Alexandre Edmond Maistrasse
Paris 1860 – Suresnes 1951
A view of Notre-Dame, Paris
Watercolour.
248 x 346 mm – 9 12/16 x 13 5/8 in.
Signed Al Maistrasse and dated aout 1895.
Exhibition – Salon des artistes français, Paris, 1896, no. 4282.
A student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Alexandre Edmond Maistrasse was a French architect, who designed and created many public buildings, such as hospitals (Trousseau hospital, Paris), schools (Argenteuil, Saint-Ouen), and many large buildings complex called Habitation à Bon Marché, HBM (low rent housing) in the 12th, 13rd and 15th arrondissements of Paris. Although they have not always been very well preserved, these HBM are part of the art deco Parisian heritage, applied to working-class buildings.
Alexandre Maistrasse is also the creator of the Sanatorium in Zuydcoote (Pas-de-Calais) and of the temporary refuge for children, rue de Choisy in the 13rd arrondissement, and of the Cité-Jardin in Suresnes.
Alexandre Maistrasse regularly took part in the Salon des Artistes Français (Salon of the French artists) from 1883 to 1908, mostly to show his architectural projects. In 1896, he exceptionally exhibited two watercolors: a view of Notre-Dame de Paris and a view of the Palais-Bourbon. In all likelihood the present drawing is the first of them, a nice view of Notre-Dame seen from the place du Petit-Pont, which offers a romantic and almost idealized image of Paris. It is still early in the morning; the cathedral stands before the clear sky, behind the booksellers’ boxes and the newspaper kiosk, which are still closed, whereas the so typical Haussmann lamp posts are already turned off.
We are very grateful to our mindful readers for identifying the signature.
Condition report – The watercolor is in good condition, the paper has slightly yellowed as evidenced by the traces of the old mount on the left and top edges
