Misplaced Pages

#707292

47-698: In 1871 Charles Garnier (architect) left Paris and the building site of the Opera which was blocked due to the war with Prussia and the Paris Commune . The family moved to Menton hometown of his wife, Louise Bary and, visiting the surroundings, they discover Bordighera. Back in May 1871 Garnier chose a plot near the Arziglia, where to build his villa. Unfortunately, the land was already occupied by an old chapel dedicated to St. Sebastian, but which had been desecrated since serving as

94-566: A Turkish bath. Garnier's works represent a Neo-Baroque-inspired style, popular during the Beaux-Arts period in France. He was influenced by the Italianate styles of Renaissance artisans such as Palladio , Sansovino , and Michelangelo , perhaps the result of his many visits to Greece and Rome during his lifetime. He was also a pioneer of architectural beauty as well as function; his opera was built on

141-405: A bathroom and two small additional rooms. The study was on the top floor with an area of seven by five meters. A large central fireplace and a beamed ceiling gave warmth to the room and two large windows illuminated the study, allowing you to admire the sea and the fishermen's bay, called Arziglia. Adjacent to the study there were a restroom and the toilet. The villa had an adjoining garden, graced by

188-591: A bout of tuberculosis he suffered in the following year, 1894. On account of Christian's poor health, the Garnier family decided to spend almost all that year in Bordighera , where they owned a villa, Villa Garnier , built by Christian's father in 1871. Christian Garnier showed remarkable perseverance and in 1895, despite his disease, published a book, Traité de Géographie Générale. In 1899, his Méthode de Transcription rationnelle générale des Noms géographiques ("Method for

235-554: A copy of Nolina longifolia. In the garden you can still see a bust of Charles Garnier by the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and a column from the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Charles Garnier (architect) Jean-Louis Charles Garnier ( pronounced [ʃaʁl ɡaʁnje] ; 6 November 1825 – 3 August 1898) was a French architect , perhaps best known as the architect of

282-458: A first stroke at 4 o'clock in the morning on 2 August 1898 while at home in Paris, and a second stroke the following evening, dying at 8 o'clock in the evening. He was interred in the Montparnasse cemetery . After his death a public monument (completed in 1902 to designs by Jean-Louis Pascal and crowned with a copy of the bust of Garnier, which had been created by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux in 1869)

329-620: A frail constitution, and a close watch was always kept on him by both parents. Garnier soon proved to have a lively mind. He was admitted to the prestigious Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where his teacher was Stéphane Auguste-Ammann (1844–1921). He was passionate about languages and geography, becoming at age 14 the youngest member of the Paris Société de Géographie . At 21 he enrolled at the School of Civil Engineering ( École de Génie Civil de Paris ), but his projects and his health were severely undermined by

376-522: A framework of metal girders, unprecedented at the time. Aside from being fireproof, steel and iron was much stronger than wood, allowing it to successfully withstand the countless heavy tons of marble and other materials heaped upon it without breaking. In 1872 and 1873 Garnier built a vacation home on the Italian Riviera , the Villa Garnier in Bordighera . He was one of the first to build there after

423-445: A general rational Transcription of geographical Names") was published by Ernest Leroux. Probably Garnier's most notable work, its system of geographical nomenclature is still in use today. In 1897, he published "Charter of the language distribution in the western Alps", which focused on the similarities of spoken dialects straddling different political boundaries. In the same year, he wrote "Catalogus plantarum", in which he catalogued

470-473: A horse-drawn carriage rental business. He married Felicia Colle, daughter of a captain in the French Army. Later in life Garnier would all but ignore the fact that he was born of humble origins, preferring to claim Sarthe as his birthplace. Garnier became an apprentice of Louis-Hippolyte Lebas , and after that a full-time student of the École royale des Beaux-Arts de Paris , beginning during 1842. He obtained

517-524: A monument to Garnier, on the Cape Pineta, on 28 April 1935. The property then passed to the diocese of Ventimiglia and from 1954 to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Aosta. After building the villa, Garnier purchased land and property to expand it. No less than 29 acts of purchase were made. One of the first villas was Villa Negro (1877), located in the eastern part of the garden. The small pavilion, now missing,

SECTION 10

#1732855260708

564-411: A new one for him. First Garnier realized a large water tank that stretched up to Villa Amica. The villa is on three levels, of which the ground floor and the first formed an independent house. On the ground floor there were utility rooms, kitchen, dining room and living room, connected to the upper floor via a ladder reaching directly into the master bedroom. On the first floor there were then two bedrooms,

611-428: A school for boys in the country. The land was located outside the walls of the old town, down to the sea and next to fishermen beach, the famous Arziglia. To get the coveted land, Garnier decided to offer a considerable sum for the time, 6000 lire, which would be used to build a new school, much more modern and large. To facilitate the transaction, Garnier also offered the project for the new school, which included not only

658-592: A self-contained apartment for guests from there you could access to a splendid terrace which gave access to the tower and could admire the sea and the Arziglia. With time, Garnier expanded the villa incorporating land and small houses that were in the vicinity. The villa was finished in 1873, but it was only in January 1875 that the family moved to Bordighera for the winter months. In Bordighera Garnier received many famous guests such as Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier and Gustave Boulanger . Their traces can still be seen today on

705-953: The Cercle de la Librairie, 117 boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris (1878–80); the Hôtel Hachette, 195 boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris (1878–1881); the Panorama Marigny in Paris (1880–82); now the Marigny Theatre ); and his last work, the Magasin (storehouse) de Décors de l'Opéra on the rue Berthier in Paris (1894–95; now the Ateliers Berthier of the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe ). Garnier retired from his private architectural practice in 1896, but continued to serve on juries for architectural competitions and to appear at official functions. He suffered

752-589: The Palais Garnier and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo . Charles Garnier was born Jean-Louis Charles Garnier on 6 November 1825 in Paris, on the Rue Mouffetard , in the present-day 5th arrondissement. His father, Jean André Garnier, 1796–1865, who was originally from Sarthe , a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, had worked as a blacksmith, wheelwright, and coachbuilder before settling down in Paris to work in

799-709: The Paris Salon in 1853. He visited Greece with Edmond About and Constantinople with Théophile Gautier . He worked on the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina where he insisted on polychromy. He was named in 1874 member of the Institut de France in the architecture section of the Académie des Beaux-Arts . On 30 December 1860 the Second Empire of Emperor Napoleon III announced a competition for

846-472: The Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1848 at age twenty-three. The subject of his final examination was titled: "Un conservatoire des arts et métiers, avec galerie d'expositions pour les produits de l'industrie". He became a pensioner of the Académie de France à Rome from 17 January 1849 to 31 December 1853. He traveled through Greece providing him the subject of his fourth year submission, presented at

893-541: The Prix Volney , which was awarded to him posthumously, unanimously, for his main work Méthode de Transcription rationnelle générale des Noms géographiques . He died at the age of 26, on 4 September 1898, a month after his father. He is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery next to his father. In 1898 he received, exceptionally, the Prix Volney posthumously. The motivation of the committee: "This year, alongside

940-602: The Société de Géographie created the Christian Garnier Prize for contributions to the study of geography. Christian Garnier was born in Paris , France, on 24 July 1872, the second son of Charles Garnier and Louise Bary. Christian, nicknamed Nino, was doted upon by his parents. The couple, who married in 1858, had lost their first son Daniel (born 21 March 1862), eight years before, at the age of two years. The young Christian had

987-551: The French army by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan in 1870 resulted in the end of the Second Empire. During the Siege of Paris and the Paris Commune in 1871, the unfinished Opera was used as a warehouse for goods, as well as a military prison. The opera house was finally inaugurated on 5 January 1875. Many of the most prestigious monarchs of Europe attended the opening ceremony, including

SECTION 20

#1732855260708

1034-522: The President of France's new Republic, Marshal MacMahon , the Lord Mayor of London, and King Alfonso XII of Spain . The people who entered the massive building, spanning nearly 119,000 square feet (11,100 m ), were generally awed by its immense size and extensive ornamentation. Claude Debussy described it as resembling a railway station on the outside, and that the interior could easily be mistaken for

1081-771: The arrival of the railroad in 1871 and later contributed various private and public buildings to the town until his death in 1898. Other architectural contributions include the Grand Concert Hall of the Monte Carlo Casino (1876/79–1879, since remodeled as the Opéra de Monte-Carlo ) and the Salle de Jeu Trente-et-Quarante (1880–81), both on the Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo; the Nice Astronomical Observatory (1879–88);

1128-428: The beautiful view. The villa is on three floors which are accessed via a wooden staircase that was commissioned in Paris and that was to cost 1,000 crowns, against the general budget of 75,000. On the ground floor you enter the villa through an arcade now enclosed by windows. The entrance is decorated with frescoes and drawings made by the friends of Garnier. As you enter on the right is the living room, much smaller than

1175-407: The beginning, framed by a beautiful palm grove. The plot of 6000m², was structured in terraces on which exotic plants were cultivated. It is said that at the time there were about 600 different species, including olive trees, figs and lemons. Today the garden has a smaller size, about 2500m², but it has a rich collection: 10 different types of palm , a Dracaena draco and a variety of trees, including

1222-472: The botanical varieties growing in the park at Villa Garnier , and also a very targeted geographic study "Monograph of the Province of Porto Maurizio". His final publication, which appeared a few months before his death, was "The grammar and vocabulary of idioms of Realdo and Bordighera". In addition to writing, Garnier continued participating in numerous scientific conferences throughout Europe. In 1898 he entered

1269-443: The boys section, but also one for girls and a kindergarten. The town accepted this generous offer. The only known preparatory drawing of the house indicates that Garnier had planned Moorish arches for the tower of the villa. This option was not realized, but Moorish style is still present in the structure of the tower, slim and slender as an Arab minaret. Garnier had nicknamed the tower " mon mirador ” (i.e. "my watchtower"), because of

1316-567: The courage to return to the villa Garnier and decided to reside at Villa Amica. Upon her death, Louise left the villa to the Société de Géographie of Paris, including all the vessels, the works of art, books, etc. She also left 200,000 francs for the maintenance of the property, with the condition that the house was not to be sold. Despite this clause, in 1929 the villa was sold to the American art critic John Hemming Fry (1861-1946) who, in admiration, erected

1363-489: The design of a new, state-funded opera house. The old opera house, located on the rue Le Peletier and known as the Salle Le Peletier , had been constructed as a temporary theatre in 1821. Street access to that theatre was greatly constricted; and after an attempted assassination of Napoleon III at the theatre's entrance on 14 January 1858, it was decided to build a new opera house with a separate, more secure entrance for

1410-409: The dining room, where Garnier would entertain his guests. Behind the staircase a door leads to the dining room, particularly spacious and bright. The two rooms were linked by a corridor / porch closed by grates that the owners liked to call the "Lions’ cage” This room, now converted into a chapel, is decorated with a beautiful fresco of the villa and outbuildings then purchased by Garnier, as they were in

1457-486: The director of the Opéra, Alphonse Royer , which the contestants received on 18 April. The new submissions were sent to the jury in the middle of May, and on 29 May Garnier's project was selected for its "rare and superior qualities in the beautiful distribution of the plans, the monumental and characteristic aspect of the facades and sections". Garnier's wife Louise later wrote that the French architect Alphonse de Gisors , who

Villa Garnier - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-483: The extension of the Via Aurelia, a large part of the garden was expropriated and the house was later demolished and rebuilt by the new owner, Maurizio Lega. We do not know the exact date of purchase of Villa Amica but it was already owned by the Garnier family in 1883. The villa, which still exists, is located at 2, Via Garnier. There are no original drawings of the internal structure of the house but you can assume that

1551-460: The famous Bordighera palm trees and a vegetable garden connecting the property with Villa Amica. Upon Garnier's death, the building was rented out and, in 1913, Hemming Fry asked the Garnier widow, Louise, to make some changes. In 1919 villa Studio was inherited by Silvia Giuseppina Busquet, wife of the French editor Charles Fouquet. The gardens are the result of a collaboration between Garnier, his son Christian and Ludwig Winter . The villa was, from

1598-409: The head of state. Applicants were given a month to submit entries. There were two phases to the competition, and Garnier was one of about 170 entrants in the first phase. He was awarded the fifth-place prize and was one of seven finalists selected for the second phase. The second phase required the contestants to revise their original projects and was more rigorous, with a 58-page program, written by

1645-418: The interior layout of the premises was similar to neighboring villas. Unfortunately, the garden was reduced due to an expropriation of about 400 square meters. The villa, which is surely the most beautiful outbuilding purchased by Garnier, became the main residence of the widow Garnier after the death of her husband and beloved son. Louise did not have the courage to continue living at Villa Garnier, then she left

1692-500: The main house intact, as if the whole family had to return there and moved to Villa Amica. In 1919, Louise left the villa to her godson and will executor Armand Girette. The most famous annex was Villa Studio , the only one built from scratch by Garnier. The villa, which is located in via Garnier 22, was built to house the studio of the famous architect. In 1884 the health of his beloved son Christian , had deteriorated and his father decided to give him his studio in villa Granier and make

1739-407: The nineteenth century. On the upper floors there were rooms for the family and guests. The main bedroom had five openings to enjoy the light, and from one of these you had access to the tower. The parental bedroom and that of their son communicated through an open loggia which was then closed to allow Christian to gather his collection of shells, fossils, maps etc. The second floor was designed as

1786-412: The sea. When the villa was sold to the American painter Hemming Fry, the hammam was transformed into a studio. On August 16, 1882 Garnier bought from Richard Domenico, Villa Modesta , located in current via Garnier 42. The villa is on three levels, connected by an external staircase. On the ground floor there was a large kitchen, on the first floor were a living room with fireplace and the dining room, on

1833-414: The second, the three main bedrooms, plus a small room for the servants. In 1900 the Garnier widow enlarged the two upper floors on the west side. Around 1883 Garnier had already bought from Giuseppe Ballauco Villa Minima . The property, which was rebuilt by the new owner, was probably around number 50 of the via Garnier. Garnier called it “Minima” due to its small size. The villa had an inverted L shape and

1880-565: The summer of 1861, though setbacks would delay it for another fourteen years. During the first week of excavation, an underground stream was discovered, rendering the ground too unstable for a foundation. It required eight months for the water to be pumped out, though enough was left in the area which eventually became the fifth cellar for operating the hydraulic stage machinery above. Garnier's double-walled and bitumen-sealed cement and concrete foundation proved strong enough to withstand any possible leakages, and construction continued. The defeat of

1927-465: The thirty-five-year-old and relatively unknown Garnier began work on the building, which eventually would be named for him, the Palais Garnier . Many people had difficulty in deciding exactly what style he was trying to portray. When asked by Empress Eugénie in what style the building was to be done, he is said to have replied: "Why Ma'am, in Napoleon Trois, and you complain!" Construction began in

Villa Garnier - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-522: The walls of the entrance, where you can admire caricatures made by these artists. In the villa you can still see some paintings by Jules Eugène Lenepveu , Alexandre Bida and Georges Clairin which were part of the collection of Garnier. Garnier died in August 1898 in France, followed soon after by his beloved son Christian . His widow continued to come in Bordighera during the winter season, but no longer had

2021-509: Was a French geographer and linguist best known for developing a systematic transcription method for geographical names. At the age of 14, he became the youngest member of the Société de Géographie in Paris. He went on to write several books dealing with select topics of linguistic and geographical interest. Garnier died in 1898 at the age of 26 and was posthumously awarded the Prix Volney . In 1925,

2068-420: Was developed mainly in depth. On the ground floor there were the rooms reserved for the servants. On the first floor, on the south side a lounge with fireplace and the dining room, on the north one the kitchen and the pantry. Upstairs there were three bedrooms and a bathroom. The three levels of the villa communicated through an external staircase covered by a roof probably made of wood. During the railway works and

2115-667: Was erected west of the Rotonde de l'Empereur of the Palais Garnier. The huge ornate granite pedestal was created in Aberdeen by Alexander McDonald & Co . The information concerning Garnier's work on the Italian Riviera is taken from the inventory of Bouvier. Spain Palacio Recreo de las cadenas, Fundación Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestre. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) Christian Garnier Christian Garnier (1872–1898)

2162-413: Was on the jury, had commented to them that Garnier's project was "remarkable in its simplicity, clarity, logic, grandeur, and because of the exterior dispositions which distinguish the plan in three distinct parts—the public spaces, auditorium, and stage ... 'you have greatly improved your project since the first competition; whereas Ginain [the first-place winner in the first phase] has ruined his.'" Soon

2209-447: Was transformed into a hammam on the advice of the family doctor and friend, Dr. Depraz. The small pavilion was enlarged on the south side and, on the north side a small pond was added, only 50 cm deep, to create a pleasant mirror effect. On the ground floor there were a steam bath, a tepidarium, a shower and a staircase leading upstairs. At this level you had the relaxation room, changing rooms and toilets. Two large windows allowed to admire

#707292