Esplanade, Tuileries Gardens

Three schoolboys play soccer on the Esplanade near the Louvre.

Esplanade, Tuileries, Paris 2009, looking east toward the Marsan Pavilion and the Louvre

Three schoolboys are playing soccer on the Esplanade des Feuillants beside the elevated Terrasse des Feuillants. These avenues were laid out by André Le Nôtre when he was asked to redesign the Tuileries in 1664.

Beyond the boys is a sculpture by Gustave Michel entitled Monument to Jules Ferry (1910). (Please click on the image to see more details.) Ferry was a politician who sponsored the modernization of the French education system in the late 19^th century.

The large building in the background is the Marsan Pavilion located on the north side of the Louvre. This pavilion was rebuilt in 1871 to match the Flore Pavilion on the south side.

Terrasse, Tuileries Gardens

Aristide Maillol’s sculpture Monument à Cézanne reclines on the Terrasse.

Terrasse, Tuileries, Paris 2009, looking east toward the Pyramid at the Louvre

Aristide Maillol’s classical sculpture, entitled Monument à Cézanne, sits on the broad terrace that runs between the Carrousel Garden and the Grand Carré. Maillol’s original sculpture (1912-1925) was first installed in the Tuileries in 1929.

The Monument à Cézanne in this photograph is a copy made in 1943; the original sculpture is now on display in the nearby Musée d’Orsay. Many additional works by Maillol were installed in the gardens in 1964.

Allée de Diane, Tuileries Gardens

The man in this image is about to cross the Allée de Diane and enter the woods.

Allée de Diane, Tuileries, Paris 2009, looking east toward the Louvre from the Allée de Diane

The man in the centre of this image is about to cross the Allée de Diane and enter the “Grand Couvert” or wooded area of the Tuilleries. Three parallel allées bordered by carefully trimmed chestnut trees run for two long city blocks through the woods to the octagonal basin. Thus the gardens provide a shortcut from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde.

On the left side of the photograph, a crowd can be seen near the round pond in the centre of the “Grand Carée.” (Please click on the image to see more details.) Many large vases from the 17^th and 18^th centuries are scattered throughout this section of the garden.

Waldeck-Rousseau Monument, Tuileries Gardens

The Tuileries is the largest and oldest garden in Paris.

Waldeck-Rousseau Monument, Tuileries, Paris 2009, looking east toward the Louvre

The Tuileries, the first public garden in Paris, is the city’s largest and oldest garden, initially established in 1563. The gardens were completely redesigned in 1664 by André Le Nôtre; the basic structure of the formal French garden that he laid out still remains in place today, despite many renovations and updates over the years. What a wonderful example of urban change and continuity.

Located in the 1^er arrondissement in the very heart of Paris, the gardens provide a welcome contrast to the crowded sidewalks, congested roadways, and polluted atmosphere of central Paris. Each time I entered the Tuileries with camera in hand, I had the sense that if I just stood still long enough, I could actually hear the silence. And that is what I attempted to photograph: the silence. Even the boys playing soccer on the Esplanade seemed to be part of a silent movie in this splendid setting.

Before departing for Paris, I studied old photographs of the city. During the last 100 years, the Tuileries Gardens have been photographed by many well-known photographers, including: Eugène Atget (Jardin des Tuileries, 1907); André Kertész (Jardin des Tuileries, 1928-1930); Brassaï (Banc aux Tuileries, 1930-1932); Robert Doisneau (Amour et Barbelés, Tuileries, 1944); and Henri Cartier-Bresson (Jardin des Tuileries, 1974). When I arrived in Paris in April 2009, it was a challenge to reconcile these representations from the past with today’s reality. As a solution, I have tried to combine a formal approach to composition with a softer modern palette to produce these timeless images of Paris.