Neighborhood Squares

Squares like this (Square Georges Cain located between rue du Parc Royal and rue des Francs Bourgeois) are one of those small, intimate “breaks” to a busy day. They are scattered all over the city and provide everyone with a quiet respite, especially on a sunny day as this one was. I like this photo because it reminds me of the beauty of “everyday”—art in the middle of a park and city workers preparing for spring while others stroll by, lost in their own thoughts. Georges Cain, a French painter and writer, was the conservator of the Carnavelet, a museum featuring the Revolutionary years, from 1897-1914. (I blogged about my visit to this museum on 1/3/07.) The bronze sculpture is called Aurore and was done in the 17th century by Laurent Magnier. He was one of the French sculptors during the reign of Louis XIV; and some of his sculptures are found in the gardens of Versailles.

The other photo is taken in Square Leopold Achille (named after a former city council man), which is just a few steps from Square Georges Cain. Some of the statues in this small garden were salvaged from sections of the old Tuileries Palais and the original Hotel de Ville façade, both which were destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1871.

Both squares are in the Marias quartier and are ideal resting places for before and after visiting the Carnavelet and/or the Picasso museums.