Was Henri Lachièze-Rey thinking of the drivers speeding along here when he captured Lyon’s spirit on canvas? Rue Henri Lachièze-Rey marks the boundary with Caluire. The north sidewalk belongs to Caluire. This street is the upper part of the Montée de la Boucle. It could be very pleasant to walk up if the cars weren’t so close. Drivers are already imagining themselves on the fast lane of the Montée de la Boucle.
Rue Henri Lachièze-Rey has a unique architectural character. At the corner of Rue Artaud stands a large two-story house. Next to it is a property with a building. Across the street is a building with balconies behind a hedge. Further down, the street narrows. It is wedged between old stone walls. Above the walls, on the Caluire side, are gardens. On the Lyon side are buildings under construction on Rue Pons.
The street widens at the bottom with small modern buildings on the south side. There is a garden behind a fence on the north side. At the entrance of the last building, a path leads into the greenery. It leads to a small square on the left and a group of buildings on the right. It then exits onto Rue Pons.
Rue Henri Lachièze-Rey is named after Henri Lachièze-Rey. He was born in Caluire in 1927. He died in Lyon on July 14, 1974. He is honored as a painter. At the time of his death, he lived in Saint Romain au Mont d’Or. We owe him many views of the Saône and Rhône rivers. Evaristo dedicated a book to him. The Musée Dini in Villefranche held an exhibition of his work. In Lyon, people call him Henri. In Caluire, the street signs sometimes call him Henry. Before it was named after the artist, this street was called Montée de la Boucle.
Henri Lachièze-Rey studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon from 1947 to 1950. He then studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris from 1951 to 1952. He won second prize in Paris in 1949. Henry painted in Lyon until 1957. He then lived in St Tropez until 1961. From 1961 to 1974, he lived in St Romain-au-Mont-d’Or.
Lachièze-Rey’s paintings often depicted people in streets, restaurants, cafés and concert halls. His cityscapes felt more human than natural. His paintings used warm colors like reds, brick reds and ochres. Some of his paintings can be seen at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington. In France, his works are at the Musée-Château d’Annecy. They are also at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice and the Musée des Augustins de Toulouse. The Musée Paul-Dini in Villefranche-sur-Saône also displays his art.
The Montée de la Boucle has always been a natural path. It was transformed into a road to Croix Rousse long ago. It lost this function around 1980. That was when the Boucle was straightened. It became a fast lane. It ended further north on the Boulevard des Canuts. The north orientation and slope delayed habitation here. Urbanization is recent. It began modestly in the 19th century. It only materialized in the early 21st century with the construction of numerous buildings. As you can see there are no shops or services directly on Rue Henri Lachièze-Rey. Henri Lachièze-Rey’s legacy lives on in the art that captured the city’s soul.