We’ve enjoyed attending our twice-monthly Découverte de la
France (Discovering France) classes at AVF since we first came to Lyon. Andrée-Anne, our very able maîtresse, has
been a wonderful guide as we learn about various regions, architectural and
design styles, history, geography, and culture in France. This month we have been discussing Art
Nouveau and, to a lesser extent, Art Deco.
Art Nouveau is a special favorite of David’s so we tend to
notice it in our explorations around
 |
| In the entry hall to side of building |
France.
(Very simplistically, Art Nouveau was in vogue from about 1890 to 1910
or so and incorporates asymmetrical designs using elements of nature and
flowing lines –in the US, Tiffany is a good example.) It was a very popular
design form for furniture, buildings, stairways, stained glass windows, lamps,
vases, etc. We often walk past a
building near the Prefecture with some beautiful Art Nouveau windows as these
photos show.
 |
| Lovely gates to the main entry. |
 |
Stained glass door seen
through the front gates. |
 |
| Front of Salle de Rameau |
 |
| School building and gate. |
During our last class we walked around Lyon with Andrée-Anne
pointing out Art Nouveau features on various buildings. Two buildings across the street from each
other are particularly interesting. The
first building, Salle de Rameau, was built as a concert hall in 1907-1908 and
has lovely mosaic designs and ornamentation on the exterior. The second building was built as a school for girls and has a very impressive gate as well as mosaics and other ornamentation.
Our favorite example is also one of our favorite restaurants,
Brasserie des Brotteaux, which celebrated its 100th birthday last
year. And, that’s where our class
gathered today for coffee. Very
civilized way to learn about France – don’t you agree?
 |
| Exterior of Brasserie des Brotteaux |
 |
| One view of the interior of the restaurant. |
No comments:
Post a Comment