Maison Baccarat Paris 16ème

Pierre Tatin, a stained-glass designer and restorer pays tribute to the stained-glass windows in the church of St-Rémy in the town of Baccarat, which was classified as a historic monument in 2013, celebrating the richness of this color palette. With this sense of wonder, he humbled himself before the crystal and designed the antechamber as a structure that creates the sensation of being in a chapel of light. An immersive work of art, this room, which opens onto the garden and the boutique, is transformed into a translucent bath of color.

The sculptor finds himself at the crossroads of Baccarat and Ducasse. His woodcarving resonates with that of the Manufacture’s craftsmen, and his intimate relationship with oak with that of Alain Ducasse, who loves this tree. Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut combines the worlds of these two institutions of French excellence. The intrinsic power of the wood from which he sculpts his pieces gives them a raw aura that contrasts with the delicacy of crystal. Inside the restaurant Alain Ducasse Baccarat, the tall shelves carved from oak, from the Domaine de Charlois in Burgundy, adorn the walls. The tables and chairs made by the artist in his studio at Bourron-Marlotte, near Fontainebleau, are installed in the vestibule, hallways and restaurant, as an invitation to rest, contemplate, think, or even sit masterfully in a rugged throne.

On the second floor of the maison, an octagonal room hides behind the Midi-Minuit bar. Painter Gérard Garouste, a lover of wine and mystery, could not have found a better place to display his “Indiennes” (stretched canvases that redefine architectural space) in a tent reminiscent of those used to entertain princes in the Middle Ages. He drew further inspiration from this period for the theme of his work “Alchimie”: a canopy illustrates the four elements – Water, Earth, Air and Fire – essential to the alchemy that gives birth crystal.

Designer Philippe Nigro drew direct inspiration from the atmosphere of the Baccarat Manufacture for the design of the boutique on the ground floor of the maison. An evocation of the old pot kiln in the hot room directs the perspective of the room. The room is enlivened by display units modeled on annealing arches, where the crystal pieces are gently cooled down. A ceiling track creates movement. It recalls the “gamin mécanique” who transports the pieces once they have been molded, blown or pressed. Stepping into this boutique is like spending a moment with the artisans of the Manufacture. It is an immersion we wish would last all day long.