Dome

Detail depicting decorative tips of cast-iron supports; In 1896 Guimard entered the competition to design Paris Métro stations, failing to win but getting the job because the railway company's president was attracted to the Art Nouveau style. He designed three types of station: a basic open one with steps and railings; another with enclosed and covered steps; and a third with complete pavilions. The first type, of which about 90 survive, was fashioned in various forms, the most interesting of which consists of railings with decorated 'shields' incorporating the letter M and an iron arch over the entrance which supports an enamelled sign flanked by 'stalks' blossoming into lamps (e.g. Cité, 1898-1901). The second type, for example Abbesses in Montmartre, consists of an iron frame with decorated enamelled lava panels and translucent wired glass; a 'butterfly' glass roof, supported from a central girder, over-sails the enclosure. The third type, of which only Porte Dauphine survives, provides waiting-rooms and has an enclosure like the second type but with more ample entrance arches and a roof consisting of tiered pyramidal sections reminiscent of covered market structures. The stations, which were modular and conceived for mass-production, were in production until 1913. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/26/2008)