Have you ever walked down an empty street and felt that you were being watched? Even though there were no curtains twitching nor anyone at the windows? Disconcerting, until you discover a face, somewhere high up on a building – a face that may have been gazing out for decades or centuries! Take a walk around the small towns in Southern France, and you’ll be able to find those faces – sometimes well hidden, sometimes very obvious!
Below is a face above a door in Pezenas.
Faces and facades share the same etymological origin. The facade being the ‘face’ of a building, it projects political, symbolic and social values, revealing all kinds of information about its owner. A lot of the ornate facades in this post date from the 19th century, when you could flaunt it if you had it and more was definitely better!!
The pictures below are of a building in Castelnaudary – a former department store dating from the 1870s. There are many faces on that facade!
The face below is high up on a wall in a narrow street in Beziers – it’s almost ghost like!
Atlantes always look somewhat weary and/or bored – I guess I would too, if I had to carry all that weight! 🙂
There are also plenty of animals to be found on facades. Here is a pair of fearsome hounds guarding a gate:
A lion:
Here’s a pair of Caryatids, looking vaguely bored…
Someone’s looking out of a window of this tower in Narbonne. I wonder what the story behind that window is!
More caryatids – these adorn a renaissance mansion in Narbonne.
Two faces carved by the Beziers sculptor Injalbert
Green men also seem to figure in some places:
This finely sculpted face was actually on a door knocker and measured only about 3cm across!
I leave you with this beautiful art nouveau sculpture from a building in Beziers. Raise your eyes next time you go for a walk – you’ll never know what you may find!!
One is really never alone!
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Very true!!
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Very interesting figure in the window…haven’t see anything similar.
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Thank you Marian! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that either!
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I love these! And for all the times I’ve been to Narbonne, I never noticed the figure in the window. Next time I will hunt for it!
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It’s a little set back from the street – on Rue Droite 😉
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Very cool! So much to
see everywhere – I will be looking up in the future. Thanks!
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Thank you Bonnie!!
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These are so cool Andreas!!! Love this kind of stuff!!
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Thank you, Jean!! You’ll be able to see them for yourself on your next visit!! 🙂
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Fabulous photos! Our French home is in Castelnaudary and I do spend a lot of time looking up at some wonderful statues. I recognise the ones in your photos but I had no idea the building was a former department store. Fascinating!
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Hi June,
Lovely to read your message – thanks so much!! That particular building must be one of the most ornate that I’ve come across as far as statues are concerned!! Lucky you for being able to contemplate it whenever you want to!!
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Fascinating! In our small village alone, there are plenty of faces staring stonily down at one. The problem with looking upwards when on a French street is that you can’t easily avoid what your feet are inevitably going to encounter!
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I know exactly what you mean!! It’s much easier to disregard the pavements in some other places, but in France it’s best to keep ones eyes everywhere!! 🙂
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