Through visits to Cimitieres de Montmartre, Montparnasse and Pere Lachaise...a veritable jaunt through history, archaeology and architecture. It's a constant reminder of surreality when one looks around and sees the names and feels the presence of those who but slumber in the Earth's bosom.
Cimitieres Montmartre, in particular, is keenly juxtaposed in an urban context. There is a steel bridge that runs atop of the actual site conveying cars and pedestrians alike--the closest connector between Paris, il cite, and the cemetery that I've seen yet.
At Pere Lachaise, access to a large swath of its Eastern wall has been cut off by residential and commercial buildings that abut the very wall itself. Nary a site-line comes into view across the cemetery wall without seeing the drying laundry of a Pariesien hanging from a window above the wall...or viewing the actual wall through the lens of a glass partition--the window of a furniture store. So close...yet so far...Parisien furniture store owners don't like photographers in their store.
These are very impressive pictures and very unusual sculptures. It is suprising that the graves are like full human scale houses.
ReplyDelete-Mama
I agree, you have some interesting examples of architecture with these mausoleums. I hope you don't get all emo hanging out in cemeteries all day!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Good point.
ReplyDeleteApparently hanging out in cemetaries also makes some people think that they are famous.That was exactly what some women told Lin the other day when she was sketching Oscar Wilde's grave...