Are you a fan of the famous Parisian singer Edith Piaf, best known for her throaty renditions and trills of songs including “La Vie en Rose”, “Je ne regrette rien” and “Je n’en connais pas la fin”?
Perhaps you saw the biopic starring Marion Cotillard and were inspired to become more familiar with Piaf’s legendary songs, and learn more about her formative years and rise to fame in the French capital. Or maybe you are a fan of the French chanson and want nothing more than to retrace the steps of the «little sparrow» in the French capital, to learn more about his formative years in the city.
If so, you may want to put on your walking shoes and take a little detour in a little trampled area of Paris. There is a largely ignored Impressionist monument dedicated to the singer, but it’s easy enough to miss. It is located on Place Edith Piaf, in a remote corner of northeast Paris, just outside the Porte de Bagnolet metro station, and in the heart of the quiet residential neighborhood known to locals as ‘Gambetta’.
The monument and its artist
The bronze statue was commissioned from the artist and sculptor Lisbeth Delisle by the Paris City Council in 2003 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of the “little sparrow.” It’s also close to Tenon Hospital, where Piaf was born or received emergency care after coming into the world under a lamp on a street near Belleville, according to conflicting reports, in 1915.
Read related: 10 strange (and slightly disturbing) facts about Paris
Reactions to the statue: fans are not happy
So far, the monument has not been very well received: critics complain that the statue is lumpy and graceless and does not do justice in depicting Piaf, despite trying to capture his passionate acting style. Others have come to the density of Delisle’s work, arguing that Piaf was a complex figure whose beauty was atypical and whose often tragic life had left her with scars. The statue, they say, embodies the suffering of the brilliant singer-songwriter and his quest for redemption through music.
The feelings of this author are divided: on the one hand, the impressionist work seems to me appropriate to the iconoclastic personality and the approach to life and music of Piaf. But on the other hand, it doesn’t stand out enough, it fades into the background and is routinely overlooked by locals and tourists.
These reviews aside, I still think it’s worth a detour if you’re a true Piaf fan. Afterward, you can visit the musician’s nearby grave in the poetic Pere-Lachaise cemetery, then wander the sandy, artistic streets of the Belleville neighborhood, near the brothel where Piaf supposedly grew up. A real ‘Piaf pilgrimage’ is a possibility, if you are motivated to climb some steep streets in the mountainous neighborhood!
How to get there: Square Edith Piaf (Metro Line 3: Porte de Bagnolet or Gambetta Station)
Related Articles and Resources:
- District 20 Guide (Edith Piaf’s birthplace and monument site)
- The Java Nightclub (Piaf gave some early performances here)
- Edith Piaf Museum
