The Barnes Foundation Museum--page 2 (of two pages)

Paul Philippe Cret
1925



Main entrance portico

While the building proper is in a sort of simplified Renaissance style, emphasizing symmetry and purity of color, this portico, at the insistence of Dr. Albert C. Barnes, illustrates his love and commitment to African culture.

 

The cartouche above the door

The cartouche reads THE BARNES FOUNDATION MCMXXIII. "On the lintel are seated female figures of ceramic tile, modeled after figures made by the Senufo peoples of the Ivory Coast and Mali" (Great French Paintings 11).

 
The colored ceramic tiles were manufactured by Enfield Pottery and Tile Works and "were modeled after a door relief of a mask and crocodile made by the Akan peoples of Ivory Coast and Ghana" (Great French Paintings 11).
 

Upper frieze with eight different tribal masks
 


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Work Cited:
Great French Paintings from The Barnes Foundation. New York: Knopf, 1993.

See other examples of Cret's works in artists' index on this site.


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© 2008 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.