Le Style Guimard - Images d'Art Nouveau

Bouche du Métro; la Louvre

Louis la Vache introduced you to Art Nouveau designer Hector Guimard in the post about the Paris Métro. Then Louis went into more detail about Guimard's life and career. Today Louis gives you a photo essay of Guimard's work. His designs help define the Paris we love.
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"Reptilian eyes glare from twin cobra heads of tangled iron. The mysterious creature, half-plant, half-animal, crouches in wait as if to devour unsuspecting prey...."



"....Its legs are organic sculptures of sinuous green stalks, which sprout from the pavement like wild vines...."



"....Its body, protected by a gray-green exoskeleton, is a conglomeration of endless seaweed ribbons, delicate ferns, stems and buds, paws, claws, praying-mantis heads, bones, knight’s helmets, hearts, organs, fallopian tubes,...."



"....bulbous Venus flytrap protrusions and delicate translucent fins...."

"....A flourish of calligraphy on what appears to be a signboard reveals its identity as a gateway to the underworld...."
- Whitney Barton
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Details of railings, Métro; above and below

Entry gate; Castel Béranger Balcony; Castel Béranger
Building detail; Castel Béranger
Doorway; Stained glass; Castel Béranger
Skylight and ceiling lamps; Castel Béranger Guimard-designed house; Hermanville-sur-Mer