Godiva_ (No. 223).
2. Foreign Schools:
_Un buveur attablé_ (_Drinker at table_) (No. 427), attributed by
the catalogue to the _Flemish School_ of the middle of the 17th
century, would seem from its powerful realism and general
composition, to have come from the studio of the _Brothers Le
Nain_.
_Gérard de Lairesse_, late 18th century, Dutch painter, now
forgotten, but who enjoyed considerable notoriety in his day:
_Portrait of Duchesse Marie de Clèves_ (1671) (No. 206).
[Illustration: MAN'S PORTRAIT BY LE GRECO. (_Cliché LL._)]
[Illustration: PORTRAIT BY QUENTIN DE LA TOUR OF HIMSELF. (_Cliché
LL._)]
IV.--Collections of the Brothers Lavalard
1. Dutch School:
_Brekelenkam_ (1623-1688): _Le Savetier_ (_The Cobbler_) (No. 3 in
1911 catalogue).
_Gerritz Cuyp_ (1594-1651): _Portrait of a child_. _A Young Baron_
(No. 8).
_Van Goyen_ (1596-1696): _Le Port de Dordrecht_ (No. 12). _Le
Départ pour la pêche_ (_Fishing Boats setting out_) (No. 13). _Un
tour au bord d'une rivière_ (_River-side scene_) (No. 14, etc.).
_Van Mieris_ (1635-1681): _Liseuse_ (_Reading_) (No. 27).
_Salomon Ruysdael_ (1600-1670): _Soleil couchant_ (_Sunset_) (No.
38), and several other landscapes (Nos. 39 to 46).
2. Flemish School:
_Franz Hals_ (1581-1666): Several portraits (Nos. 94 to 96).
_Brouwer_ (1605-1638), pupil of Franz Hals: _Un buveur_ (_A
Drinker_) (No. 77).
_Jordaens_ (1593-1678): _La Marchande de Volailles_ (_Woman selling
fowls_) (No. 99).
_Gonzalès Coques_ (1614-1684): _Exécution de Charles I. sur la
place de White-Hall en 1649_ (_Execution of Charles I, Whitehall,
1649_) (No. 81).
3. French School:
_Louis Boily_: _Un jeune Savoyard_ (_Young Savoyard_) (No. 125).
_Boucher_: _Esquisse pour le Triomphe d'Amphitrite_ (_rough sketch
of Amphitrite's Triumph_) (No. 129). _Diane au bain_ (_Diana taking
bath_) (No. 130).
_Chardin_: _Lapins de garenne_ (_Wild rabbits_) (No. 137), and
several still-life studies (Nos. 138-140).
_Fragonard_: Several small paintings (Nos. 142-147), especially No.
144: _Les Lavandières_ (_Washer-Women_).
_Lépicié_, pupil of Carle van Loo: _Portrait de femme âgée_
(_Portrait of Old Woman_) (No. 167). _Studies of children's heads_
(No. 168).
_Nattier_: _Portrait de jeune femme_ (_Portrait of a young woman_)
(No. 177).
_Hubert-Robert_: _Colin-Maillard_ (_Blindman's Buff_) (No. 188).
4. Italian School:
_Luca Giordano_ (1632-1705): _Musicien accordant sa guitare_
(_Musician tuning his Guitar_) (No. 211).
5. Spanish School:
_Le Greco_ (1548-1625): Very fine _portrait of a man_, the finest
of this artist's paintings in France (No. 212) (_photo_ _p._ 43).
_Ribera_ (1588-1656): _La Messe du Pape Grégoire le Grand_
(_Celebration of Mass by Pope Gregory the Great_); very finely
executed; one of this artist's greatest masterpieces; signed:
Joseph de Ribera, Naples, 1654 (No. 239).
The museum also contains _interesting drawings by Puvis de Chavannes_
and a fine collection of _drawings_ by the _Brothers Duthoit_ of Amiens
(1820-1870). In these latter drawings, more than 5,000 in number, are
portrayed the _towns and villages of Picardy_, as they appeared before
the disappearance of the local traditions and customs. This collection
was seriously damaged by bombardment.
Several =old houses= of Amiens, saved from ruin by the Antiquarian
Society of Picardy, have been rebuilt in the Museum grounds, viz.:
Late 15th century house with visible timber-work in left-hand corner.
Early 17th century (1619) façade, in right-hand corner. Note the fine
decorative frieze of lions' muzzles.
Late 18th century façade, with entrance-door surmounted by a fine
caryatid of bearded man supporting a graceful, wrought-iron balcony on
his shoulders, against the right-hand lateral wall.
_Opposite the Museum is the_ =Prefecture=.
[Illustration: THE PREFECTURE: GREAT GALLERY.]
The PREFECTURE consists of two contiguous buildings. One, modern, is
fitted up as offices. The other, which is the Prefect's residence, was
formerly the headquarters of the Intendant of Picardy.
The latter building was erected in 1773-1774 from plans prepared by the
Parisian architect _Montigny_. It was considerably damaged, both outside
and inside, by bombardment (_photo opposite_).
_Separated from the Museum by the Rue Puvis de Chavannes is the_ =City
Library=.
The LIBRARY is a modern building containing nearly 100,000 books and
about 1,000 manuscripts, including several of great value. _(To visit
apply to the curator)._ The colonnaded building in the rear was partly
destroyed by bombardment.
_On leaving the Rue de la République, take on the right the Rue Puvis de
Chavannes (continued by the Rue des Louvets) as far as the Rue de
Beauvais (photo below). Turn to the right. At the corner of the Rue de
Beauvais and the Rue Frédéric-Petit is the_ =Lycée=.
THE LYCÉE is located in the partly rebuilt structure which was formerly
the _Abbey of St. John of the Order of Premonstrants_ (17th century);
fine cloister.
The façade of the modern portion, looking on the Rue Frédéric-Petit, was
grazed by shell splinters.
_Follow the Rue de Beauvais, continued by the Rue Alphonse Leuillier, as
far as the_ HÔTEL DE VILLE (H _on detailed plan_); 18th century façade,
finished in the 19th century.
[Illustration: CORNER OF THE RUE DE BEAUVAIS AND RUE FRÉDÉRIC-PETIT NEAR
THE LYCÉE]
Bailliage and House of the White Gable
_To the left of the Hôtel de Ville, take the Rue de la Malmaison, in
which is situated the_ =Ancien Bailliage= (Old Bailiwick--_L on detailed
plan)._
[Illustration: FAÇADE OF THE "BAILLIAGE." (_Bailiwick_)]
To see it, the tourist should enter the courtyard of the City Fire
Station, at the bottom of which, on the right, is a narrow passage
leading to a tiny court, facing which is the curious façade of the
house. Gothic-Flamboyant in style, it is richly decorated with
Renaissance motifs (_photos_).
A frieze of accolade-shaped arches with crockets runs along the
building. Inside the arches, seven pure Renaissance medallions of men
and women have been carved.
Two small Renaissance angels dated 1541 appear below, between the two
rectangular windows. On the left side of the building, a pretty
dormer-window with triangular pediment breaks the monotony of the large
slated roof, as is customary in civil Gothic architecture. Two
Renaissance medallions of a man and a woman appear on the dormer-window.
[Illustration: FAÇADE OF THE "BAILLIAGE."]
Inside, interesting 16th century keel-arched timber work still exists in
the audience chamber of the Bailiwick, the ceiling of which is hidden by
a cloth.
_Cross the Square behind the Hôtel de Ville. To the left of the
Post-Office, take the Passage Gossart, at the end of which, under a
vault, is the gate of a narrow alley leading to a small court._
On three sides of the latter is a curious house with wooden walls built
about the year 1492 by a rich cloth merchant, Nicolas Fauvel, mayor of
the city. This house, known as the =House of the White Gable=, is shown
at F on the detailed plan. Abutting on the main building, which is the
original structure, a kind of corbel-work gable was added over the exit
from the Passage Gossart. This was probably used by the mayor as a
tribune from which to harangue the people gathered together in the
courtyard.
[Illustration: HOUSE OF THE WHITE GABLE. (_Cliché LL_)]
This tribune (_photo opposite_) is supported by a half-vault of wood,
the arches of which abut against the stone corbels. At the outside
corner, a console terminating in a flying angel forms a pendative, and
is decorated with curious carving depicting a man in the dress of a 15th
century burgess, having three heads.
One of his feet is bare, the other shod. On the opposite console is the
figure of a man on horseback, probably Nicolas Fauvel, wearing the
mayoral robes of Amiens. Part of the house with wooden walls was
destroyed by a bomb, but the mayor's tribune escaped uninjured.
_Returning to the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, the tourist should turn to
the right to see the_ =Ancien belfry= of the City of Amiens (_E on
detailed plan_).
The lower portion only is old. Its heavy 18th century steeple contains a
=bell= weighing eleven tons.
_Leaving the Belfry behind, continue to follow the Rue du Chapeau de
Violettes as far as the Rue St. Germain, at the corner of which is_ =St.
Germain's Church= (_D on detailed plan_), historical monument. A fine
building in the Flamboyant style, dating from the middle of the 15th
century, it was seriously damaged by a bomb which fell in the Rue St.
Germain on the night of the 13th-14th May, 1918, destroying five houses.
[Illustration: ST. GERMAIN CHURCH AND RUE ST.-GERMAIN.]
House of the "Sagittaire"
The south façade, looking on the street, as well as that of the apse,
suffered badly throughout their entire length.
[Illustration: ST.-GERMAIN CHURCH: DETAILS OF PORCH.]
Although the main body of the building remained standing, most of the
ornamental carving was broken and the doorway torn open, while all the
stained glass was destroyed, together with the greater part of the
mullions of the windows. Inside, the vaults were pierced in several
places.
The doorway in the Rue Pingré is uninjured (_photo above_). Part of the
ornamental carving is of great delicacy, but the statues are modern. The
door is of wood with Renaissance carvings. A square tower leaning
towards the North flanks the doorway.
The interior of the church is beautifully proportioned and very simple
in arrangement. The choir, slightly more modern than the nave, dates
from 1478. The lateral chapels contain some 16th century stained glass
and a reproduction of the Burial Scene dated 1506.
_Skirt the church by following the Rue St. Germain to the_ PLACE DU
MARCHÉ DE LANSELLES (_curious old houses_).
_Cross the Square diagonally on the right, then take the Rue des
Vergeaux._
_In this street (Nos. 57-59--K on detailed plan) is the_ =Maison du
Sagittaire= (_Archers' House_), so called on account of two small
figures of archers carved at the top of the keystones of the arcaded
vaults on the ground-floor.
Pure Renaissance in style and dating from 1593, it is the finest and
best preserved house in the old town (_photo opposite_).
[Illustration: HOUSE OF THE "SAGITTAIRE"
_Rue des Vergeaux nos. 57-59._]
The ground-floor comprises two broken-arch arcades, each of whose
tympanums is ornamented with two semi-recumbent figures of women.
A frieze ornamented with medallions of Roman warriors extends between
the ground-floor and first-floor.
Five magnificent lions' muzzles appear between Renaissance motifs in
this frieze.
[Illustration: PLACE DES HUCHERS ABOUT 1820. (_drawing by the Brothers
Duthoit_).]
OLD AMIENS
_Return to the Place du Marché de Lanselles and take the Rue St. Martin,
which is at the right-hand corner._ There are two =fine façades= in this
street, one Louis XV. at No. 7, and the other Louis XVI. at No. 18.
A shell caused rather serious damage to the left-hand window on the
first floor of the former. _At the end of the Rue St. Martin take on the
left the Rue Flatters, which continues the Rue du Bloc. Leave the
latter, taking on the right the Rue des Rinchevaux which leads to the_
Place des Huchers. (=Fine view= of old houses and cathedral--_photo
below_).
[Illustration: PLACE DES HUCHERS.]
[Illustration: HOCQUET CANAL]
_To the right of the Square take the Rue du Pont-Piperesse visible in
the photo, p. 49_, then on the left, _the Rue des Gantiers and the Rue
Hocquet. At the intersection of the latter with the Rue de Metz-l'Evéque
take a few steps to the right in the last-named street, to get a_ =view=
_of the picturesque_ Canal du Hocquet (_photo above_).
_Continue along the Rue du Hocquet and its continuation (Rue de la
Barette). At the end of this street, turn to the left, cross the bridge
over the Somme and go up the Boulevard de Beauvillé for several hundred
yards, to get_ a pretty =view= of the town _on the left_ (_photo
below_).
[Illustration: PANORAMA OF AMIENS (_as seen from the Boulevard
Beauvillé_).]
[Illustration: THE "HORTILLONNAGES" (KITCHEN-GARDENS).]
The "Hortillonnages"
In the foreground of the above photo is a "Hortillonage." This is the
local name for the tiny islets in the vicinity, whose rich black soil is
generally cultivated as kitchen-gardens by men and women called
"hortillons" or "hortillonnes." These gardens are intersected by
innumerable small canals fed by the Rivers Somme and Avre. The most
important "hortillonnages" are at the east end of the town. Visiting is
only possible in the long flat-bottomed boats with turned-up ends seen
in the photo above.
Each morning in summer the boats go, loaded with fruit and vegetables,
to the "floating market" of Amiens (_photo below_).
The soil of these gardens is wonderfully fertile, fruit and vegetable
crops succeeding one another unceasingly all the year round. The total
revenue exceeds two million francs, and a "hectare" (rather less than
two and a half acres) often costs twelve thousand francs.
[Illustration: THE "FLOATING" MARKET _Place Parmentier. In the
background "Pont de la Dodane."_]
[Illustration: THE RUE DU DON ON MARKET-DAY.]
The St. Leu Quarter
_Return by the same way to the bridge, then turn to the right and follow
the Port d'Amont as far as the first bridge_ (Pont du Cange). This
bridge dates from the fifteenth century, and is the oldest of the many
bridges which cross the canals.
_Cross the bridge, then turn to the left into the Rue Belu, which runs
along the river-side. From here there is_ a pretty =view= of the
Cathedral and the old town (_photo below_). _At the end of the Rue Belu,
cross the Pont de la Dodane. To the left is the Place Parmentier, where
the_ "Floating Market" _is held (p. 51). In front are the first houses
of the curious_ Rue du Don, _seen in the centre of the photo below, and
on the right of the photo on p. 53._
_Take a few steps to get a good view of this street (photo above),
re-cross the Pont de la Dodane, then take on the left the Rue d'
Engoulvent, which runs by the side of an arm of the Somme (photo p. 53),
as far as the_ =church of St. Leu=. _The tourist may either go round the
apsis of the_ church, _taking on the left the small Rue St. Leu which
crosses the arm of the river, or continue straight ahead as far as the
Rue St. Leu, via the Rue Graineville, which is the continuation of the
Rue d'Engoulvent_.
[Illustration: _To the right_,
PONT DE LA DODANE.
_In the background, Place Parmentier entrance to the Rue du Don._]
=St. Leu Church= (hist. mon.) has undergone important alterations at
various times. One of its façades is 15th century, and a steeple was
rebuilt in the 16th century, in the Gothic style. A shell splinter
[Illustration: OLD BISHOPS' PALACE (_in front of Cathedral_).
_To the right_, RUE DU DON.]
broke the mullions and stained glass of one of the windows of the apse
(north side). This Church is in the centre of the old quarter or lower
part of the city. It is there that the commerce and industry of the town
have been centralised since the Middle Ages.
A maze of narrow, winding streets crossed by innumerable canals or arms
of the Somme river, connected by bridges, forms this part of the town.
Numerous small water-falls supply motive power to the local factories
and works. Formerly, the workshops of the fullers and dyers, which
crowded the banks of the canals, and where the cloth-fulling and
woad-grinding were done, were driven by water-wheels (_see p. 2_).
The houses have kept their ancient aspect, and are curious for their
wooden walls, sharply pointed gables, steep roofs with tiny
dormer-windows, and daring corbellings overhanging the narrow streets
and canals. The only means of access to the outside which some of them
possess is a foot-bridge passing over the canal.
_Turn to the right into the Rue St. Leu, passing in front of the_ =Hôtel
Dieu=. Rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, except the St. John ward,
which was built at the beginning of the 16th century in the
Gothic-Flamboyant style, it is a spacious hall with two large roofs, the
gables of which face the street. The vaulting is of wood, the ends of
the beams being carved. The whole is in very bad condition.
_After crossing six successive lines of canals offering_ picturesque
perspectives (_especially the_ Rue de Ville _and_ Rue des Coches), _the
tourist arrives at the_ =Citadelle=.
The Citadelle, built in the 16th century, has since been dismantled and
now serves as a barracks. The =Porte Monte-Ecu= (historical monument),
built in 1531 under François I., is within its walls. It was through
this Gate that the Spaniards entered Amiens in 1597. _To get a view of
it, turn to the right after the Pont de la Citadelle and take the first
street on the left (see detailed plan)._
[Illustration: PONT DE LA DODANE.
_On right of Canal_, RUE D'ENGOULVENT. _On the left_, RUE DES MAJOTS.
_In the background_, ST. LEU CHURCH.]
_Return by the same way to the Rue St. Leu. A little beyond the Church
of St. Leu, take the Rue Fernel on the right, in which several_ 15th
century wooden
[Illustration: RUE D'ENGOULVENT (ABOUT 1820). (_drawing by the Brothers
Duthoit_).]
houses are still to be seen. No. 33, known as the "Ramoneurs," is
especially worthy of note, though greatly deteriorated.
_Follow the Rue Fernel to the Place Samarobrive, to the left of which
take the Rue des Bouchers_ (_photo below_--picturesque old houses,
especially No. 33).
_At the end of this street, turn to the right into the Rue
Haute-des-Tanneurs, which is continued on the other side of the Place
Fauvel by the Rue Basse-des-Tanneurs._
At the end of the Rue Basse-des-Tanneurs, see the ancient dilapidated
façade (1493) of the =Hotel Morgan de Belloy= (_B on detailed plan_),
and the =Château d'Eau= (_A on detailed plan_), dating _from the 18th
century_.
A natural history museum has been installed on the first floor.
_From the Hôtel Morgan there is a_ =fine view= _of the Cathedral and the
lower town_ (_photo page 55_).
_If the tourist has time he should cross the Somme by the Pont St.
Michel, then follow the Boulevard du Jardin des Plantes to visit the_
=Jardin des Plantes=, _which is on the right of the Boulevard_.
[Illustration: RUE DES BOUCHERS.]
_Retracing his steps he should turn to the right after the Pont St.
Michel, and follow the Port_
[Illustration: RUE BASSE DES TANNEURS _seen from the Rue Condé. In the
background, steeple of the Church of St. Germain and the Cathedral_.]
_d'Aral, then turn to the left and take the Boulevard du Port._
_On arriving at the Place du Marché aux Chevaux, turn to the right into
the Rue du Faubourg-de-la-Hotoie as far as the_ =Promenade de la Hotoie=
(_see coloured plan_), a magnificent _park_ of about 50 acres, continued
on the north by the =Jardin Anglais= of the "Petite Hotoie," ten acres
in extent.
The Promenade de la Hotoie was used by the military authorities as an
automobile park during the War and is now in a deplorable state.
_Return via the Faubourg de la Hotoie, then take the Rue de la Hotoie
which continues it beyond the Place du Marché aux Chevaux._
_At the end of this street in the Place St. Firmin, take the Rue St.
Jacques on the right, then immediately afterwards the Rue Gresset on the
left_ (_No. 11 was formerly the_ =Hôtel des Monnaies=--_18th century_).
Only the entrance door remains, the pediment of which is decorated with
two fine figures of women.
[Illustration: RUE BASSE DES TANNEURS _In background, Hôtel Morgan and
old Château d'Eau_.]
_Continue along the Rue Delambre, cross the Place Gambetta, and follow
the Rue des Trois Cailloux._
_After the Theatre, turn to the left into the Rue Robert de Luzarches
which leads to the Cathedral._
[Illustration: HÔTEL MORGAN.]
CONTENTS
PAGES
CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS 2
AMIENS DURING THE WAR 2 to 8
ITINERARY--VISIT TO THE TOWN 9 to 55
THE CATHEDRAL 9 to 34
PICARDY MUSEUM 38 to 44
OLD AMIENS 49 to 55
[Illustration: OLD AMIENS (_Drawing by the Brothers Duthoit_)
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON
VII--2, 111-6-1925
]
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After world-renowned _Vichy_, the thermal stations of _La Bourboule_,
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Other places of interest are: _Thiers_ (celebrated for its cutlery) and
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_Riom_, with its ancient churches and ruined Abbey of Mozac;
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Nor should _Issoire_ and _Le Puy_ be forgotten. The latter, one of the
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