Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
METRO ART
No genre is more Parisian than the metro art adorning the 300-plus stations of the
city's world-famous Métropolitain. Art themes often relate to the quartier(neighbour-
hood) or name of the station. Montparnasse Bienvenüe, for example, evokes the cre-
ation of the metro - it was an engineer named Fulgence Bienvenüe (1852-1936) who
oversaw the building of the first 91km from 1886; while Carrefour Pleyel, named in
honour of the 18th-century composer and piano-maker Ignace Joseph Pleyel
(1757-1831), focuses on classical music.
The following is just a sample of the most interesting stations from an artistic per-
spective.
Abb
Abbesses (line 12 metro entrance) The noodle-like pale-green metalwork and glass
canopy of the station entrance is one of the finest examples of the work of Hector
Guimard (1867-1942), the celebrated French art nouveau architect whose signature
style once graced most metro stations. For a complete list of the metro stations that
retain édicules(shrine-like entranceways) designed by Guimard, see
Assemblé
ale (line 12 platform) Gigantic posters of silhouettes in red, white
and blue by artist Jean-Charles Blais (b 1956) represent the MPs currently sitting in
parliament.
Bastille
mblée Na
e Natiionale
ille (line 5 platform) A 180-sq-metre ceramic fresco features scenes taken from
newspaper engravings published during the Revolution, with illustrations of the de-
struction of the infamous prison.
CChauussée d'
e d'Antiin--Lafayette (line 7 platform) Large allegorical painting on the vaulted
ceiling recalls the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) and his role as general in the
American Revolution.
Clun
Cluny--La So
a Sorrbonne (line 10 platform) A large ceramic mosaic replicates the signa-
tures of intellectuals, artists and scientists from the Latin Quarter through history, in-
cluding Molière (1622-73), Rabelais (c 1483-1553) and Robespierre (1758-96).
Concordde (line 12 platform) What look like children's building blocks in white-and-blue
ceramic on the walls of the station are 45,000 tiles that spell out the text of the
Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen(Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen), the document setting forth the principles of the French Revolution.
Pala
e du Louuvre (line 1 metro entrance) The zany entrance on place du
Palais by Jean-Michel Othoniel (b 1964) is composed of two crown-shaped cupolas
alais R
is Royal-Mus
al-Musée du L
