Hector Guimard

Posted by
Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 13 February 2009 in Architecture and Portfolio.

This surprised me, but according to Wikipedia this is the last example left of one of Hector Guimard's famous enclosed art nouveau metro entrances. I was sure I'd seen another one up by Montmartre.

This one is 'Porte Dauphine' by the way.

Although I really like Wiki I've caught them out once before now with an innacurate statement on architectural subjects so it wouldn't surprise me.

NIKON D40 1/50 second F/5.6 ISO 200 15 mm (35mm equiv.)

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Comments (25)

Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom

I've caught Wiki out in the past too but on the whole it's a great informative site. I think this metro entrance is absolutely fantastic. Great shot.

13 Feb 2009 8:11am

Marie LC from Voiron, France

Excellent. Tu photographie magnifiquement notre belle capitale.

13 Feb 2009 9:58am

k@ from Paris, France

There are many left in Paris of this kind, more that 100 stations he designed (Abbesses, Barbès, and so many more you can still see), I love Hector Guimard's work...

13 Feb 2009 10:40am

GJC from Kyoto, Japan

So very graceful. And I'm glad to see K say that there are still many left. They are wonderful. YOu capture their elegance well here from a compelling angle.

13 Feb 2009 11:28am

Momo from Montpellier, France

don't you just love this stuff?...cool the way you framed this and the glass softening the trees, mysterious almost...

hey Ian, you probably know of this guys work but I just discovered him yesterday in a magazine called Reponses Photos...Jean-Michel Berts...has books out on Paris, New York, Tokyo...I'm gonna have to see if any are available here...still shoots film, 4x5 view camera, a Sinar Norma...never heard of that before...ok, just wanted to make note, his cityscapes are really beautiful...

kind regards...

13 Feb 2009 12:59pm

missparis from PARIS, France

Un NB vraiment impeccable. BRAVO

13 Feb 2009 1:15pm

IanSmith from London, United Kingdom

Nicely captured Ian... I'm also a fan of his work, and this period.

13 Feb 2009 1:50pm

613photo from Dallas, United States

I've never been in France but I've seen several of these in photographs in different locations. Yeah, the wikipedia may be wrong, but it could be corrected any moment. Often I'll use it as a cursory source but never, ever reference it in any research. It's just a jumping off point.

Anyway, great photo. Hopefully you got some detail shots, too.

13 Feb 2009 1:58pm

hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong

Wonderful classic image, Ian! The framing is simple yet so powerful and effective...

13 Feb 2009 3:18pm

WABIKOJA from Shiga, Japan

Really a beautiful b&w picture, great tonal range and rich blacks!

13 Feb 2009 3:19pm

Anna.C from LA ROCHELLE, France

j'adore ce style rétro ! on peut en effet en voir d'autres vers Montmartre, mais elles ne sont peut être pas authentiques... je ne sais pas! superbe cadrage et BW !

13 Feb 2009 3:58pm

TILALA from Bordeaux, France

J'ai vécu plus de 20 ans à Paris, mais je crois ne jamais avoir vu cette magnifique bouche de métro ! En tout cas pas sous cet angle !

13 Feb 2009 6:13pm

Mirko Herzner from Mühlheim am Main, Germany

A classic shot, Ian. Thanks for showing such piece of transportation history.

13 Feb 2009 7:33pm

Sof from Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Superbe.. j'aime beaucoup

13 Feb 2009 8:16pm

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

I just love this. A quiet scene before the crowds...the design of this is just fantastic.

13 Feb 2009 9:20pm

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

Cool finding and capture of this spectacular entrance.

14 Feb 2009 12:20am

Michael Paulison from United States

Well, this is fancy! A really great shot of a wonderful piece of art. Nery nice!

14 Feb 2009 2:40am

[suvni:R] from Brussels, Belgium

art nouveau + b/w. Can't get much better than that... :-)

15 Feb 2009 6:43pm

Virgil from Richmond, United States

I like this one.....but......for some reason I would feel a little hesitant about walking down the stairs. ;-)

15 Feb 2009 8:58pm

Betsy Barron from Chester Springs, PA, United States

a classic shot - beautifully done

16 Feb 2009 8:10pm

drum from carcavelos, Portugal

great compo
very good b&w photo with great contrast

16 Feb 2009 9:42pm

Robert Kruh from Slovenia

Great central composition with beautiful tress in background! Great work :)

16 Feb 2009 10:35pm

Patrick from Louveciennes, France

Superbe.

17 Feb 2009 11:55am

drphoto from Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Wow, what a great find! I hope there are more about. Great capture too - it looks like the entrance to an elaborate dungeon.

Dan

17 Feb 2009 7:08pm

TonyLeTourner from United Kingdom

The one in Montmartre is at Abbesses station on Line 12 but was originally at Hotel de Ville station on line 1. It is out of place as Line 12 was built by Nord-Sud rather than CMP.

15 Feb 2010 5:34pm

@TonyLeTourner: Thanks for that Tony!

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NIKON D40
1/50 second
F/5.6
ISO 200
15 mm (35mm equiv.)

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