Tag: Paris cemeteries

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The First Celebrity Photographer

I am going to begin writing some blogs on individuals we plan to feature in the seventh and last volume of the series on Paris. Once we publish the two volumes of Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? A Walking Tour of Nazi Occupied Paris (1940-1944) later this year, we will begin Where Did They Bury Jim Morrison, the Lizard King?.  It is a walking tour of curious Paris cemeteries. While there are many books on Paris cemeteries (Père Lachaise in particular), they all seem to have one thing in common: they highlight or take you to the same famous occupants (e.g., Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and yes, even Jim Morrison). In other words, the authors don’t seem to differentiate their books. So, I decided our book will be different. We will introduce you to people you’ve likely never heard about. These are people with very interesting accomplishments and life stories but like much of history today, they are now forgotten.

Self-portrait of Félix Nadar. Photo by Félix Nadar (c. 1860). Bibliotheque nationales, Paris, France. PD-100+. Wikimedia Commons.
Self-portrait of Félix Nadar. Photo by Félix Nadar (c. 1860). Bibliotheque nationales, Paris, France. PD-100+. Wikimedia Commons.

Our subject today was a narcissist, self-confident, and self-promoting artist who led an extremely interesting and exciting life. Packed into his ninety-years, Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820-1910) hosted the first impressionist art show, took the world’s first aerial photograph (and first underwater photo), embarked on daring balloon rides, built a huge glowing (red gas) sign across the front of his Parisian studio, co-founded a luxury literary journal at the age of nineteen (he persuaded Alexandre Dumas and Honoré de Balzac to contribute), wrote literary articles, began the first airmail service, and became a sought after illustrator/caricaturist. However, his international fame both then and now is based on the legacy of being the world’s first celebrity photographer.

Did You Know?

Did you know that King James VI of Scotland (as well as being James I of England) was the most prolific witch-hunting monarch in history? He even wrote a book, Daemonologie, to convince people that witches were real and to vigorously pursue their persecution. He claimed a witch’s crime to be “high treason against God.” Between 1450 and 1750, more than 100,000 people (mostly women) were tried as witches with about half of them were put to death. Scotland arrested and tried around 4,000 suspected witches. King James personally sat in on many of the “interrogations” where the women would ultimately confess under torture. After he called Agnes Sampson a liar during an interrogation session, she went up to him and whispered in his ear exactly what he had discussed with the queen while in bed the prior evening. Up to that point, the king had not been convinced of her guilt but being that she was correct, he pronounced her guilty. As to Agnes’s fate, she was burned at the stake.

Let’s Meet Nadar

Félix Tournachon and his younger brother, Adrien (1825-1903), were born in Paris where their father, Victor Tournachon, was a printer and bookseller. Félix studied medicine but after his father died, Félix quit and joined the bohemian crowd. However, he had developed a love for reading and his favorite authors were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. His first jobs were as a journalist and caricaturist. Félix was given his nickname, “Nadar”, by a friend in 1839 and he immediately began using it as his pen name for the articles he wrote for newspapers and magazines. Nadar married Ernestine (1836-1909) in 1854 and they had one son, Paul (1856-1939). Read More The First Celebrity Photographer

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“Non, je ne regrette rien”

I have to admit that Sandy and I have a grave addiction. We became cemetery enthusiasts as a result of writing the two volumes of Where Did They Put the Guillotine?  Part of our research required us finding various people in Paris cemeteries, past and present (we certainly didn’t want to tell you Jean-Paul Marat was buried somewhere and low and behold, he wasn’t there—we actually never did find him but I suspect he’s buried under the parking lot of Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont).

Stew sitting next to the Sanson Family grave in Montmartre Cemetery. They were six generations of French executioners. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).
Stew sitting next to the Sanson Family grave in Montmartre Cemetery. They were six generations of French executioners. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).

Years ago, during one of our trips to Paris, we started by visiting some of the more well-known cemeteries (e.g., Père Lachaise, Montmartre, and Montparnasse) and then in subsequent trips, moved on to several lesser known cemeteries (e.g., Picpus and Versailles). At some point during our many visits to Paris, Sandy managed to find her way down into the Catacombs (I have claustrophobia so I didn’t go and if you suffer from it, you shouldn’t go). Once she ascended the stairs back to the living, we hopped on a Métro and visited several famous parish cemeteries—at one, we were hoping to find Louis XVII’s grave (like with Marat, we were unsuccessful).

Courtyard of the Sainte-Marguerite Cemetery. Reportedly, Louis XVII was buried here. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).
Courtyard of the Sainte-Marguerite Cemetery. Reportedly, Louis XVII was buried here. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).

While the permanent residents of these Paris cemeteries are the main draw for visitors, it is easy to become infatuated with the architecture and symbols of the memorials: from the simplest of markers to the most ornate structures you’ll ever see in a grave yard. It seems there are memorials built in architectural styles compatible to every conceivable era: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Gothic, Romanesque, Classical, Egyptian, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, Modern, and others. Then there is a second overlapping theme to each memorial: the funerary architecture adorning the grave. Join me as I take you through a quick explanation of some of the most common symbols and icons used in cemeteries. Knowing what they mean can fill in a lot of information about the resident who lies below.

Did you Know?

I never met Mr. Louis Wilson but if I had, I think I would have liked him (for those of you who know me, I like people with a good sense of humor). Mr. Wilson passed away in 1991 at the age of sixty. He’s buried in Whiskeytown, California and his grave is marked with two tablets: a photograph of Mr. Wilson and his epitaph which reads, “Here Lies Louis Ovell Wilson. Wanted To Be Buried Face Down So The World Could Kiss His Ass.” I think Mr. Wilson was probably a curmudgeon but hey, at least he was a humorous one. Based on his epitaph, I suspect Mr. Wilson didn’t place any value on symbolism and it’s likely he is having the last laugh.

Tombs, Sculptures, Memorials

Besides the mausoleum, the oldest funerary monument is the sarcophagus. The remains of the deceased lie inside their sarcophagus. These are typically found in the large European churches. My favorite is Saint-Denis where the French kings, queens, and their relatives were laid to rest in beautiful sarcophagi with carved marble recumbent statues on top. It’s too bad they all got dumped out during the French Revolution and thrown in the river or a giant pit. Another famous example is Napoléon’s tomb in Paris. He lies inside six coffins. The first is made of tin, next is mahogany, then two lead coffins, an ebony one, and then the final coffin we all see—oak. Read More “Non, je ne regrette rien”