“This passage holds a secret,” whispered a voice, barely audible above the city’s din. “A tale whispered on the wind, etched in stone.”
That secret is the Passage Petit Cerf, a hidden pathway tucked away in Paris’s 17th arrondissement. Unassuming and easily missed, its name “Little Deer,” hints at a past less grand than its larger, more famous neighbors. But don’t let the humble name fool you. The Passage Petit Cerf guards its own intriguing history.
This seemingly ordinary passage finds itself intertwined with mythology, thanks to the sculptures of Philippe Rebuffet. At the corner of Rue Boulay and Passage Petit Cerf, two figures rise above the modern buildings: Diana, goddess of the hunt, and Actaeon, transformed into a stag. Rebuffet drew inspiration from the passage’s name, a tribute to a former landowner, Mr. Petit Cerf, whose surname means “small deer.” He reimagined the ancient myth of Actaeon, who stumbled upon Diana bathing and was punished, transformed into a deer and hunted by his own hounds. The sculptures, crafted in a modern style, add a touch of ancient drama to this otherwise quiet corner of Paris.
Today, the Passage Petit Cerf might not hold the grandeur of its more famous Parisian counterparts. Yet, it whispers a story, a reminder that even in the heart of a bustling city, ancient myths and echoes of forgotten stories can be found by those who know where to look.