Origin and history
The metro entrance to the Jaurès station, located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, is one of 167 accesses designed by architect Hector Guimard for the Paris network at the very beginning of the 20th century. These works, commissioned in emergency for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, mark the climax of Art Nouveau in France. Guimard, although he did not win the official competition organized by the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (CMP), was entrusted with the project in January 1900 thanks to influential supporters, including that of banker Adrien Bénard or members of the city council. Her creations, mixing iron, cast iron, glass and enamelled lava, break with traditional models deemed too cumbersome or figurative.
Guimard's entrances are divided into two main types: the edicles, covered structures with bold roofs (like model B in the shape of a dragonfly), and the entourages, light balustrades topped with candelabras and carved cast iron signs. Guimard's style, characterized by curved lines inspired by the plant (brins de muguet, leaves, stems), is opposed to critics who see it as a "noodle style" or too fancy aesthetic. Despite their initial success, these entrances were gradually abandoned after 1913, with the CMP favouring more sober models, especially after the fire of the Crowns metro in 1903. Most of the edicles are destroyed in the inter-war period, victims of disaffection for Art Nouveau and the rise of Art Deco.
The Jaurès station, like other Guimard accesses, has enjoyed a renewed interest in this heritage since the 1960s. In 1978, 86 remaining works are listed in the Historic Monuments, including the surrounding area of the station, protected by decree of 12 February 2016. The restorations carried out since the 1990s aim to find the original colours and materials (grey greens, oranges, enamelled lava), while adapting the signs to a modern police inspired by Guimard. Today, these entrances, now icons of the Paris de la Belle Époque, symbolize both the creative audacity of their architect and the challenges of preserving industrial heritage.
Hector Guimard collaborates with exceptional artisans to make his entrances, such as the Fonderie d'art du Val d'Osne for fonts, or Eugene Gillet for enamelled lava panels produced in Saint-Denis. Orange verrines, compared to tears or fruits, and signs with Art Nouveau lettering (reduced to the word "Metropolitan" and then "Metro") become distinctive elements of the Parisian landscape. Despite the conflicts with the CMP, particularly on costs and intellectual property, Guimard imposes a modular and economical style, allowing for serial production. His creations, initially criticized for their exuberance, end up embodying the visual identity of the subway, to the point of being reproduced or exhibited abroad (as in Montreal or New York).
The entrance to the station Jaurès, like that of Porte Dauphine or Abbesses, bears witness to the seed of Guimard. Although most of the edicles have disappeared, the remaining entourages, with their openworked shields and slender candelabras, continue to fascinate. Their aesthetics, between abstraction and organic reference (bellules, hippocampes, carapaces), influence generations of artists, from cinema (Louis Malle, Henri-Georges Clouzot) to comics (Jacques Tardi, Enki Bilal). Ranked among the symbols of the Belle Époque, these entries also recall the tensions between artistic innovation and urban constraints, a legacy still visible in the 19th arrondissement.
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