I like to bring you an update to another wonderful building in Paris that was seldom seen until it was change. Let me tell you about the Bourse de Commerce where now reign the Pinault collection of Paris.
The Bourse de Commerce is a circular plan building surmounted by a dome located rue de Viarmes, in the Les Halles district of the 1éme arrondissement of Paris. It is also an institution that was housed until 1885 in the Palais Brongniart.(see post). There is a new use for the Bourse de Commerce after been share with the Pinault Collection and the city of Paris. In 2016, the City of Paris and the Artémis company, which belonged to François Pinault, businessman and great collector. The building was delivered as planned on March 9, 2020 and opened to the public on May 22, 2021.
The monumental entrance opens with a portico, located to the west of the building facing the Rue du Colonel-Driant, summoned by a pediment carried by four fluted Corinthian columns, which surmount three allegorical figures, representing the city of Paris flanked by Abundance and Trade. The interior is decorated with painted panels representing characters symbolizing the four cardinal points, and monumental frescoes evoking the history of trade between five parts of the World ,America, Russia and the North, Asia, and Africa as well as Europe.
All on 5 floors,10,000 works are brought together in the Pinault collection, enough to make great discoveries in Paris. They can be found in 7 galleries on the outskirts of the rotunda. A 91-meter-long interior concrete walkway, culminating at 9 meters in height in order to observe the works, More than 6,800 m2 of exhibition space and equipped with walkways to access the floors, a La Halle aux Grains restaurant on the 3rd floor with views towards the Saint-Eustache Church, the Canopée des Halles and, beyond, the Saint-Jacques tower and the rooftops of Paris. A 286-seat basement studio for performances, screenings and conferences. The museum will operate in coordination with those of the Pinault Collection located in Venice and will present ten exhibitions a year. Each structure, however, has a specific direction, a kind of constellation of museums, each of the sites having its specificity, its singularity , And because art is above all plural, conferences, guided tours, workshops, screenings , concerts and performances will also be regularly scheduled.
A bit of condense history on the Bourse de Commerce or the stock exchange of Paris.
At the approximate location where the Bourse de Commerce or trading stock market is today was the hotel de Soissons, which belonged to Jean II of Nesles at the beginning of the 13C. Having no heirs, he gave in 1232 the property to Saint Louis, who offered it to his mother, Blanche of Castille, to make it her residence. Philippe le Bel, who inherited it, offered it in 1296 to his brother, Charles de Valois. The hotel then passed to the son of the latter, Philippe de Valois, who gave it to Jean of Luxembourg, son of the emperor Henry VII of the Holy Roman Empire and himself King of Bohemia. His daughter, Bonne of Luxembourg, heiress of the hotel in 1327, married Prince Jean de Normandie, the future king of France under the name of Jean Le Bon. Their son, Charles, ceded it to Amédée VI of Savoy in 1354. He then took part in Louis, Duke of Anjou and son of King Jean. His widow, Marie de Blois, sold it in 1388 to Charles VI, who offered it to his brother Louis, duke of Touraine and Orléans.
From 1572, Catherine de Medici suddenly abandoned the palace of the Tuileries, which she had built and acquired a hotel called Albret, consisting of various mansions that adjoined the convent. She settled there and began the development of what was to become the Hôtel de la Reine or Queen’s Hotel. The fluted astronomical column, also known as the Medici column, 31 meters high, is the only surviving vestige of this hotel. The heirs of the Queen ceded the hotel to Catherine de Bourbon, sister of Henri IV. On the death of the latter, it was acquired by Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons, who gave it his name. The Hôtel de Soissons then showed its appearance and its final look. In 1720, the Paris stock Exchange was created here.The prevost of Paris bought the land and destroyed the buildings in 1748. By 1763 a wheat market, on the banks of the Seine was created, and this building became the Bourse de Commerde of Paris or trade exchange in 1885. The ensemble was inaugurated on September 24, 1889. The city of Paris transferred ownership of the building to the Chamber of Commerce, for a symbolic French Franc in 1949. Almost all of the monument was occupied by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris.
However, in 2016, the businessman François Pinault and the Mayor of Paris announced the departure of the Chamber of Commerce and the installation and presentation of a part of the art collections of Mr Pinault, managed hitherto by what was presented as a Foundation Pinault, in the circular building. The official end of the work was scheduled for December 17, 2018 and the opening to the public start 2019. However, as you can see from above due to covid and al the opening was done May 22 2021.
The official Pinault collection Bourse de Commerce Paris: https://www.pinaultcollection.com/en/boursedecommerce/exploring-art-through-private-collection
The City of Paris on the Bourse de Commerce : https://www.paris.fr/pages/la-bourse-de-commerce-nouvel-ecrin-de-la-collection-pinault-19078
The Paris tourist office on the Bourse de Commerce : https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/176761/Bourse-de-Commerce-Pinault-Collection
The official Le Halles aux Grains restaurant : https://www.halleauxgrains.bras.fr/en/restaurant-cafe
There you go folks, a wonderful building and now a great arts center in a grand location of my eternal Paris. Hope you enjoy the post as I and do visit when possible.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 