Rouen’s Place de la Cathedrale is perhaps best-known for the cathedral whose facade Monet painted in more than two dozen pictures, each at differing times of day and lighting.
But across the square from the cathedral is a building, once housing a lingerie store, where Monet rented a second-floor window to paint from, and which now houses the local Office de Tourisme.
And next door to that, although built later, is the magnificent facade of the Grand Pharmacie du Centre, built in the 1920s, with Art Deco building forms, including the octagonal ‘window’ spaces, and with lettering and ironwork showing strong impressions of the earlier Art Nouveau.
As you might imagine, in 1920 it was quite controversial, since it faces the cathedral directly, but it’s now recognized as a treasure of its own.
The signs and ironwork were designed by Raymond Subes, who also did work for many well-known Paris hotels and restaurants, including the George V, Lutetia and Fouquet’s, as well as a new series of streetlights for Paris bridges.
