Temporary hiatus

Hi everyone,

We're on the road in the middle western United States and will soon be settled in Maine for the summer. I'll have plenty of time to start uploading the hundreds of photos and stories from the Paris cemeteries, so stay tuned!

Ciao,

Steve

Last walk through Pere Lachaise and last goodbyes

The bust of Rene Piavit not missing after all. Apparently the conservation at Pere Lachaise has instituted a policy of removing any unstable bust for safekeeping until they can be returned to the gravesite and affixed to the pedestal. A pretty good policy we'd say.

And speaking of missing busts the police have reportedly recovered most of the busts stolen from a number of Parisian cemeteries over the past several months. That's the good news; the bad news is that not all the recovered busts can be identified! It's always something!

I met up with Marie yesterday (Saturday) afternoon for a last stroll through the cemetery and to track down a couple of gravesites that have since eluded me: Preault in 49, Castiglione in 85 and Fresnel in 14. Marie found Preault for me and together we found Castiglione but Fresnel still remains that one elusive grave. . .

While waiting for Marie I caught sight of five young women just outside the cemetery entrance, four with devil horns on and one dressed like an angel with wings and halo; I have no idea what was going on here but they seemed very lively, happy and just out being goofy and enjoying life.

Not a bad way to go through life. And what better place than outside a cemetery to promote such a worldview, eh?

As Marie and I chatted and strolled through the cemetery I said let's swing through divisions 13 and 19 so that I could pay my respects to two of my favorite women: ballonist Sophie Blanchard (div. 13) and Moulin Rouge dancer Jane Avril (div. 19). (Photo top of Lautrec's poster of Jane.)

More than a century before there were barnstormers flying their biplane aircraft over county fairs in the United States, showing off their daredevil acrobatic skills, there were people in France doing pretty much the same thing but with balloons. In 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American Dr. John Jeffries were the first to cross the English in a ballown (they almost didn't make it). After Jean-Pierre died in a ballloning accident in 1809 his widow Sophie carried on the family tradition, becoming one of the first women aeronauts. During one show in 1819 her balloon caught fire from the fireworks and although sghe landed successfully on a nearby house, she was blown off the roof by a gust of wind and killed. Sophie was buried in division 13 of Pere Lachaise. (Photos left and below)


Jane Avril was one of the best known and in her day one of the most famous dancers at the Moulin Rouge in Montmartre as well as a number of other caberet shows. Jane replaced the incomparable Louse Weber (La Goulue) at the Moulin Rouge and became a sensation. She died in 1943 in a seniors' home in near poverty in 1943, largely unforgotten.

After we left the cemetery Marie and I met up with Philippe at a nearby cafe for coffee and later they took me next door to the 20th Arrondissement's Maire (city hall) across the street where the once-every-two-years' festival of associations was underway. Every organization, society and association in the arrondissement was out in force trying to persuade people to take a peek at what they had to offer the public and to consider joining. Naturally the Friends of Pere Lachaise had a booth as well.



It was a wonderful afternoon and a grand way to spend my last tour in Pere Lachaise. I will miss Marie, Philippe and of course the quiet streets of Pere Lachaise.

Wish I was there,

Steve

Gentilly cemetery

Marion from New York writes and asks if anyone has information on the burial location for her great-grandfather Michel Klos (or Klaus) and his family who lived just across the street from St. Saturnin church on rue Frileuse (then rue Charles Frerot) in the 19th century and are most likely buried in Gentilly cemetery.

If you have any information drop me a line and I'll pass it along --

Thanks!

Steve

Missing again in Pere Lachaise div. 89

Well it's back to the same old story: another bust has turned up missing. This time it's Rene Piavit in division 89, close to the massive sculpture over Oscar Wilde's burial place:

Thieves caught!

Well I just heard from Marie this morning and she received an email from Pere Lachaise saying that the thieves had been caught. The "theft ring" was a mother, son and daughter, who were apparently trying to sell the stolen busts and medallions at some of the, shall we say less-inquisitive antique dealers in Paris. marie said that details so far are sketchy but that thery recovered quite a few busts including Bizet.

The good news that the string of thefts of wonderful works of art has been brought to a halt, at least for the time being (we hope).

The question now is what will the city do about protecting all the busts in the cemetery in the future? Certainly one alternative would be to increase foot patrols of police and the cemetery wardens. Another, more effective but certainly more costly option would be to take one of the existing buildings in division 83 for example, presently used for administrative purposes, and turn it into an exhibition hall.

Steve

Another missing bust in Pere Lachaise

Back in early January Marie informed me that the bust of French sculptor Eugene Delaplanche (1836-1891) was missing from division 96, and sure enough I noticed it myself this Saturday (3 March):




Steve

Almost spring in Pere Lachaise

It's said that more than a million and a half people visit Pere Lachaise each year. If that's true they must have all been in the cemetery yesterday because it was packed with tourists of every shape, size, color, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and nationality.

What a beautiful day it was in Paris, very much like spring with temps reaching the low 60s. The day began slightly cool but by midday had warmed up and when the sun came out it was actually quite warm, almost uncomfortably so in a lightweight jacket.

And so what better day to be out strolling in one of the world's most fantastic sculpture gardens.

One of my favorites (out of a couple a hundred I suppose) can be found in division 94, just a couple of meters from the final resting place of Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. You really can't miss General Andranik Ozanian, one of the heroes of Armenian liberation, rearing hup on hir horse ready to charge into battle. (He also has another statue in a square named after him in Meudon, a suburb southwest of Paris.) General Andranik fought against the Ottoman Turks in Armenia and Bulgaria and also attempted to prevent the Turks from invading eastern Aremnia in 1918-1919. As know of course he was not successful and in 1919 he disbanded his army and along with a band of loyal soldiers left Armenia to go into exile rather than live under Turkish rule. He eventually settled in Fresno, California where he died in 1927. His body was brought to Paris and interred in Pere Lachaise, but was returned to Armenia in 2000, so today the statue is simply a memorial to one of Armenia's freedom fighters. (photo above and below: General Andranik's statue in division 94.)

I'm nearly finished videotaping in Pere Lachaise and have now started to turn my attention more and more to taping the people who come here.

But of course I'm not the first to tape the spectators (as opposed to the spectacle). In fact, just last year a documentary was released in Europe and the US interviewing some of the people who come to visit Pere Lachaise. The film is called Forever, put together by Heddy Honigman, is in French and English, and was released by Cobos Films, a Dutch production company. It received very good reviews and sounds fascinating -- now it's just a matter of finding a copy.

Ciao,

Steve

It was a beautiful day the day after Valentine's Day (lots of days there, eh?) and what better thing to do than go out to Pere Lachaise and spend a little time strolling and videotaping and visiting Edith Piaf:

Passy, Vaugirard and Grenelle complete

I've completed my return passes through these threee somewhat off-the-beaten path gardens of stone: Passy, Vaugirard and Grenelle cemeteries.

There is very little to recommend a stop at Grenelle in the 15th arrondissement, except for the Henri Schmid sculpture. This is, I think, one of the sweetest pieces of artwork to be found out-of-doors in Paris; it takes on even great power and poignancy in such a small cemetery. (174 rue St. Charles. Metro: Lourmel.)


Also off the beaten path is Vaugirard where you can find the very moving "Soldiers'" lot, a field of simple crosses against the backdrop of hi-rise apartment buildings. While most tourists go to Les Invalides to see Napoleon's tomb or those of the great and near-great martial heroes of France, it is at Vaugirard that you will find the burials of quite a few of the soldiers who died at Les Invalides hospital, many from wounds during the First World War. Also worth a stop is the compelling sculpture highlighting the grave of Antony Cottes, a remarkable bit of art which reminiscent of the Pieta, but with a martial twist. (320 rue Lecourbe. Metro: Lourmel or Convention.)


I also wanted to go back to Passy, to see the view of the Eiffel tower once more, to pay my respects to Pearl White again, and look for the now missing Cierplikowski sculpture, a piece of very dramatic art that was well-documented in past years but has apparently been removed, along with the grave as well. (2 rue Commandant-Schloessing. Metro: Trocadero.)

Good news in the continuing Pere Lachaise "missing bust" saga: both Valentin and Lucipia are in the hands of the conservation, apparently for safekeeping. Of course, I have no idea what "safekeeping" means, but presumably taken away from public display; for how long is anyone's guess.

More missing busts?

Marie informed me last night that she thinks another four are missing:

BOUYER Louis-Charles (D35), bronze bust by A. Boucher
GRELOT Félix (D76), bronze bust
SAUTEREAU Jean (D68), bronze bust by Serres
WION-PIGALLE Emélie-Narcisse (D68), bronze bust by Anfrie

I can't confirm this, however, and in fact I have no photos of any of these, which leads me to believe they were taken sometime before the fall of 2006. (And Marie even said she thought Sautereau had been missing for some time.) But I'm not certain since I didn't even begin my second pass through Pere Lachaise until mid-October and it wasn't until later in the year that I started my videotaping.

But it was a fine day to be in the cemetery Saturday.

Lucipia missing in division 89

I just returned this afternoon from a gorgeous day in Pere Lachaise -- I have finished videotaping through division 92 thank you very much.

Anyway, bad news again: Louis Lucipia's bust is missing in division 89.

Before:


After:

Theft confirmed in Pere Lachaise

Well it appears that Valentin's bust in division 2 of Pere-Lachaise was indeed stolen. Au revoir!

Rain today and predicted for tomorrow as well so it doesn't appear right now (6;44 a.m.) that I'll be going out to Pere-Lachaise for any videotaping. Of course this being Paris and since we are on the cusp of global warming (thanks Detroit!) you just never know what to expect from the weather an hour from now.

Steve

I've finished Montmartre

Well I finished my second pass through Montmartre cemetery yesterday.

My goal ever since we arrived in Paris last August was to make a thorough sweep through each of the cemeteries in Paris to photodocument their funerary sculpture, and then pass through a second time later in the year when the foliage all came off the trees.

And it was a gorgeous day for taking photos -- at least in Montmartre before the rain hit later in the afetrnoon -- so off I went.

And along the way I stumbled across the little gem (that's it up there). It's a simple, sweet stone marking the final resting place of one Louise Weber, known locally as "La Goulué", who was the creator of the French Can Can!

Now all I have remaining is to videotape the last seven divisions at Pere-Lachaise. I'm also hoping to tape Marie and Philippe talking about Paris cemeteries once or twice more before we leave the end of March. They are unbelievable repositories of information and the stories they can tell. . . .

Speaking of Marie she was out at Pere-Lachaise yesterday and discovered that the bust of Valentin in division 2 is missing. We have yet to ascertain whether it is theft or another one removed by the conservation for safekeeping.

Paris cemetery good news and bad

The good news first.

I'm informed that Brandin's bust in division 91 of Pere Lachaise has been removed by the conservation for safekeeping; unfortunately Lemaitre's bust in division 28 of Montmartre was solen sometime in late 2006.

It's still unclear to me why these thefts have happened. One theory is to melt down the bronze (the busts and medallions are all bronze apparently), and of course I suppose there might be a market for these things somewhere -- but where?

Questions I imagine the Paris police are asking right about now.

Thefts continue in Paris cemeteries

Well we’ve found more missing artwork in Paris cemeteries.

It appears that a large medallion on the Michenaud family headstone in division 89 of Pere Lachaise is gone – it was there last August at any rate. (see photo right.)

Also missing in division 91 in Pere Lachaise is the bust of a serene Louis-Philippe Brandin, and Lemaitre’s striking pose is gone from division 28 in Montmartre. (see photos below: Lemaitre top and Brandin below.)

You would think there’s a sign outside each of the cemeteries in Paris that says, “Hey c’mon in, spend the night and steal something on your way out,” like they have become a sort of “stop n shop” for funerary artwork.

Souday not missing

Well good news for a change! The bust of French literary critic Paul Souday is not in fact missing from divisiom 85 in Pere Lachaise. I reported recently that it is gone, which it is, but apparently the cemetery staff removed it for safekeeping, something about it being unstable on its pedestal.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I returned to Montmartre and am now up to division 27. One more trip there and I should be done with my second pass through that cemetery.

Steve

Missing busts in Pere Lachaise

pWell another bust is gone, undoubtedly stolen like the other nine or so that have been discovered missing from Pere Lachaise since November.

The bust of French literary critic Paul Souday in division 85 is gone as you can see from the "before" photograph shot last fall and the image just taken today, Sunday January 28, 2007.

Montparnasse finished (almost)

Saturday afternoon I finished my "second" pass through Montparnasse cemetery in Paris. At this point I will probably only have to return there to pick up any last-minute images. Now all I need do is finish Montmartre and of course turn back to the videotaping of Pere-Lachaise. And pick up a few images from Vaugirard and Grenelle and return to Passy to check one grave and then . . . I'll be finished with one of the Big three!

Montmartre

Monday was a gorgeous day in Paris and what better way to spend an afternoon than in Montmartre cemetery.

I picked up the no. 10 Metro at Jussieu, changed to the no. 13 at Duroc and got off at Place de Clichy, barely three minutes's walk to the cemetery entrance. There were few other people in the cemetery so it was, of course, quiet and peaceful as I turned my attention to continuing my second round of photographing the cemetery. (photo: Cecille Firman, div. 13 in Montmartre.)

My goals this winter are to finish a second pass through Montmartre and Montparnasse cemeteries and to finish videotaping Pere Lachaise, all division-by-division.

When I first started photographing in the cemeteries in Paris, or rather the Big Three (Pere Lachaise, Montmartre and Montparnasse) it was summer and I concluded that I wanted to return after the foliage was off the trees and bushes to rephotograph everything. Then I added the additional objective of videotaping each of the 97 divisions in Pere Lachaise as well.

Right now I have finished up through division 20 in Montmartre (out of 33), through division 22 in Montparnasse (out of 30) and through division 82 in Pere Lachaise.

Anyway, it is a perfect time to be photographing here. The temps can be a bit on the cool side (well OK it can be downright chilly in fact) but with the leaves off the trees taking photographs can be much less of a challenge. And you can just see more.

More missing busts

Well the total number of solen artwork from Pere Lachaise cemetery has reached at least nine that we know of. One of them, Louis Thomas in div. 73/74 was not only stolen, but whoever took it apparently must have used a sledge hammer since there is a large chunk missing off the back of the pedestal as well. (photos, Louis Thomas before and after.)




There is now an effort underway here in Paris to begin putting together a database of funerary artwork in the Parisian cemeteries. There are some very serious folks here determined to catalogue what they can before it is too late. It is presently not known exactly how many pieces of art are in fact in the cemeteries, but from what I can tell it must run into the hundreds. . . .

And we are not talking about factory-produced items out of a catalogue, but one-of-a-kind sculptures, designed, and executed by some of the great names in the city: Millet, Vigneron, Cartellier, Etex, Barrias, Bartholomé, David d'Anger, Dubois, Bartholdi, Clesinger.