Villa Léandre Road, located in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, sits amidst the bustling hilltop attraction that is Montmartre. Villa Léandre is a relic of the past, as is exemplified by the homey air that its Art Deco style maintains. Renamed in 1936 after the comedian Charles Léandre, the street embodies a bygone era, the Paris of 100 years past. Though Paris and even Montmartre itself have continued to urbanize, Villa Léandre has stayed true to the style of arts décoratifs that originated in France and developed during the 1920’s.
The style of Villa Léandre was once more exemplary of the Montmartre around it, a veritable village some years ago. Indeed, Montmartre was known for its scenic views, vineyards, wineries, small communities, and windmills. Montmartre and Villa Léandre evoked an escape from the city sprawl to something more familiar, more comfortable. Villa Léandre stands as a singular gem maintaining such simultaneous vibrant and sleepy atmospheres, all thanks to the art deco style that characterizes the street.
Art Deco, not to be confused with Art Nouveau, is a French artistic and architectural style that founds its roots in a France fresh off the first World War. It is defined by moderated ornamentation, luxurious materials and craftsmanship, and modern design standards. The brickwork facades and individualized gardens of each house embody the Art Deco style, setting Villa Léandre apart as a representation of the city’s history that has been altogether left behind.
Due to urbanization and modernization, this rich history and these picturesque scenes were lost, replaced by smog and steel, but also by museums and boutiques. While Montmartre has much to offer– the strange cemetery that contains the tomb of famous authors and French figures such as Emile Zola, La Maison Rose, Le Clos de Montmartre which is the one vineyard left within the quartier– there is a certain palpable mystique to the Paris of the past that is preserved within the Villa Léandre Road.
Although the antiquated Art Deco architecture of Villa Léandre embodies some aspects of what one might consider quintessential French style, there is another key aspect of the road that contradicts its French nature. Though Art Deco is French in origin, all the houses lining Villa Léandre are inspired by English themes. Thus, the street is a pastiche of French and English styles, giving it a dual nature. Villa Léandre is at once both French and not French, at the heart of Paris while altogether removed from what Paris has become in the modern day. Villa Léandre occupies a unique place in the French Capital, as it constitutes a rather unknown piece of a Parisian history worth learning.
References
Solosophie. “Villa Léandre: An English-Inspired Art-Deco Street Montmartre.” Solosophie, 2 May 2019, www.solosophie.com/villa-leandre/.
Young, Michelle. “Villa Léandre: An English-Inspired Street in the Heart of Montmartre, Paris.” Untapped New York, 12 July 2013, untappedcities.com/2013/07/12/villa-leandre-english-inspired-street-montmartre-paris/.
“Paris Guide Paristep.” Čeština, www.paristep.com/en/.
“La Villa Léandre, Une Impasse Pittoresque Aux Faux-Airs Britanniques.” Paris ZigZag | Insolite & Secret, www.pariszigzag.fr/balades-excursions/balade-paris/la-villa-leandre-une-impasse-pittoresque-aux-faux-airs-britanniques.
Chriswac. “La Villa Léandre. Montmartre.” Montmartre Secret, Montmartre Secret, 6 Apr. 2017, www.montmartre-secret.com/2017/03/la-villa-leandre.montmartre.html.
Larbordière Jean-Marc. Paris Art déco: L’architecture Des années 20. Massin, 2008.
Today, Nicolas Flamel may be best known as the supposedly immortal philosopher who plays a key role in the Harry Potter franchise. In real life, his house at 51 rue de Montmorency – la maison de Nicolas Flamel – has gained an immortality of its own as the oldest still-standing house in Paris.
Taking its name from the powerful Medici family of Florence, Italy, la fontaine Médicis is a hidden gem nestled in the popular Luxembourg gardens in Paris. Marie de Medici (1575 – 1642), who was the widow of King Henri IV of France, found herself weary of living in the Louvre after her husband’s death. She decided to have her own palace, Palais des Médicis, constructed (~1623 – 30) on the left bank of the Seine. Feeling nostalgic for the style of the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens in her hometown of Florence, she commissioned both her palace and its surrounding gardens to be modeled on this same Italian Renaissance style.
However, much of the original design has been changed or replaced in a number of reconstructions over the years. These include the change in form from grotto to fountain along with other modifications in 1799 by the celebrated Jean Chalgrin (1739 – 1811), architect of the Arc de Triomphe. The most notable changes took place later, between 1864 – 66, when the fountain was moved about 30 meters to its current location in the Luxembourg gardens due to the construction of la rue Médicis. There, the fountain was extensively rebuilt into the version we see today. This final construction was based on the designs of Alphonse de Gisors (1796 – 1861), with sculptures by Auguste Ottin (1811 – 90), and contains a number of decorative elements.
include a central niche featuring Ottin’s statue of Acis holding Galatea, the two lying together under a rock on top of which is perched Polyphemus, ready to launch the stone fated to kill his rival*. The side niches are decorated with a statue of a faun (probably Pan) and a huntress (probably Diana). Because the fountain no longer had a “back” once it was moved to its current location, a large bas-relief by Achille Valois (1785 – 1862), featuring Leda with Jupiter transformed into a swan**, was moved from another salvaged fountain (originally at the intersection of the rue du Regard and the rue de Vaugirard) and placed on the new back wall for the Medici fountain.
You’re strolling on a Sunday afternoon through the 14th arrondissement. As you pass by Pharmacie Didot-Pernety, you make a turn and enter another world. This stretch of plant-adorned, pastel-painted, bicycle-embellished cobblestone is so far from the grime-covered, metro-lined, Seine-smelling city you left behind. You have discovered the paysan within Paris. Welcome to the Rue des Thermopyles.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, a new art movement took the world by storm and situated itself within the prominent visual identity and culture of Europe and the United States. Although the movement originated in England, with artists like William Morris and Walter Crane, the most prominent and utilized title for the artistic era was the French phrase, l’Art Nouveau, literally translating to, “the new style.” Artists and craftsmen came together with the intentions of breaking away from the traditional and academic study of fine art in an attempt to redefine and redistribute art by imbuing everyday objects with beauty. Rather than referencing the classical and mythological subjects and styles of the past, artists looked to the forms found in nature as well as the various subjects and styles of Japanese woodblock prints. Works manifested as fine art with painting and sculpture, graphic art with drawings and prints, and in more uncommon mediums, such as jewelry, glasswork, and ceramics.
In spring 2020, my students and I embarked on an exploration of the City of Lights in our Unlocking Paris class. Each student investigated an aspect of Paris that might not be known to the typical tourist–artistic movements, architecture, and monuments. They then composed blog posts dedicated to their subject, went through peer editing, and finally revisions. Over the next month, I will feature their insightful, lively work on Creative Sanctuary. Our hope is to share beautiful Paris with our readers. I launch the series with my post on Paris’ Covered Passages. 
The joy of the creative process, minute by minute, hour after hour, day by day, is the sublime path to true happiness. –George Lois
Like many of you, I am beginning my sixth week of extreme social distancing. My work life, social life, and family life have all moved online. I am very happy to maintain my connections with students, friends and family. My advanced literature course has turned into a fabulous Zoom book club discussing Zola’s Le Ventre de Paris (The Belly of Paris). And raucous family happy hours (“cocktail hour” as Mom calls it) launch me into each weekend.
Language is evolving as we grasp for ways to express pandemic life. People are not only staying in, but hunkering down and practicing self-isolation. We’re actively engaged in social distancing so we can flatten the curve. Some are suggesting we crush the curve…