After our three-hour walking tour of the Golden Triangle, it was time to board another bus for the short trip to the nearby suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. There, Congress attendees received exclusive access to the Musée des Années 30. The visit concluded with a reception at the elegant Hôtel de Ville. 

Musée des Années Trente (Museum of the 1930s)

Created by Alexandre Chemetoff and Marc Mimram and prominently featured at the entrance of the museum is a resin and concrete replica (1998) of an Arbre Cubist (Cubist Tree).

Twin designers Jan and Jöel Martel (1896-1966) created the four original reinforced concrete Arbre Cubist for the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Situated in Mallet-Stevens Garden, they towered over fifteen feet high. The “trunk” has a cruciform shape supporting angular panels attached to suggest foliage. More so a curiosity, the Martel trees were not popular with either guests nor the press.

Ushed into the auditorium upon arrival at the museum, Remi de Raphélis, director of the museum, greeted the attendees.

Following the opening remarks was a presentation about the genesis of the museum and how the 1930s proved to be a prosperous time for Boulogne-Billancourt.

Divided into three groups at the conclusion of the presentation, the original plan called for each team of attendees to spend approximately 25-30 minutes on different floors  before switching to the next. This did not work and we swarmed the museum.  Although  currently under renovation, the fourth floor was opened and some of the exhibits temporarily reinstalled just for us!

Fourth Floor:

The fourth floor contained beautiful, for the most part, high-end furnishings for the home. Featured are designers Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Pierre Petit, Jean Prouvé and Jules Leleu, and more.

Perhaps the most “interesting” item on display is this marble statue, The Balance. Landscape designer Jules Vachero (1862-1925) and architect André Charles Rioussé (1895-?) designed this as the central fountain figure for a garden situated between the Collector’s Pavilion and the Mulhouse Pavilion of the Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts.

Third Floor:

A maquette is usually a smaller, three dimensional model.  An artist generally uses these to test and refine their vision for a larger work and also allows the artist to present their vision to a client of a commissioned piece of art. As you will see below, this is not always the case.

Landowski created this maquette, The Phantom, symbolizing the suffering of mankind plunged into war. Constructed on the exact site of a failed German attack, the monument located in Marne, France, depicts seven soldiers rising from the trenches. And in their midst, a naked youth – the martyred hero.

Sculptor Raymond Delamarre and architect Michel Roux-Spitz won the 1925 Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez. Serene Intelligence (holding the torch) and  Severe Force (guardian of the destinies of the country) commemorate the successful defense by the British, Egyptian, French and Italian allied forces repelling attack by the Turkish army. Created the same year as the actual monument’s dedication in 1930 are the maquette named Strength and Intelligence shown below.

The bas relief maquettes pictured below are for decorative elements on a war memorial in Vernou sur-Brenne in Touraine.

Artist Ernest Morenon craved the wooden maquette (below left) of the Alma Gate.  Scaled up and installed for the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris, the pilaster is a beautiful example of Art Deco.

Shown above right is the maquette of Sarrabezolles’ Le Génie de la Mer. It was created as a study for a larger version intended to be installed near the stern of the S.S. Normandie. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately, given the liner’s ultimate fate—the sculpture’s considerable weight, combined with vibrations from the ship’s propellers, prevented its installation on board.

Unveiled at the 1937 Paris International Exposition, the full-scale statue was relocated to the Gare Maritime in Le Havre following the close of the World’s Fair.

Second Floor:

The second floor displays a variety of Art Deco works in different mediums. This period embraced the exotic, whether painting, mosaic or sculpture.

Though never completed, Landowski planned the panels below to decorate and celebrate the human history in a secular temple.

A finished version made of ivory is on the left.  Compare this to the larger maquette of patinaed plaster on the right.

First Floor:

The museums’ collection contains over one thousand sculptures representing a diverse range of artists. Featured on the first floor are examples of their “Monumental Art” collection.

A fragment of the bas relief l’Apollon Musagète (below left) from the Théâtre du Palais de Chaillot, Artist Évariste Jonchère designed this for the 1937 International Exhibition.

Though classically trained, some artists would experiment with various styles. such as Neo-Classics, Neo-Modernism, Cubism, etc.. Their goal? To simplify content and form; a huge change moving away from often used classical themes to individual representations, often, but not always, the female nude.

Art became architecturally sculptural using clean lines and geometric shapes. And artists experimented with new materials such as reinforced concrete.

And if you want to take a piece of art home with you, copies of the Arbre Cubist (Cubist Tree) are available in the gift shop.

This piece of equipment is on display on the lower level. Anthony knows it well.

Taking a last look at the Arbre Cubist (Cubist Tree) in evening light as we leave Musée des Années Trente.

Hôtel de Ville Boulogne-Billancourt Town Hall

Right after our tour of the museum we went next door to the Boulogne-Billancourt Town Hall for the evening reception. Opening in 1934, the town hall is the design of architect Tony Garnier (1869 – 1948) and Jacques Debat-Ponsan (1882 – 1942). In the 1920s, André Morizet, mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt, wanted to consolidate the municipal facilities in the heart of the city. Built on the site of a former quarry construction began in 1931 and completed three years later. The building’s layout consists of two reinforced concrete rectangular blocks, with the rear section taller and wider than the front.

All the above construction photographs come from boulognebillancourt.com

When entering, don’t forget to look down. This is quite the “Welcome” mat! The design is the town crest celebrating their connection to trade and the Seine.

The grand staircase has changed little since 1934. Pictures do not do justice to the broad and elegant sweep that invites visitors up from the lobby and into the reception area above.

The lobby houses a small exhibition space as well.

The main reception area greets guest at the top of the staircase. Art deco furniture creates small pockets of comfort for party-weary guests.

An impressive meeting room with towering ceilings greets guests.  Though the room is quite large, we quickly filled the space.

 

Several food stations with temptingly delicious food surrounded the perimeter: Wine and cheese with fruit, an array of sandwich-like hors d’oeuvres, and decedent desserts.

Right next to the reception hall was what appeared to be a courtroom. They were kind enough to leave it open for us, so we could take a few photos.

We hope you enjoyed coming along with us for today’s adventures. Please join again in our next post and our last day of the congress.

Chris & Anthony, (The Freakin’ ‘Tiquing Guys)

Sources

Online

boulognebillancourt.com

earlofcruise.blogspot.com

knowltondl.osu.edu

Written

17th World Congress on Art Deco© Program