Fabrice Hyber, a former student of fine arts in Nantes, participated in the revival of this historic palace. In Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, the luxury hotel has just reopened after four years of work.
The story
In 1910, in Paris, the Lutetia (1) opens its doors left bank, at 45, boulevard Raspail, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. At the time, Mrs. Boucicaut, owner of the department store Le Bon Marché, nearby, reserves it to its most important customers and suppliers. Its monumental facades start the Art Deco style.
The elegant address has gone through time. During the Second World War, the establishment was requisitioned by the Gestapo. "In 1944, Lutetia, on the orders of General de Gaulle, is transformed into a reception center for deportees and families in search of their loved ones," also recalls the palace's website.
Closed for four years, the palace of the 6th arrondissement reopened last July, after major work orchestrated by the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. He has entrusted the artist Fabrice Hyber with the design of the contemporary glass roof at Saint-Germain, where guests can enjoy their breakfast.
The canopy, "a taste of the sky"
"We had already worked together," says the former student of the School of Fine Arts in Nantes (born in 1961 in Vendée), who has his studio in Paris and works around the world.
On this site, the protean artist had to face several constraints: "We had to walk on the canopy, the structure is classified, it remains transparent and there are few colors. Finally, colors, I added ... ", he smiles. Orange, blue, green, pink, bright tones contrast with the discreet beige of the living room decoration. "They are reflected on the armchairs, it's a nice surprise! "
Fabrice Hyber imagined, that raising the head, the hosts would approach the sky ... "I like the space and the green men," he smiles. He has staged, between moons and suns, seventeen imaginary characters, "heroes who reflect us all at one point in our lives" . Man sponge, Bibendum, angel or ... Santa Claus! And adopted a particular technique of painting glass on glass. "Unlike stained glass, whose elements are colored and then assembled, the large plates were drawn with a glass powder that reveals its colors during cooking. "
For Fabrice Hyber, Lutetia "has always welcomed many artists. At one time, painters, writers, researchers, everyone was there.
Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Josephine Baker, among others, stayed there regularly. How much was coffee in those crazy years? Today, the espresso "La Grande Réserve" will cost you € 7. Luxury has a price.
(1) Latin form of Lutetia, name of Paris during Roman Antiquity.