All Saints' Day, a good time to take an interest in cemeteries. And when you are invited into the alleys of one of the most famous places of contemplation in Paris, Père-Lachaise, how can you resist? To discover legends, celebrities and unusual burials from the largest intramural cemetery in the capital… This is the ambition of the album to be published by Delcourt, entitled, quite simply, Le Père-Lachaise.
And the place – opened exactly 220 years ago in the North East of the capital – has no shortage of extraordinary stories, characters and tombs. With more than 70,000 tombs and thousands of personalities from all eras resting there on an area of 44 hectares, choices had to be made. The author and screenwriter, Sébastien Floc'h, selected sixteen of them. From the best known like Jim Morrison, Sarah Bernhardt or Frédéric Chopin to less famous like Georges Rodenbach, Elisabeth Alexandrovna Stroganoff or Félix de Beaujour. But behind each of these names and their burial hides a story with its anecdotes and secrets. A detailed and illustrated story each on eight pages evoking the life of the character then the events around his burial at Père-Lachaise presented by one of these mischievous black cats which haunt the place.
If the scenario is signed by a single author, each story is however accompanied by illustrations by a different designer. A choral album of sorts which gives the set of 136 pages a richness and variety of styles, a rather… A colorful and “lively” atmosphere.
It all begins with the portrait of a certain François d'Aix de La Chaize, Jesuit priest, confessor of Louis XIV. It is he who will secretly marry the king with his mistress, Madame de Maintenon. To thank him for his services, the sovereign will grant him the lands around the Jesuit country house, on Mont Louis. And it is on this land, purchased by the city of Paris, that the Eastern cemetery will be created on May 21, 1804, at the time located outside the limits of the capital to clean up Paris by closing the cemetery of Innocents in the heart of the city. It was only a few years later that the public renamed this Père-Lachaise cemetery. But don't look for the Jesuit's tomb there. He was buried in Saint-Paul church.
The album then continues with the story of Héloïse and Abélard, this mythical couple with a tragic destiny, who lived at the very beginning of the 1000s. We learn among other things that their tomb inaugurated at Père-Lachaise in November 1817, supposedly to contain their last bones, was created to attract Parisians who at the time found little interest in this cemetery.
Further on, we mention the potatoes placed on the grave of a certain Parmentier, “inventor” of the bread of the poor. There is also talk of the vegetable garden with potatoes grown around his grave, in homage to him, until the beginning of the 20th century.
You will also discover the cursed will of Elisabeth Alexandrovna Stroganoff, Countess Demidoff, who died at the age of 39. Behind his impressive tomb lies an incredible story. In her will, the beautiful countess bequeaths two million rubles to whoever will remain locked in her vault, night and day, for a year. Did someone take the money? Mystery…
Another tragic story, that of the painter Géricault. The author of the famous Raft of the Medusa died in indifference at the age of 33 after a horse riding accident and a long illness. Nine years later, one of his admirers, the sculptor Antoine Etex, not finding his tomb at Père-Lachaise, decided to pay him a posthumous tribute by launching a subscription to finance a real tomb representing the artist lying down, like at the end of his life. The sculpture that we can see today is in fact the third created.
We will also know everything about the highest tomb in the cemetery, that of a certain Félix de Beaujour, diplomat before, during and after the French revolution. This monument of almost 20 meters symbolizes a lantern of the dead, supposed to guide the deceased. But over time the place also seems to have become a landmark for lovers of… libertinage.
In the same naughty spirit, it will also be about the recumbent figure of journalist Victor Noir, killed by a bullet to the heart at the age of 21. A recumbent figure that has become a place of worship, the hope of fertility for women and virility for men, with golden extremities from being touched, caressed or kissed.
At the very end of this journey between the tombs which also evokes the destinies and burials of Balzac, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Musset, Jeanne Avril and Georges Rodenbach, the album ends in music with the essential singer of the Doors. Jim Morrison, whose grave has become a true place of worship. Died in Paris on July 3, 1971 at the age of 28, a gathering is held on that day every year in front of his grave, covered with photos and offerings. Among the latter… chewing gum. They cover the tree near the grave. The work of visitors wishing to “drink” with Jim one last time. And the bust that adorned the tombstone? What happened to him? You will find out at the end of this decidedly fascinating work.
Finally, reading this album will certainly make you want to prolong the experience by strolling between the tombs. Or why not, by following one of the many guided tours which now animate the paths of the cemetery. We recommend those of a certain Bertrand Beyern. A true (perhaps the only) specialist in Père-Lachaise. He has been traveling it for more than 50 years and still discovers certain secrets by leaving the alleys and taking the circuitous paths. Cultivated, colorful, lover of words and full of humor, he offers several themes in addition to celebrities, such as dark humor and family secrets. The visit lasts three hours but you don't see the time passing.
Père-Lachaise, Legends, celebrities and unusual burials, published by Delcourt. Published on November 13, 2024, Scenario Sébastien Floc'h. 136 pages. Price: €21.50.
Guided tours of Père-Lachaise by Bertrand Beyern this Sunday, without reservation: Famous tombs of Père-Lachaise from Balzac to Jim Morrison at 10 a.m. and Dark humor at Père-Lachaise at 2:15 p.m. Meet at Place Gambetta for the first, and Boulevard de Ménilmontant, exit of the Père-Lachaise metro station for the second. Both visits are without reservation and cost 15 euros.
