Perhaps you’ve strolled past countless walls without a second glance. Here at Boulevard de la B.D. – Loustal Mural something different awaits. It’s a mural that invites a longer look. This isn’t just paint on a surface. It’s a gateway to another world. The Boulevard de la B.D. – Loustal Mural is a defining feature of Lyon’s urban landscape admired by tourists and residents alike.
The Boulevard de la B.D. – Loustal Mural features a giant fresco. It uses the “trompe-l’oeil” or “trick of the eye” technique. This adds to the realism of the painting. The Boulevard de la B.D. – Loustal Mural features a row of city signs, shops, boutiques, and restaurants painted on the ground floor.
Many murals are designed and created by the Lyon-based company CitéCréation. This company has covered walls worldwide with artistic creations for more than forty years. The idea of mural paintings came from a group of local students. In the early 1970s they were discussing the closed nature of the art world. They concluded that murals can bring art to ordinary people. A group of ten students went to study modern wall painting in Mexico. Diego Rivera had launched a new artistic tradition in the 1920s with a series of storytelling murals. CitéCréation, their student cooperative movement, was born. Today the collective is based in the suburb of Oullins south of Lyon.
Lyon has over 60 official mural paintings. There are many unofficial murals. The overall number is growing. Lyon’s murals are a clever marketing strategy. They form one giant open-air gallery.
The Wall of the Canuts is the largest fresco in Europe. It depicts daily life in the Croix-Rousse neighborhood of Lyon. This area was historically known for housing the local industry of silk workers or “canuts.” The trompe-l’oeil technique gives the impression that the staircase is rising up into the building façade. This reflects the fact that the Croix-Rousse neighborhood was built on the slopes of a hill. This giant and lifelike representation of the neighborhood is a harmonious echo of its real-life counterpart.
The fresco was commissioned in 1986 to better accommodate the five advertising boards of the façade. In 1997, the mural painter updated the fresco to reflect changes in the neighborhood in the previous ten years. Businesses sprung up on the ground floor. Façade colors were made more vibrant. The neighborhood residents were aged.
The Famous Faces of Lyon Fresco celebrates over thirty local figures. These figures have made their mark over 2000 years of Lyonnais history. They range from the Roman emperor Claudius to the renowned chef Paul Bocuse.
Laurent Mourguet was an 18th-century tooth puller who created a puppet show to distract his patients. The puppet named Guignol was a hero of the local silk workers. Guignol has since become an iconic figure of Lyonnais folklore.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyon in 1900. He was a journalist and pilot during the Second World War. Saint-Exupéry is well known for having written the novella The Little Prince. It is a worldwide bestseller translated into more than 250 languages.
The brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière were great 19th-century inventors. They developed the cinematograph in Lyon in 1895. They projected one of their films. It showed a practical joke being played on a gardener.
Paul Bocuse is a renowned French chef. He is a worldwide ambassador of the art of French cuisine. His major restaurant is located a few kilometers north of Lyon. It has had three Michelin stars for over 50 years.
Bertrand Tavernier is a film director, writer, and film historian. He was a champion for the conservation project of the Villa Lumière. This was the home of the Lumière brothers.
Joseph-Marie Jacquard helped to modernize the local silk industry. He invented the Jacquard loom. Its particularity is its use of punched cards. It is still used by a number of local silk weavers today.
The Boulevard de la B.D. – Loustal Mural, like many in Lyon, offers more than just art. It gives you a glimpse into the city’s soul. It connects us to Lyon’s history. As you leave today consider how art enriches our everyday experiences.