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Metropolitan, Campo-Formio station à Paris 1er dans Paris

Paris

Metropolitan, Campo-Formio station


    75013 Paris 13e Arrondissement
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Métropolitain, station Campo-Formio
Crédit photo : LPLT - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1900
Design by Hector Guimard
19 juillet 1900
Opening of the first stations
1906
Inauguration of line 5
1913
End of Guimard facilities
1960-1970
Start of heritage protections
12 février 2016
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Entourage of the access located Place d'Italie, facing No. 24 (non-cadastre element, facing the cadastral plot EA 82); entourage de l'accès situé Place d'Italie, face au n°12 bis (element non cadastre, situé face à la plot cadastrale EB 56): inscription by decree of 12 February 2016

Key figures

Hector Guimard - Architect Creator of the Art Nouveau entrances of the Paris metro.
Adrien Bénard - President of the CMP Maybe have supported Guimard's choice.
Eugène Gillet - Craft enameller Supplier of enamelled lava panels.
Fonderie d'art du Val d'Osne - Manufacturer of cast iron elements Producer of balustrades and candelabras.

Origin and history

The Campo-Formio metro entrance, located boulevard de l'Hôpital in the 13th 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. Urgently ordered for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, these entries mark the climax of Art Nouveau in France, with their curved lines, modern materials (bottom, glass, enamelled lava) and stylized plant aesthetics. Guimard, although not a winner of the initial competition, was chosen in January 1900 to dress the subway mouths, thanks to his daring sketches and his experience with the Castel Béranger.

The column of Campo-Formio, like Guimard's other works, is distinguished by its candelabras in the form of "strands of muguette", its openworked shields evoking insect shells, and its "Metropolitan" signs with Art Nouveau lettering. These elements, produced in series by the Fonderie d'art du Val d'Osne and Eugène Gillet for enamelled panels, were installed between 1900 and 1913. Despite their initial success, the Guimard entrances fell into disuse after World War I, victims of changes in taste and the rise of Art Deco. Many were destroyed, but the remaining ones, like Campo-Formio, were protected from the 1960s.

Campo-Formio station, served by line 5 opened in 1906, maintains a typical escutcheon entourage, which has been listed as a historical monument since 2016. This access illustrates Guimard's desire to merge art and industry, standardizing decorative modules while preserving a unique aesthetic. The original colours – grey green for the metal, orange for the verrines – and stylized plant motifs reflect its ideal harmony between structure and decor. Today, these once controversial entrances have become emblems of the Parisian heritage and the Belle Époque.

Guimard's choice for this project was tainted by polemics, particularly because of his style considered too avant-garde by some conservatives. The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (CMP) also accused him of budgetary overruns and delays, leading to a rupture in 1903. Despite this, his models continued to be reproduced until 1913. The surroundings of Campo-Formio, like the 86 other protected works, benefited from careful restorations from the 1990s aimed at finding original materials and colours.

Beyond their utility function, the Guimard entrances, including that of Campo-Formio, inspired artists and filmmakers, becoming symbols of Paris in the same way as the Eiffel Tower. Their influence even spread abroad, with replicas offered to cities like Montreal or exhibited in American museums. Today, they bear witness to Guimard's creative audacity and the aesthetic revolution he incarna, between industrialization and organic poetry.

External links