“I aspired to see with my own eyes what I had heard of from so far away: this revolution of the eye, this rotation of colours…that could not be seen in my town. The sun of Art then shone only on Paris.” ― Marc Chagall

Les Lumières De Montparnasse

Paris, France, 2019

La Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
La Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
La Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
La Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Le Dome Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Le Dome Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Le Dome Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Le Dome Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Neon signs Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit

No one has put it better than artist Marc Chagall when trying to sum up the feeling in Montparnasse during “les années folles” (the crazy years during the golden age of the 1920s). As Europe came back to life after the war, people were drawn to “The City of Light” like a moth to the flame. I couldn’t agree more with that “city of light” term. Paris offers a large number of well designed storefronts where lighting plays a major role. Historical neon signs are kept in shape despite some efficiency disadvantages. Very soon a new approach in neon tech might even solve that as well as the wear and tear issue. I guess the French never forgot how close Paris came to destruction and therefore cherish such treasures differently and because they still exist of course. How pleasant it is to walk this city, Montparnasse at night …

UCC Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
UCC Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Smoke Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
UCC Rotonde Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Smoke Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Bretagne Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Neon Hotel Berkeley Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Galeries Lafayette Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Tabac le Braåazza Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Creperie Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Galeries Lafayette Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit

In the days of the 1920’s scores of writers and artists of all genres fled suffocatingly conservative (Anglo-Saxon) cultures in search of the intellectual, artistic and sexual freedom that only the French capital and Berlin could offer at the time. Montparnasse became a unique center and focus of creativity, with its cafés, bohemian bars and the many studios in close reange. It was the ideal situation but the intellectual life in Montparnasse was not peaceful, but rather accented by quarrels between artists about art and artistic currents, ideological debates about literary and theatre styles. [Part II]

Cinemas Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Cinemas Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Auberge Venise Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Creperie Henri Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
La Consigne Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte Monparnasse Paris. Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Korean BBQ Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit
Fleurs Montparnasse - Oliver Lins, Quest - Im Wandel der Zeit