Black Images in European Art: Musée des Années 30

When I first saw the Charles Cordier busts of an African man and a Caribbean woman at the Musée d'Orsay, I thought I might never again see such noble and faithful "ethnographic" works.

Nègre de Soudan and La Capresse
Charles Cordier
Marble, onyx, and bronze
Musée d'Orsay
© Discover Paris!
At the Musée des Années 30 in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, I was amazed to find dozens of them!

The museum was founded in 1939 and was originally located at City Hall. In 1998, it moved into 3,000 m² of exhibition space at the Espace Paul Landowski.

Espace Paul Landowski
© Discover Paris!

Musée des Années 30 - Entrance
© Discover Paris!
While there are works portraying blacks on each floor of the museum,

La Sièste, 1934
Auguste Clergeau
Oil on canvas
Ruhlmann Furniture display, fourth floor
© Discover Paris!
including a small representation of Josephine Baker (second floor),

Joséphine Baker, 1936
Sebastien Tamari
Plaster
© Discover Paris!
the majority of the paintings and sculptures of this genre are found on the third floor.

Here, almost half of the display space is devoted to "colonial art."

Information panels (in French) provide background information on "orientalism" and the early 20th-century scientific/ethnographic missions in Africa, Central Asia, and China. Paintings and sculptures by dozens of artists are displayed. Several of these were originally exhibited at the former Museum for African and Oceanic Art in Paris.

Below are photos of some of the works found here. I found the sculptures to be particularly magnificent.

Jeune Somalien, 1936
Antoine Lyée de Belleau
Oil on canvas
© Discover Paris!

Rythme Africain, 1951
Evariste Jonchere
Patina on Plaster
© Discover Paris!

Chef Manzinga, 1925
Alexandre Iacovleff
Sanguine, pastel on paper
© Discover Paris!

Jeune fille Guéré, ca. 1940
Pierre Meauze
Bronze
© Discover Paris!
The collection includes two paintings by Emile Bernard, the French Post-Impressionist painter who mentored Loïs Mailou Jones.

Etude de Mulâtresse, 1895
Emile Bernard
Oil on canvas
© Discover Paris!

Femme accroupi, 1895 (detail)
Emile Bernard
Oil on canvas
© Discover Paris!
Boulogne-Billancourt is easily accessible from Paris via metro.  The Musée des Années 30 is well worth a visit to this western suburb!

To access an online brochure on the museum (in French and English), click HERE.

Musée des Années 30
Espace Landowski
28, avenue André-Morizet
92100 Boulogne-Billancourt
Telephone : 01 55 18 46 42
Metro : Marcel-Sembat (Line 9), Boulogne-Jean-Jaurès (Line 10)

Opening hours:
Tuesday through Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM (ticket office closes at 5:15 PM)

Entry fee: 6.50 euros; reduced rate for seniors: 4.50 euros

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The Female Faces of Africa

The female figure has always been used in the artistic portrayal of the continents.

Here are a few images of allegories of Africa that I have seen during my years in Paris (captions indicate locations).

Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal
1, rue de Sully
75004 Paris
© Discover Paris!

L'Afrique (head only)
Musée d'Orsay
1, rue de la Légion d'Honneur
75007 Paris
© Discover Paris!

U. S. Ambassador's Residence
41, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris
© Discover Paris!

Les Quatres Parties du Monde
Jardin des grands explorateurs Marco Polo et Cavelier-de-la-Salle
avenue de l’Observatoire
75006 Paris
© Discover Paris!

Société Générale
6, rue de Sèvres
75006 Paris
© Discover Paris!

Cité Nationale de l'Histoire d'Immigration
293 Avenue Daumesnil
75012 Paris
© Discover Paris!
If you know of others, please share them in the comment box below!

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Black Paris Profiles™: Laurence Choko

Laurence Choko is the owner of Galerie Intemporel, a delightful space near the Centre Pompidou that features the works of African and African Diaspora artists. I first heard of her and her gallery when I began the fundraising effort for Beauford Delaney’s tombstone in 2010. In getting to know her, I discovered her fervor for promoting Diaspora artists. Laurence was pleased to grant me an interview for Black Paris Profiles™, and I am equally pleased to share what I learned from her below.

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Laurence Choko
© Morgan Roppers

Laurence Choko was born in Fort de France, Martinique. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Le Havre, and subsequently moved to Paris to study art. She returned to Martinique in her twenties, and discovered the art of the Caribbean at that time. In particular, she credits “the spontaneity of the artistic universe of Haïti” for helping her to understand Western art better. As a result, she began to collect art and decided to represent artists who had little visibility in Europe. In fact, her decision to represent these artists stemmed directly from the fact that they were not known in Europe.

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Black Paris Profiles™ is now available on Kindle.  Only excerpts are available on this blog.

To get your copy of Black Paris Profiles™, click HERE.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

Black Paris Profiles™: Alecia McKenzie

Each month, our Paris Insights newsletter presents the hidden jewels that comprise the "real" Paris – the people and places that are the true heart and soul of the city.
Click here to sign up for the Paris Insights newsletter announcements and to receive our free Practical Paris guide!

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Alecia McKenzie
Photo credit: D. De Clercq

Alecia McKenzie is a Jamaican-born journalist, fiction writer, and artist, who moved from Singapore to Paris with her husband and children in 2008. I had the occasion to chat with her last December at a café where her paintings were being exhibited. It was then that I decided to ask if she would be willing to be the subject of a Black Paris Profile™.

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Black Paris Profiles™ is now available on Kindle.  Only excerpts are available on this blog.

To get your copy of Black Paris Profiles™, click HERE.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.