Louis Carré Residence Dining Area
Architect: Alvar Aalto (1957)
Location: Bazoches-sur-Guyonne
Aalto designed everything in this room except the cabinet at the opposite end, which was added after Carré's death by his widow, Olga. These light fixtures were designed specifically for this space to both light the artwork on the wall and provide downlight for dining.
Louis Carré (1897-1977) was an important French art dealer and gallery owner whose was artists included Fernand Leger and Pablo Picasso. Louis Carré commissioned the house from Alvar Aalto in 1956 as both his private residence and an art gallery, and he and his wife moved there in 1959. The house became a center of French cultural activity throughout the 60s, hosting glamorous parties with the artistic elite. Jean Monnet, the father of the European Union, was his close friend and lived next door.
The house is beautifully designed, but it's also remarkable in that it has remained in its original state, all the way down to the furniture, clothes in the closets, and personal possessions of the original owners. After Carré's death, his widow continued to live there and didn't touch any of her husband's possessions. When she died, the house went to the Alvar Aalto foundation.
Despite being close to Paris, the house is very much in the countryside, surrounded by quaint, medieval villages.
Louis Carré Residence Dining Area
Architect: Alvar Aalto (1957)
Location: Bazoches-sur-Guyonne
Aalto designed everything in this room except the cabinet at the opposite end, which was added after Carré's death by his widow, Olga. These light fixtures were designed specifically for this space to both light the artwork on the wall and provide downlight for dining.
Louis Carré (1897-1977) was an important French art dealer and gallery owner whose was artists included Fernand Leger and Pablo Picasso. Louis Carré commissioned the house from Alvar Aalto in 1956 as both his private residence and an art gallery, and he and his wife moved there in 1959. The house became a center of French cultural activity throughout the 60s, hosting glamorous parties with the artistic elite. Jean Monnet, the father of the European Union, was his close friend and lived next door.
The house is beautifully designed, but it's also remarkable in that it has remained in its original state, all the way down to the furniture, clothes in the closets, and personal possessions of the original owners. After Carré's death, his widow continued to live there and didn't touch any of her husband's possessions. When she died, the house went to the Alvar Aalto foundation.
Despite being close to Paris, the house is very much in the countryside, surrounded by quaint, medieval villages.