Thank You Victor Hugo 🙏

WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT 

THANK YOU Victor Hugo 🙏

To whom I owe my 21-meter Chambre de Bonne 

At #18, l’Île Saint Louis. 

As part of the apartment rental interview process, I was tested on French 🇫🇷 history. (Did I know the architect of the building, etc).

When I saw the 18th century courtyard, 

I said spontaneously,

“It looks like JEAN VAL JEAN (of Les Miserable) climbed over that wall!”

That basically clenched the deal for my little chambre de bonne (maid’s room).

Sunday morning I ran over to MAISON DE VICTOR HUGO to see an exhibit of drawings ✍️ by Victor Hugo.

That’s right, along with being a writing genius of classic books 📚 

Hugo (1802-1885) was an absolute master draftsman of only recently recognized genius. 

The new exhibition features a hundred of Hugo‘s drawings of mysterious medieval buildings, dungeons, 

Castles and lighthouses he was obsessed with.

Hugo’s free inventiveness with materials and imaginative gestures give them a contemporary feel unlike any other artwork of his time.

See more from this video at the Tate in London last year.

As a part of Hugo’s obsession with architecture, of course comes into play Notre Dame. 

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME was originally titled, NOTRE DAME DE PARIS. The 12th century church was in a state of terrible disrepair, about to be demolished. It became the main character in his book 📕 Hugo wanted it saved. His wildly popular book brought Notre Dame to everyone’s attention.

Along comes Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, master, genius restorer of iconic French monuments, like Carcassonne and Saint-Chapelle, Mont Saint Michel, Saint-Denis.

Who better could do justice to Notre Dame than Viollet-le-Duc?

Obsessed with Medieval design, Viollet-le-Duc (2 minutes in French) had a tendency to Medievalize monuments he restored, much to the chagrin of many of his critics.

The renown gargoyles 

And chimera were his Medieval addition to Notre Dame. Who knew? It took Viollet-le-Duc 20-25 years, starting in 1844 and finishing around 1864–1870.

And the recently-rebuilt spire was his addition as well.

There was a small, odd sculpture in the exhibit

Turning Victor Hugo into a kind of gargoyle, with Notre Dame growing out of his head. I don’t know the name of the sculpter.

The MAISON DE VICTOR HUGO is a small, intimate museum with a lovely garden cafe ☕️ at 6, Place du Vosges. 

Visit if you haven’t or go again for the drawings ✍️

Another long, shaggy dog story I’m afraid ☺️