Le Carré Rive Gauche, objects from yesterday to today
Strolling through the streets of the Carré Rive Gauche is like travelling back in time through 7,000 years of history and rare objects, but it’s also like seeing history in the making.
In the 17th century, an imposing quadrangle at the junction of rue du Bac and rue de Verneuil was the barracks of the Grey Musketeers, close to the home of their captain, d’Artagnan.
Madame du Deffand, a woman of letters in the 18th century, held her literary salon in the îlot Saint-Germain from 1747 to 1780, where she entertained the mathematician Jean Le Rond D’Alembert, the writer Marivaux, the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot and the sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet. In 1791, as a tribute to the writer who died there in 1778, the Quai de Seine was renamed Quai Voltaire.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, many artists and intellectuals lived on rue du Bac, de Beaune, de Lille, des Saints-Pères, de l’Université, de Verneuil or quai Voltaire.
Juliette Récamier, Charles Baudelaire, Amedeo Modigliani, Alexandre Dumas, Jean-Auguste Ingres, Max Ernst, Jacques Lacan, Rudolf Nureyev, Misia Sert, Vivant-Denon and Oscar Wilde all frequented the area. Even today, it’s not unusual to come across artists, writers, composers and actors.
The galleries of Carré Rive Gauche (an association created in 1977) have always played an advisory role to the major institutions and collectors. They have also accompanied the emergence of artistic trends. The authenticity, diversity and quality of the works presented by the gallery owners make the Carré Rive Gauche a must for finding exceptional pieces in all fields of expression.
The district has lost none of its vitality and appeal, as evidenced by the installation of the Abraham & Wolff gallery and the Dutko gallery in 2022, and the forthcoming opening to the public of the Maison Gainsbourg.
In 2023, the Carré Rive Gauche will sport a new logo in brighter, more luminous colours, with the aim of making this historic, cultural and artistic landmark shine with grace and prestige.
Members of the association’s board :
Marie Biancarelli, President
Nicolas Bourriaud, Vice President
Julie Béalu, Treasurer
Laurence Werlé, General Secretary
François-Xavier Chamagne, Secretary
Visit us
Rue du Bac, rue de Beaune, rue de Lille, rue des Saints-Pères, rue de l’Université, rue de Verneuil, quai Voltaire. Paris VI et VII.
Métros: Rue du Bac (Ligne 12) / Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Ligne 4) / Tuileries (Ligne 1) / Palais-Royal (Ligne 1 et 7)
Parkings: Bac Montalembert (Accès par l’angle rue du Bac et rue Montalembert) / Saint-Germain (Accès face au 169 boulevard Saint-Germain) / Louvre (Accès par le tunnel des Tuileries)