La Piscine Museum
The Musée d'Art et d'Industrie ( German: Museum of Arts and Crafts; officially La Piscine- Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent ) also known as La Piscine or Musée André Diligent, is a converted into a museum swimming pool from the 1920s, which is located in the northern French town of Roubaix.
The permanent exhibition presents works of art by local artists and exhibits from the industrial history of the city. In an adjoining wing small exhibitions are organized occasionally, the art objects from around the world accommodate as, inter alia, by Pablo Picasso.
The design of the swimming pool in the Art Deco style of the early 20th century has been largely maintained, creating a special atmosphere for the exhibits, as well as an impression of a bygone era of the city.
Curator of the museum is Bruno Gaudichon.
History
Before the construction of the swimming pool Roubaix had only a few beaches and a swimming school on the canal and a small bathhouse in the rue Pierre Motte and the rue de Rome from the late 19th century. The city was in 1912 plans to build a larger bathhouse design. The project was abandoned due to the outbreak of the First World War, but by the end of which immediately resumed by Mayor Jean -Baptiste Lebas and a native of Lille architect Albert Baert passed. Baert, who had already built baths in Dunkirk and Lille, saw in his plans, an extensive leisure, sport and hygiene supply, especially for the working class.
The construction period lasted from 1927 until 1932. The building resembled his entrance, the arched roof, the ornate rosettes and the side aisles rather a church building, but was kept completely in the Art Deco style. The opposite rosettes - Sunrise and Sunset - are the representative symbol of this architecture Ellen work of art.
The bathhouse was operated until 1985. Due to the current drawn by the chlorine in affected buildings, the operation had to be stopped.
Only in 1990, to open a new museum when considering the city - since 1940 Roubaix could show no significant museum more - the building was again given particular attention. The small exhibition space for local textile production in the town hall was no longer enough, and numerous works of art had been deposited at the Musée des Baux Arts. The draft of the " Museum in the pool " came from the architect Jean -Paul Philippon, who was also involved in the construction of the Musée d' Orsay in Paris and had taken part in an international competition with his design.
The museum was opened in 2000 and named in 2001 under the name " Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent ," according to the mayor of the city from 1983 to 1994.
Design and exhibition of the Museum
The center of the museum is the great basin. Along its longitudinal sides of ridges were built into the pool - in the middle separated by water - on which the visitor can consider two rows of sculptures. A gargoyle is located at one end of the pool, which is surrounded by an ornate mosaic border. Behind the sculpture series are the old tiled changing rooms and showers, where few special attractions and objects are exhibited. Above the basin are two more floors rise; the first consisting of a continuous gallery and further changing rooms, the second of several balconies.
The upper floors are used primarily for the exhibition of the textile industry in the region. Here you can find numerous substances and pieces of well-known fashion designers.
In the branching of the pool hall wings of the building, there are numerous paintings, art objects made of porcelain and other exhibits. In addition, the visitor gets a glimpse of the other sanitation facilities in the bathhouse, such as an old bath from the period of the building.
Special exhibits
- Autoportrait (Self- Portrait ) by Eugène Leroy, oil painting (1959 )
- Fillette by Marc Ronet (1970 )
- Les Loisirs by Marcel Gromaire, oil painting (1936 )
- Specimens in this medium by Michel Delporte, light printing on paper (1957 )
- Vieille femme Jean Roulland, oil painting (1952 )
Swell
- Waret Philippe and Jean -Pierre Popelier: Roubaix de A à Z. Editions Alain Sutton, Saint- Cyr- sur -Loire, 2006 ISBN 2-84910-459-0.