of kiosques is again increasing, but most are of course just copies. I don't know if any of the original ones are still around.

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  12. Lovely post - oh the metro stations, what glamour! Takes me right back there.

    jules

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  13. Thanks for the visit, Carol!!
    (No, that is not my painting :) sob....)

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  14. Belinda7:52 PM

    I LOVE your blog and love getting my morning fix.
    Kind regards
    Belinda

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  15. I just noted from one of the photos that you are a slower champagne drinker than I! :-)

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  16. I've added Peter's blog to my favourites - gorgeous photos.

    Ahhhh. Champagne, huitres et Paris. What else can a girl ask for!

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  17. Could it be that nobody wants to be painted standing at the Metro because it is too drafty there? ;-)

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  18. Do people really play accordions on the streets of Paris? I always thought it was a myth.

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  19. After visiting Orsay two weeks ago, I started noticing all the Art Nouveau Metro signs which I just passed by in the past. They really are art works. I love the photo montages on your blog. A bientot. Cynthia in the French Alps

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  20. What a great post, really love this idea!

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