Art and death in Paris

After breakfast in the Bar du Marché we went for a walk to make the most of the less hot morning hours. We walked down ‘our' Street, the Rue de Seine, past all the interesting galleries (most still closed) and other photogenic details.

We crossed over the wonderful Pont des Arts, stopping for some photos of course.

The Louvre

Would you believe that despite (I think) nine visits to Paris, I have never yet been in the Louvre?! Somehow there always seem to be other more interesting things to do, and I’m put off by the crowds when the other galleries are so much easier to visit. Maybe one day … Today however, our focus was on the architecture and the many visitors thronging its courtyards, so we spent some time here taking lots of photos.

La Bourse de Commerce

As it started to get hot we walked north along the Rue du Louvre to the Bourse, which we planned to visit. But as it doesn’t open till 11.00 there was time for refreshments at a lovely nearby cafe, Les Deux Ecus.

La Bourse is the one-time stock exchange building (and formerly a corn exchange) which has now been converted to a modern art gallery. Whatever your interest in contemporary art, the building itself is worth a visit.

The art starts outside, with the striking ‘Horse and Rider’ statue by Charles Ray. A sign explained that this was originally part of a solo exhibition by that artist in 2022. His aim in this piece was to reference classical equestrian statues but with none of their notions of power and virility. Instead he portrays himself hunched over the horse and without reins. He says that he tried to sculpt his nervousness.

Inside we found that we enjoyed quite a few, but not all, of the artists featured in the galleries. Some of the abstract works by Tacita Dean and Frank Bowling appealed to me, as did Robert Gober’s Waterfall, a video presented inside a man’s jacket! The leaflet said of the latter, ‘The viewer, a captive of this device, becomes a character in turn.’ No, I didn’t quite get that, until I photographed a man studying the video!

And I loved the building, especially the frieze around the central dome. This is described in a sign on the wall as a ‘marouflage canvas’. That was a new term to me so I turned to Wikipedia:

Marouflage is a technique for affixing a painted canvas (intended as a mural) to a wall, using an adhesive that hardens as it dries, such as plaster or cement.

The sign goes on to explain that the mural is in four parts, reflecting the power balance at the time. Russia and America have their own sections, while Europe is paired with the Ottoman Empire and in the fourth section Asia and Africa are grouped together, the targets of conquest and colonialisation. Racial stereotypes abound, such as the graciously welcoming Japanese women and the warrior-like Africans. Putting modern sensibilities aside, it’s an incredible work of art.

I was also intrigued by the double helix staircase which as well as being beautiful presented great photo opps.

By the time we left the Bourse it was well after midday. So we returned to Les Deux Ecus to round off the morning with lunch. I had a delicious Salade Niçoise with seared tuna.

Eglise de Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois

Then we walked back toward the river to visit the Eglise de Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois. This was built in the 13th century, with major alterations in the 15th and 16th centuries. During the 17th and 18th centuries it was the parish church for the residents of the Louvre Palace opposite. What I took to be a separate campanile for the church actually belongs to the Hotel de Ville next door!

The ornate carvings around the porch and door caught my eye. Most date from the 15th century. The church’s website describes those around the door:

The arches of the central portal
In the centre: Judas in the bosom of Abraham and seven angels; three souls placed in the infernal boiler are tormented by two demons.
Second arch: the Wise Virgins and the Foolish Virgins
Third arch: Twelve Apostles

The statues of the central portal
On the left: the founders of the church: King Childebert, Queen Ultrogothe and deacon Vincent.
On the right: Saint Germain of Paris, Saint Geneviève and an Angel carrying a torch.
In the centre: Virgin and Child. It replaces the statue of Saint Germain of Auxerre, removed in the 18th century and placed today in the Chapel of the Virgin.

Inside I mainly photographed the beautiful stained glass, mainly from the 19th century as most of the medieval and Renaissance stained glass was destroyed during the Revolution and in the 1831 riots.

My eye was also caught by a triptych, hard to photograph as it was behind glass, but I managed to capture some details. Wikipedia tells me that this was ‘made in about 1515 in Antwerp, near the end of the Middle Ages, when Flanders was at its artistic height. The carved sculpture represents scenes from the Old and New Testament, full of figures from all ranks of society, from kings and nobles to soldiers and peasants in traditional Flemish costume.’

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Although it was so hot, we wanted to fit as much as possible into this last day so we took the Metro to Pere Lachaise as neither of us had ever visited the famous cemetery and we hoped it might be cool and shady. Well, it was shady in parts but nevertheless very hot, so we only explored part, including the graves of Colette, Chopin, Hausmann, Abelard and Héloïse and of course Jim Morrison.

Here's a selection of the photos I took, some of the famous graves and others simply ones I liked or general views:

But Oscar Wilde would have to wait for another day as I was wilting badly. Instead we caught the Metro back and finished our outing with ice creams in our new favourite spot for such treats!

In the evening we had (expensive!) drinks at the Bar Napoleon near Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and then ate at Au 35 in the rue Jacob. I’d thought about booking it for our anniversary but decided on the fancier Ze Kitchen Galarie. However this proved almost as good and with the plus that we could choose from the menu rather than having to take a tasting menu. I had a very good duck terrine and chicken pastilla, although it was a shame both came with the same dressed salad leaves rather than the ‘summer vegetables’ promised with the latter, and I enjoyed the deconstructed lemon meringue pie I had for dessert although was jealous of Chris's even better cherry tiramisu!