Apartment Paris 14th (75)

An artist’s studio that belonged to painter Henri-Martin below an atrium in an Art Nouveau building.
The Art Nouveau style, dressed stone building, constructed in 1905, is the work of Théo-Petit, architect of the Normandy in Deauville and the Majestic in Cannes. This building spans six floors in addition to the ground floor. The artist’s studio is to be found in a partially raised section on the seventh floor, with its brick facade. A picture window divided by vertical uprights enhances the workshop appearance, magnified by an atrium ending under the ridge, which is almost 6 m high. Two balconies on either side of the window are reached via double French windows. It would easily be possible to create a second bedroom, including a balcony, without detriment to the luminosity of the living room. A kitchen area, with its separate cooking section, and a guest toilet, with a lobby, complete this level. A spiral stairway goes up to the floor above, partially laid out as a mezzanine. The open area above the living room is protected by stainless steel guardrails. A window encompasses a view of the Montparnasse and Eiffel Towers. This upper level comprises a large study area and a sleeping section, separated by a wide, sliding door, as well as the stairway landing. The invisible air-conditioning system blows air from beneath the edge of the suspended ceiling, controlling the temperature in the room.
A short while after he moved in, Henri-Martin designed the decoration project for Arnaga, Edmond-Rostand’s villa in Cambo-les-Bains, now a museum, where it is possible to admire his large, colourful frescoes. The southern joy that characterised the work of Henri-Martin, originally from Toulouse, can be felt throughout this flat probably courtesy of its harmonious luminosity.
The buildingThe building features rusticated masonry on the first two levels, ground and first floors, as well as semi-circular arched windows on the first and fifth floors. Sculpted corbelling and superb coloured mosaic floor tiles, featuring fleur-de-lis, in the building entrance hall are characteristic of a refined Art Nouveau style. Two vertical rows of protruding bay windows, with atria and slightly arched stained glass windows, span four levels.The communal areasThe building’s wrought iron entrance door is protected via a numerical keypad security system. A second, inner, glazed door, protected via a code and a magnetic key, provides access to the main stairway and the lift. Each landing up to the sixth floor provides access to two flats. Facing one another, they are entered via double doors, painted in trompe-l’oeil to resemble oak wood. The stairwell is illuminated with daylight via windows on the intermediate landings between the floors. The stairway steps and landings are covered with a red wool carpet runner and the risers adorned with brass rods, harmonising the communal areas with the style of middle-class housing.
The 7th floor is reached by climbing the last flight of the main stairway.
The artist’s studio
First level
The entrance hall
This artist’s studio is accessed via double doors, clad with painted panelling on the inside. On the left-hand side, another similar set of double doors open into a guest cloakroom. The underside of the mezzanine is L-shaped: on one side, it ends against the facade wall and, on the right-hand side, on the perpendicular wall featuring an opening, at the end, through which passes a spiral stairway.
Curved corbelling, at the intersection of the two segments forming the “L”, creates a balcony. Two round glossy poles support the mezzanine, the underside of which is fitted with a suspended ceiling, inset with a spotlight lighting system.
Living …