Paris Nouvelle Athènes Fascinating History & Lovely Doors to Photograph

Paris Nouvelle Athènes captured my attention because of the lovely doors I discovered during a morning walk. These ornate doors just begged to be photographed.

So, what do you do while waiting for the hubby to get his pre-flight COVID-19 test?  I headed north from our hotel, in the same direction as his pharmacy, to explore, camera in hand. Our delightful little boutique hotel, Hôtel Chopin in Passage Jouffroy, is not far from this historic neighborhood.

Located in the 9th arrondissement, Nouvelle Athènes (New Athens) developed during the 19th century and has born the name since 1823. The town houses here are neoclassical style, inspired by Greek architecture which is why the area became known as Paris Nouvelle Athènes.

The map at the bottom of the blog post delineates this neighborhood, marking the location of the doors, not all of which are in this post.

My first discovery:

The lovely molding which frames this door at 15 rue Saint-Lazare in Paris Nouvelle Athènes, intrigued me. Suffering from a bit of neglect, the accumulated dirt in the carvings is to our benefit as it accents the design and the fact that the door could use a coat of paint, just adds to its charm I think.

There are two museums in the Paris Nouvelle Athènes neighborhood

There are two museums in this neighborhood, Musée de Gustave Moreau and Musée de la Vie Romantique. Artist Gustave Moreau (1826-1898) bequeathed his nineteenth-century home and studio to France which is now this museum. The Musée de la Vie Romantique situated in another artist’s former home, Ary Scheffer, devotes its first floor to George Sand. The second floor includes works by Ary Scheffer as well as contemporary art.

Hôtel de la Païva sits majestically on Place Saint-Georges

Let’s look at more gorgeous doors! The hôtel particulier at 28 Place Saint-Georges is Hôtel de la Païva. According to the historic information sign in front, Thérese Lachmann, a courtesan known as La Païva who married Marquis Païva y Arunio, came to live here in 1851. My what an interesting background this mansion has.

This private mansion should not to be confused with The Travelers Club at 25 rue Champs-Élysées, also noted as Hôtel de la Païva. Later, the courtesan La Païva would build a new hotel on the Champs-Élysées which you can read about here in French  and here in English where it says “Today, the mansion has functioned as The Travellers Club for over a century, a gentlemen’s club that was all-male until recently and rarely opens up to the public.”

I realize I am supposed to be focusing on the doors in this neighborhood, but I can’t not show what beauty is found elsewhere on this building!

Continuing my exploration of Paris Nouvelle Athènes…

I found another door(s) to love on Place Saint-Georges! The architect of this building, J. Leseur, built the building in 1882. These two virtually identical doors at 32 and 30 Place Saint-Georges stand in opposition, one carefully cared for and the other a bit neglected.

The lion head mascarons are fascinating. Did you know that the original purpose of mascarons was to scare away evil spirits? They were later adapted to be purely ornamental and are often found as angels or cherubs in Art Nouveau.(more info)

Just two steps away from Place Saint-Georges, I spotted this door at 49 rue Saint-Georges. The shades of coffee and caramel colors on both the door and the 1880s building I find absolutely lovely. With a narrow black frame and thin coffee-colored mat it makes a stunning statement on the wall. (More later on how to have a print of one of these doors.)

The floral vines carved around the door and across the lintel mesmerized me. And please don’t miss the sunflowers peaking out at the bottom of the iron work above the door!

I continue to question if the old address marker above the door, #49, sets atop an overlay of initials or not. Either way, I find it a fascinating design.

Full resolution prints as well as  notebooks, phone covers, tote bags, etc of any doors seen on this post can be purchased on the FineArtAmerica site.

Rue d’Aumale welcomes flaneurs with typical architecture of Nouvelle Athènes

That is just what I was doing when I began to notice all these doors, being a flaneur in Paris, wandering and taking in the beauty. Constructed in 1864, the door at 8 rue d’Aumale has stunning brass door handles.

Vines climb up the center of the door as well as on the stone framing the door. Don’t miss noting that the address #8 is upside down!

8 rue d’Aumale

However, it would be the griffins at the top of the doors just below the round windows that I really love. At least I think they are these mythological creatures that have heads adorned with horns and feathers, wings, and lion-like paws. They are considered a symbol of protection, guardianship and safety. Sounds like the perfect carving for the door of a home!

What is not to love about  this next magnificent carved wood door. The swirls of the carvings on the stone lintel draw the eye to the graceful curves on the door as if they are all one. Such simplistic beauty!

10 rue d’Aumale

At 19 rue d’Aumale this door has a lovely mascaron of two cherubs as well as beautiful iron work on the door . I love “mascaron hunting” in Paris and have included a few varieties at the bottom of the post.

19 rue d’Aumale

At #24 rue d’Aumale, I found a door with a majestic mascaron above it. Unlike the chubby cherubs above, this mascaron was definitely designed to ward off evil.

This magnificent door leads to the former home of François Jean, 2^e comte Clary. He was a lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Legion of the Paris National Guard in 1849 and was appointed to the Senate on January 26, 1852.

From rue d’Aumale I turned on to rue Catherine de la Rochefoucauld

Finding a street with such an incredibly long name of a person just begs that I research its origins!

Catherine de La Rochefoucauld’s full name was Catherine de La Rochefoucauld de Cousage (1667-1760). She was born into nobility and was a French nun.

The simple elegance of this door allows for the bas-reliefs on the building to shine.

29 rue Catherine de la Rochefoucauld

At 32 rue Catherine de la Rochefoucauld this door lintel is really lovely. Unfortunately, someone must’ve been moving as there was a heap of detritus blocking the view of the full door. I will assure you that the beauty of the door is what you see here. Are those griffins or dragons guarding both sides of the door?

32 rue Catherine de la Rochefoucauld

Heading down rue de la Bruyère

Framed by floral carvings around the door, the horizontal “living” design on the building brings it all together. Plus, the iron-work on the door grill creates a sense of unity as the iron hearts encircle the door.

9 rue la Bruyère

The simplicity of the next two doors is lovely. Note that the carvings around the door are of oak leaves and other “greenery”. Bringing a cohesiveness to the image, the doors are in a deep forest green. Perfection!

The doors are the same height, however, in cropping the photo to include the lovely red flowers, #17 looks much shorter.

Some of the mascarons I found:

Mapping my walk of Paris Nouvelle Athènes

Not far from this neighborhood walk in Nouvelle Athènes is the lovely rue des Martyrs which I explored in an earlier post. It is a great little street for sampling all the taste delights that Paris has to offer.