The 2017 edition of my Père-Lachaise Guide is now available

The 2017 edition of my Guide to the Art in Père-Lachaise is now available.

You can find it right here.

If you have an older edition I'll send you the new edition free of charge -- just tear off the cover and send it to:

Paris Cemeteries
PO Box 150044
Grand Rapids, Michigan
49515
USA

 Be sure to include your mailing address, si vous plait! Oh, and the map I created to go along with the guide has also been updated and you can find it online right here.

Le Declin lost and found

Sculpted by Clément Leopold Steiner, and once located in what was called Square Père-Lachaise, now Square Samuel de Champlain, overlooking Avenue Gambetta, this touching, and somewhat melancholic statue was removed many years ago. 

The good news is that Adam Roberts of the Invisible Paris blog has tracked down the story behind the statue and what became of it.

 Located not far from where Paul Moreau-Vauthier's Memorial to the Victims of Revolution now stands.

Paris Morgue

Below is an illustration c. 1845 of the famous (certainly notorious) Paris morgue. Once located near Notre Dame on the Isle de la Cite, the morgue opened in 1860 as a place where friends and families could come and identify the bodies of their loved ones. After it expanded in 1864 into a larger building it quickly became quite the tourist attraction by the end of the 19th century.

Want to learn more about the morgue or to read a contemporary account (published in the Harvard Crimson in 1885?

Sarah Bernhardt D44 in Père-lachaise

Two undated photos from Paris archives depicting a gathering of local notables to honor  the life of internationally acclaimed actress and artist, Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), followed by a present view (note the plaque is gone).

View from Mont-Louis

Before it became Père-Lachaise the cemetery was called Mont-Louis, for a long time a retreat for Jesuits.

Here's a print dated c. 1750 showing a very unique view of Paris from the top of the eastern hills. The house in the left of the photo is about where the chapel is today; the large cluster of trees that dominate the photo corresponds roughly to division 53. (Thanks Marie for forwarding the link1)

Two puzzles solved!

Thanks to Marie Beleyme, we now have answers to our two sculpture puzzles.

The large relief, dated 1829, in D39 is the grave of Cappon/Capron/Carron, the spelling is unclear at this point.

(all photos from Pierre-Yves Beaudoin, wikimedia)

In D6 the eroded stone with the relief of an eagle on both sides is in fact part of the original monument to the Memorial to the Victims of June, which is located close by. As you can see from the monument itself it, too, has the same eagle relief and you can now make out the words liberte ordre public.

The puzzle and its answer:

Two puzzles in Père-Lachaise Cemetery

OK, up front there are way more than just two puzzles to be found in those 107 hilltop acres on the east side of Paris. As some of you know, I've been working on identifying and locating all the artwork in Père-lachaise and right now I'm trying to identify two very specific and rather dramatic reliefs.

The first one is in D6, along the same line as the bust of Lapommeraye, and not far off of Chemin Lebrun. It's a unique stone with very same relief on both sides of the monument but aside from the word ordre there is no identifying inscription (as you can see one side is much eroded).

The second relief sits in D39 just along Avenue des Acacias where it becomes Avenue Transversale No. 1, close to the Turpin mausoleum and just up from Chemin Suchet.

(photos by Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, wikimedia)

Elisa Mercoeur D17 Père-Lachaise

Elisa Mercoeur's (1809-1835)  monument has been completely overhauled is as good as new -- right down to carving her poem la cimetière. (Thanks Marie for forwarding the new image.)

The way it looked . . .

. . .  and the way it is now:

Oh, and this was the monument c. 1840:

Claire Leris de Latude Madame Clairon division 20 Père-Lachaise

Philippe Le Royer - postcard

Croce--Spinell and Sivel - postcard

Beuce - postcard

Calvaire Cemetery - open today!

Today, All Saints Day, is one of the three days a year that the oldest cemetery in Paris is open to the public. (The other is Heritage Days, the 3rd weekend of September.)

Located adjacent to Saint Pierre church and just steps away from Sacre Coeur and Place du Tertre this space is a slice of Paris history just waiting to be enjoyed.

Opened in 1688, the tiny Calvaire is not only the oldest cemetery in Paris but undoubtedly the smallest as well. It’s 600 square meters holds some 85 graves. The cemetery was officially closed in 1831 when it was replaced by Saint-Vincent Cemetery.

One notable thing to be seen any time of year is the superb bronze door at the entrance created in 1980 by Italian sculptor Tommaso Gismondi.

Directions
Make your way to the Butte Montmartre — from Sacre Coeur walk around Rue Azais to Rue du Mont Cenis and the cemetery and church Saint-Pierre is on your right. Or, from Place du Tertre take Rue Norvins to Rue Mont Cenis, turn right and the cemetery is on your left.

Entrance
One entrance on the north side of the small square in front of the ancient church of Saint-Pierre.

Facilities
None.

Guidemap

Barriere - postcard

Crespin - postcard - update 10/27/2016

Located in division 36 of Père-Lachaise.

Vallesteros - postcard

Henry Meilhac - postcard

Leon Noel - postcard

Chopin - postcard

Eastern Cemetery in Lille, France

Brasseur

Vermeulen-Dumouin

Saint-Venant

Doyenette

Quesnay

Doutrelon

Brack-Desourreaux

Assoignion-Maton

Maurice Planque

Druez

Willot

Paul Assoignion

Fernand Chapelle

Riquier-Delaunay

Wary

Manso

Hoyet

Decottignies

Jules Maertens

Francois

Sylvere Verhulst

Mulie

Darcq

Faidherbe

Lorthois-Heuze

Ghesquiere

Verlack

Gruson

Delebart Mallet

Deblock

Bonduel

Delestraint

Gibout