Michel Pintado, one of many artists in the 12th on the ave Daumesnil, paints reproductions the old fashioned way - by hand with attention to the original artist's technique.

Discovering The Hidden Paris

By Jacqueline Donnelly

Paris Kiosque - July 1996 - Volume 3, Number 7
Copyright (c) July 1996 Jacqueline Donnelly - used with permission

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I have grown to love the twelfth arrondissement. It is such a hidden treasure of authentic Paris, the way she was in the "old days".

First, the twelfth is residential. Real people live there. The quartier has neighborhood speciality shops - patisseries, boulangeries, or small grocery stores There are no tour busses, tee-shirt emporiums and souvenir shops. In fact, the tourist visiting Paris, who does not visit the twelfth arrondissement has , in my opinion, not seen the real city.

There are two features of the twelfth that I want to share with you: an enclave of artisans in a newly refurbished colony, called the "Viaduc des Arts" and a high-above-the-city walking park, referred to as" la Coulee Verte" or the stretch of greenery.

Ever since medieval times, Paris has been the center of arts and crafts, passed on from master to apprentice. Today in the twelfth arrondissement today's true artisans - cabinet makers, silversmiths, coppersmiths, sculptors, furniture makers, embroiderers have settled in a concentrated area of Paris to create and sell their specialities for a select market.

Located in the arches of the viaduct of the former rail line running from Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes, along the Avenue Daumesnil, are a cluster of workshops of the best artists and artisans of Paris. The first time stroller as well as art afficianandos brush shoulders passing from shop to shop admiring the treasures of centuries of honed craftsmanship. It is rare that one can see elsewhere, such a concentration of art in the process of creation, as well as admire displays of finished product. The area is therefore a breathing museum of the finest craftmanship Paris, if not the world, has to offer.

Michel Pintado in his atelier.

Not to be missed is the atelier of Michel Pintado. Having served as artistic director of an an advertising agency in the "Madison Avenue" of Paris, Michel abandoned the predictable, to pursue his own artistic career creating special effect photography for the advertising needs of Cartier jewelry, Renault cars, and Jacques Fath perfumes.

Visiting his studio one can see advertising projects in process, as well as his three other passions - reproducing the works of the great artists in paintings , producing original works, and the creating contemporary furniture.

If you have not been satified with the photographic reproductions of the works of Van Gogh for example, you can purchase a painted reproduction so that you can appreciate personally the same brushwork and colors of the master.

Furniture by Michel Pintado

Each piece of furniture Michel creates is original and numbered made of hand-selected precious woods - walnut, myrtle, and African mahogany transformed to produce the effect of stone, bronze or other metals.

Do visit Michel at his studio at 51 Avenue Daumesnil, as well as the 60 other vaulted studios. Stop at the at the open-air cafe at "Au Pere Tranquille" for a snack or a meal located in the heart of the studio district.

Refreshed, you will be ready for a memorable walk above these studios on the "Coulee Verte" miles of former railroad bed now transformed into a landscaped path stories above the busy streets.

Parisians from the area stroll with their families in this upper level park. As you pass, you can admire the variety of plantings along the the many segments of walkway, look down and watch the traffic below, or pass at a stone's throw from apartments - some contemporary, most often classically French with the scent of garlic and herbs emanating from kitchen windows and the controlled flight of laundry from others.

This passageway is a one of a kind, hidden facet of Paris which combined with the studios below, makes the traveller to Paris no longer a tourist but a visitor to an authentic, fascinating part of this living city.

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Jackie Donnelly, earned her B.A. in French from Connecticut College and her Master's Degree in French language and literature from Boston University. Ms. Donnelly has taught French at the high school and university level for over 25 years. and is an 18 time visitor to France, and describes herself as 100% American but sentimentally 100% French. She was recently awarded the Palmes Academiques from the French Minister of Education. Currently she is serving as chair of a committee on the National Task Force of the American Association of Teachers of French. She can be contacted via this link.