This lavishly exuberant masterpiece shows countless allegoric figurations of both sexes : one of them is the lizard on the door (the word for the phallus in parisian slang)... Framing the door are Adam & Eve after their sin, alongside with a delicate bust which represents, according to the legend, Mrs Lavirotte herself, wearing a boa which could be an allegoric representation of the Genesis Serpent.
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1 - Main entrance (the rights
for this view are the property of its author).
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2 - Stoneware balcony.
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3 - Window on the 3st floor (the rights of this view are its author's property). |
The front is a fantastic challenge dealing with asymetry ; Lavirotte doesn't care about Guimard's rationalistic & innovative principles : none of the floors is more prominent than the others. Lavirotte sets a splendid loggia on the 4th floor (an element very appreciated by the Art Nouveau architects) & employs, with a curious touch of cynicism abhorred by contemporary critics & specialists, each & every academic decorative element in some kind of twisted ornamental dance. Note also the indecent pattern provided by the ground floor balconies (a penis & a pussy simply put together during the paroxystic moment of the orgiastic gesture), a basic theme which variations can easily be detected in other parts of the front. Some other more subtle symbols dealing with sex & procreation strew this huge composition. Each new careful glance at this inordinate scene shows a new surprising feature. |
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4 - The loggia. |
5 - Windows of the 1st floor. |
