Maison Damain

The only residence in the town to feature the Art Nouveau aesthetic, where architecture and décor form a coherent, harmonious whole, this house was built by Barisian architect Jules Renard to showcase the work of painter-decorator Léon Damain (1872-1947).
An enamelled plaque above the side doorway preserves the memory of this Barisian artist from a family of painters. Léon Damain was above all a decorator. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, his style evolved from Neo-Gothic to Art Deco, passing through the soft, flowery lines of Art Nouveau. From his training at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he retained a concern for a highly covering decor, where architecture and ornamentation form a total work of art. In Bar-le-Duc, the prefecture, the churches of Notre-Dame and Saint-Antoine, and the Château de Marbeaumont, where he also collaborated with the architect Renard, still preserve some of his ensembles.
The house he had built to house a store and exhibition space had to demonstrate this symbiosis between the arts. Not without a touch of ostentation, it was designed around a corner pavilion using the materials of classical architecture: Savonnières stone, flat pebbled tiles. The superimposition of bays around a central entablature and the use of ashlar quoins are also references to classical art.
However, the building is distinguished by the supple, rounded shapes used in both the stonework and the finishing materials. The large bay windows on the second floor and the bow window overlooking the courtyard reflect a desire to reconcile the quest for comfort with that of a new aesthetic. The "whiplash" lines, in which curves and double curves intertwine and contrast, can be seen on the balcony railings, window transoms, courtyard wall and roof dormers. The use of plant imagery (sunflowers) also betrays the strong influence of the École de Nancy. The house was requisitioned and occupied during the Second World War, leaving only a few scattered elements of the original interior decor (staircase, fireplace, stained glass windows).

DATAtourisme France