In 2011, we published a news item to express our indignation at the sale of a set of thirteen paintings by Gustave Surand, which formed the décor of the Bar Romain, next to L’Olympia, after these works were torn off their wall and replaced by photos (ill. 1). This vandalism is still hidden today, since Gustave Surand’s set is still talked about everywhere as if it were still in place. Even the Vivendi website, which now owns, via L’Olympia, the restaurant now called "Le Petit Olympia", talks about Gustave Surand’s decor! Is it possible that this company (which is not responsible for its mutilation, which occurred several years before it bought it) does not know that these are reproductions? As for the Parisien, which had published an article in 2011 to denounce the facts ("Les tableaux du Bar romain : maintenant c’est du toc"), it wrote in 2018, about the purchase of the premises by L’Olympia that the Bar Romain "draws its name from the frescoes to the glory of Rome made on the walls by Gustave Surand, frescoes which earned him the Prix de... Rome". Of course, these were not frescoes, but paintings on canvas, and now photographs. On Tripadvisor, one can read this type of comment: "Original and authentic from the wall decor to the food presentations". While the food is certainly "original and authentic", the decor is not.
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- 1. Decor of the Bar Romain with photographs of the original paintings (27 July 2011)
Photo: Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
What a surprise it was to find that on Friday 17 March, the SVV Ader would be offering for sale at the Hôtel Drouot (ill. 2) this set of thirteen paintings (ill. 3 to 6) that were to be auctioned off one by one twelve years ago. Obviously, they had been bought out because of the excessive estimates at the time, as confirmed by the Artprice website. Had they then been sold by mutual agreement to the person selling them on Friday? Or is it the former owner of the premises who is once again trying to sell them? In any case, this ensemble, which was especially valuable as a restaurant décor, now has a rather modest estimate of €10,000 to €15,000 for the whole, the paintings being fortunately reunited in a single lot.
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- 2. Exhibition of thirteen paintings by Gustave Surand, which will be sold
Friday 17 March at the Hôtel Drouot, room 7, by the Ader
Photo: Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
At the time, we contacted the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles (DRAC) of Île-de-France to inform them of this sale. They were not aware of it, and replied that "a classification procedure seems [to be] difficult to take and to defend legally, as the paintings had already been removed from their original location". We then suggested that the Ministry of Culture should buy it until the situation in the restaurant changed, in order to have a chance of putting the works back in place and protecting the entire setting.
Of course, the Ministry of Culture did not budge.
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- 3. Gustave Surand (1860-1937)
Tiberius’ Dinner at Sesstius Gallus, 1905
Oil on canvas - 110 x 136.5 cm
Part of the dismantled decor of the Bar Romain in Paris
Photo: Ader - See the image in its page
Here is another chance (a last one?) to save this piece of Parisian heritage. We have contacted the restaurant, now owned by Vivendi, and therefore Vincent Bolloré, to warn them, and to encourage them to buy these paintings in order to put them back in place: the price should not be a problem for them! At the time of publishing this article, no one has called us back.
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- 4. Gustave Surand (1860-1937)
The Battle of Allia, 1905
Oil on canvas - 110 x 60 cm
Part of the dismantled decor
of the Roman Bar in Paris
Photo: Ader - See the image in its page
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- 5. Gustave Surand (1860-1937)
Two Gladiators, 1905
Oil on canvas - 110 x 60 cm
Part of the dismantled decor
of the Bar Romain in Paris
Photo: Ader - See the image in its page
There are now four possible solutions:
– either L’Olympia acquires these works and restores the integrity of the decor (which is its whole point, by the way, since it is such a commercial argument);
– or, if it doesn’t care, the City of Paris buys the set while waiting for better days with the aim of eventually putting it back in place; we call on Karen Taïeb, the elected representative in charge of heritage and one of the only ones really interested in this in this municipality, to consider this option (in the meantime, they could be deposited at the Carnavalet Museum),
– or, if the City of Paris is not interested, the DRAC Île-de-France is more efficient today than it was yesterday and the State buys the paintings with the same objective of one day putting them back in place...
– or nobody does anything, and these paintings are once again sold with the risk of seeing them dispersed one day without any hope of return.
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- 6. Gustave Surand (1860-1937)
The Arena under Caligula, 1905
Oil on canvas - 110 x 136.5 cm
Part of the dismantled decor of the Bar Romain in Paris
Photo: Ader - See the image in its page
For one of the first three solutions to be possible (the first being indisputably the best), the Ministry of Culture would at least have to take an interest in it in order to coordinate the efforts of all the players concerned, and all the more so if the rest of the décor in place has since been listed as a historic monument, as the page on the Vivendi site we quoted states (we have not, however, found any trace of the protection of this décor in the Mérimée database).
When you consider the amounts at stake in relation to its heritage importance, you can see that saving this historic Paris 1900 décor should not be complicated. All it takes is a little willpower.