22 | The Good Life

22 | The Good Life France

Saint-Quentin – Art Deco dazzler What is art deco? Born in France, Art Deco began in 1908 – a merging of art of various influences: antiquity, cubism, the arts of Africa and the Far East. Saint-Quentin © Sylvain Cambon / Agence Aisne Tourisme St Quentin station buffet Saint-Quentin has been through a lot. Founded by the Romans, it was a major medieval trading centre. It’s been invaded, conquered, besieged and finally all but destroyed during World War I - the Great War as the French call it. Rebuilt in the 1920s it has many Art Deco buildings including the extraordinary railway station where trains ran from as early as 1850. It became a key site in the 1940s when Saint- Quentin once more come under foreign control and the city became the headquarters of the 2nd German army. Visit now and you’ll find a hugely cultural city with 9 museums and extraordinary buildings. The station buffet, a listed historical monument, is pure Art Deco with walls and furniture covered in soft silver and glistening gold mosaics with an accent of bright red, featuring flowers and Normandy ocean liner window design. From the station it’s a short walk across the canal to the town. Built in 1801, it was the first canal north of Paris and inaugurated by Napoleon in recognition of its importance to France. In the city, the Art Deco vibe is everywhere. There are some 3000 buildings that feature the Art Deco style of which 300 are classified as Historic Monuments. This includes the tourist office where you can book an audio guide and route map. Whatever you do don’t miss the Musée des Beaux-Arts Antoine Lécuyer which in my opinion is the city’s star. There is a superb collection of pastels by Maurice Quentin de la Tour, known as the ‘King of the Pastels’, an artist who ‘looked into the souls’ of his subjects and then captured their likeness with pastels in a way never seen before or since. Sadly not all the pastels were out on display when I visited but enough for me to be able to be completely amazed. Destination-saintquentin.fr The Good Life France | 23