Art Nouveau Fever Dream: 29 Ave. Rapp

Like his contemporary Hector Guimard, Jules Lavirotte won architecture awards for the Art Nouveau façade of his signature work. But 29 Ave. Rapp in the 7th Arr., designed by Lavirotte in 1900 with extensive ceramic tiling by Alexandre Bigot, makes Guimard's Castel Béranger look like a model of restraint. If Guimard was the Sly and the Family Stone of Art Nouveau, Lavirotte would be Parliament-Funkadelic; maybe not as groundbreaking, but a little funkier and a lot weirder.

The Lavirotte building has too much to appreciate in one go--I've been back a few times, and still can't take it all in. In addition to the floral details ubiquitous to Art Nouveau, sculpted bulls and numerous mascarons (both human and vegetable) adorn the façade, while the ironwork includes peacocks, cats stalking birds, and notably, a lizard for the front door handle.

According to some, "lézard" used to be French slang for male genitalia. This from a country that takes a rooster for its national symbol.

The entryway is the most elaborate feature of the building, garnering attention not only because it can be casually admired at street level, but because the overall motif contains reputedly sexual elements. These include the strutting peacocks and the lizard adorning what some see as an inverted phallus and others see as female reproductive organs. Either may be right or wrong: it's possible that the representation of Adam and Eve above the door allows the imagination free play.

 

On the other hand, Adam and Eve are depicted in ways that step out a bit from the usual Bible school treatments. Eve looks less demure and innocent, as if she knows a great secret (she does). Adam, though, looks as baffled as ever, a few steps behind with little hope of catching up.

I could not find much information on who the figure in the middle represents. I'm no biblical scholar, but I don't recall there being more than four characters in the story from Genesis. We've seen serpent (the lizard), so that would leave ... ?

In any case, Milton's Paradise Lost gives pretty important roles to the Archangels Raphael, who tries to warn off Adam and Eve, and Michael, who delivers the eviction notice to the newly knowledgable couple. In religious artworks, Michael is usually depicted as issuing a severe beating to Satan/Lucifer. So if the face looks concerned and empathetic with Adam and Eve's decision-making abilities, go with Raphael. If it looks likes it's in deep concentration, maybe mentally rehearsing jabs, uppercuts and slashing motions, go with Michael.

It's definitely Michael.