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Casamaures Villa … A Moroccan Architectural Masterpiece Near the French Alps

The Casamaures villa. (AFP)
The Casamaures villa. (AFP)
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Casamaures Villa … A Moroccan Architectural Masterpiece Near the French Alps

The Casamaures villa. (AFP)
The Casamaures villa. (AFP)

The Casamaures villa is an oriental masterpiece from the 19th century, inspired by Moroccan architecture, near the city of Grenoble, in southeastern France. Passing through many owners, the villa was eventually saved by Christiane Guichard, who managed to enlist it as a historic landmark and worked for four decades on restoring it.

Guichard faced "a double challenge, to save the villa and revive it with creativity," reported AFP.

The 60-year-old owner, known as "Mrs. Casamaures," noticed that the villa, built in 1855 on the foothills of La Chartreuse Mountains in Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux, "has always beamed with life and made a great gathering place for the public."

The Casamaures stands unique among the other villas in that region near the French Alps. It has a sophisticated design with its oriental architecture consisting of arcades, arabesque, mashrabiyas, and huge windows with colored glass.

Overseeing a roofed 9-meter-long winter garden full of oriental antiquities, a part of its wooden façade was somehow transferred to the Turkish pavilion at the Exposition Universelle of 1855.

The villa also oversees gardens housing exotic plants and solar timepieces.

But how was an oriental palace established in the suburbs of Grenoble? The general context of that era allowed it, according to Béatrice Besse, art historian and novelist who recently wrote the biography of the villa's founder Joseph Jullien, a merchant from Grenoble known as Cochard.

The historian explains that the phase that followed Bonaparte's explorative trip to Egypt "promoted the beauty of this country," and this interest expanded later to include all that is related to the Ottoman Empire.

Grenoble was the most affected by this wave especially since it hosted Egyptologist Jean-François Champollion and Scientist Joseph Fourier. This orientalist influence was also reflected in architecture.

Although mystery surrounds the life of Cochard, he certainly never traveled to the East. All he wanted from the construction of this villa was to impress the bourgeoisie of Grenoble and build "a reputation for himself."

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Varieties

Museum Pulls Wax Figure of Sinead O'Connor after Complaints

In this undated handout photo provided by The National Wax Museum Plus, Artistic Coordinator Mel Creek applies the finishing touches on a wax figure of the late singer Sinead O'Connor, at the National Wax Museum Plus on Dublin's Westmorland Street, Ireland. (Julien Behal via AP)
In this undated handout photo provided by The National Wax Museum Plus, Artistic Coordinator Mel Creek applies the finishing touches on a wax figure of the late singer Sinead O'Connor, at the National Wax Museum Plus on Dublin's Westmorland Street, Ireland. (Julien Behal via AP)
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Museum Pulls Wax Figure of Sinead O'Connor after Complaints

In this undated handout photo provided by The National Wax Museum Plus, Artistic Coordinator Mel Creek applies the finishing touches on a wax figure of the late singer Sinead O'Connor, at the National Wax Museum Plus on Dublin's Westmorland Street, Ireland. (Julien Behal via AP)
In this undated handout photo provided by The National Wax Museum Plus, Artistic Coordinator Mel Creek applies the finishing touches on a wax figure of the late singer Sinead O'Connor, at the National Wax Museum Plus on Dublin's Westmorland Street, Ireland. (Julien Behal via AP)

A wax figure of Sinéad O’Connor that did not compare to how the late singer looked caused a minor meltdown among fans and family members, leading a Dublin museum on Friday to pull it from its collection.
The National Wax Museum Plus apologized to O'Connor's family and said it would immediately begin creating a more accurate representation of the singer best known for her 1990 cover of Prince's ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
According to The Associated Press, John O'Connor said it was a “hideous” representation of his sister that looked like a cross between something in a department store window display and a 1960s sci-fi TV show that used electronic puppets.
“When I saw it online yesterday I was shocked," he told Irish broadcaster RTE. “I thought it looked something between a mannequin and something out of the ‘Thunderbirds.’”
The museum had unveiled the figure Thursday in honor of the first anniversary of her death. O'Connor, 56, died in her London home of natural causes July 26, 2023.
Paddy Dunning, the Dublin museum’s director who called O'Connor a longtime friend, said she deserved a better tribute.
“In response to the public’s feedback regarding the wax figure, we acknowledge that the current representation did not meet our high standards or the expectations of Sinead’s devoted fans,” the museum said in a statement.
John O'Connor said he was upset by the timing of the unveiling and the fact that no one had contacted his family.
“As I said earlier, the world may have lost a star, and they did, but I lost my sister," he said. "It just should not have been put there even without checking with somebody: ‘Is this all right?’”