These photos were taken this past July during my European buying trip for the shop. I had been to Paris before but I had not been to one of the most famous cemeteries in the world, Père Lachaise, located in the 20e arrondissement. Considering Halloween is just a few weeks away I thought this would be an ideal time to share these images. It was a perfectly lovely day to spend in the cemetery; dark, gloomy, and very dreary most of the time. The right atmosphere for the incredible visual overload that an exceptional cemetery can provide. Click on images to enlarge.
The cemetery was established by Napoleon in 1804. It was named after Père François de la Chaise (1624-1709), who was confessor to Louis XIV.
Père Lachaise also known as the “East Cemetery” is the largest in the city of Paris at 118.6 acres.
There are more than 70,000 19thc. monuments and over 300,000 bodies buried in the cemetery, not counting those that have been cremated.
Père Lachaise is home to many famous Europeans and several Americans, such as Gertrude Stein buried with Alice B. Tolkas as well as Jim Morrison. The tomb in the photograph above, belongs to French romantic painter Théodore Gericault (1791-1824). The top of the stone has a life-sized bronze sculpture of the artist with his palette and brush, while the front of the stone has a bronze panel depicting one of Gericault’s most famous paintings titled: “The raft of the Medusa.”
I have great memories of exploring small town rural cemeteries growing up in southern Missouri. I have always been fascinated by the infinite variety of monuments as well as the intricate ironwork in the fences, usually surrounding the family plots. There were also the beautiful cast iron urns planted with flowers and either wire or cast iron benches located in many of these Midwestern cemeteries.
This Tomb has an amazing cast iron door with a bat at the top of its arch.
On top of this tomb is a carved stone sarcophagus resting on a base with winged skulls on the corners and in the middle of those are young maiden heads with butterfly wings.
Powerfully simple message in this stone carving with exquisite details.
Shrouded “three graces” relief carved stone panel.
I had read that cats liked to hang out in the cemetery however, there were more cats than I had expected. Legend has it that the flowers that always appear on the tomb of the French novelist, Collette, are replenished by the cats who live in Père Lachaise.
This monument exemplifies the level of skill in the stone-cutters art of the late 19thc in France. Click on images to enlarge.
Note the two broken strings on the harp.
The floral bouquet on the stone monument is handmade glazed pottery, forever blooming.
This hauntingly simple sarcophagus has bronze arms extending from its stone top.
I think this monument speaks for itself… quiet and bold.
Lovely relief carving of birds with swags of bounty.
Cast iron panel with a grieving female face sporting a banner with the Latin phrase: “requiescat in pace”, which translates “may he rest in peace.”
Wrought-iron emblem of “time” flying past us, painted a great French blue, complete with cobwebs.
Egyptian motifs combined with an iron door panel containing a bat at its top.
This rather architecturally simple stone tomb had Chinese porcelain foo dogs from the early 20thc. used as finials, with a yin and yang symbol placed between them. The motto above the entrance states: “It does not have anything to do with anything” in gold gilt letters.
This mausoleum was entirely made out of zinc and copper and dates from the late 19thc.
Cast iron Gothic door panel with the stained glass window from the back wall showing through.
The color and surface of these doors makes for a great visual.
The stained glass window in the back of the mausoleum echos the shape of the cross on the doors.
Beautiful stained glass window seen through a tomb door. Click on images to enlarge.
Documenting the variety of mausoleum doors found throughout the cemetery would make an interesting collection of images.
This is the window behind the cast iron ivy leaves in the previous photo. Fragmented and broken the stain-glass still conveys a great deal of emotion.
This larger than life-sized figure was carved out of marble with the rest of the monument built out of limestone. The contrast is very effective.
This monument has a folk art quality to it, sensitive and a bit naive. It stands in stark contrast to the more classically conceived stones.
In contrast to its neighbors this is a wonderfully contemporary monument in chromed steel.
Adding to the atmosphere of the cemetery were the ubiquitous black crows watching over us. Ravens or Crows traditionally representing the world beyond the grave fit right in amongst the burial plots.
I am going to end this post with my favorite stone carving that I photographed on the trip. This early 19thc relief carved panel very clearly describes the journey from this world to the next, and not in a very cheerful way I might add. Père Lachaise cemetery is said to be visited by hundreds of thousands of people annually. I only made it through one small section but I can’t wait to explore other nooks and crannies on future trips. Paris is a city that is always calling you back to it. Click on images to enlarge.
Tags: cemeteries, monuments, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, r ege antiques, St. Louis, stone carvings
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