(Paris) We had to wait 32 years. But it's finally done. Serge Gainsbourg's house has just opened its doors to the general public, including a museum. A huge success. La Presse visited.
Published at 12:48 am. Updated at 8:00 a.m.
A pack of Gitanes on the table, naked women on the walls, a grand piano… Serge Gainsbourg's house is pretty much everything we imagined, but more. 32 years after the singer's death, nothing has changed at 5 bis, rue de Verneuil. As if time had stood still on March 2, 1991.
PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAURENCE, THE PRESS
Rue de Verneuil, visitor post in front of 5 bis
Charlotte Gainsbourg has long wanted to open her father's house to the public. Apparently he had mentioned this possibility himself. But for various reasons, the project was slow to see the light of day. It is now finished. Since September we have been able to visit the place as if we were part of the family. A half-hour pilgrimage that also includes the Gainsbourg Museum, just opposite, also recently inaugurated.
Let's just say it: this visit is a unique and moving experience. Not only because we delve into the singer's private life, but also because it is his daughter herself who accompanies us during the tour through an audio guide.
“Let me open the door for you,” she said, before leading us into the large room on the ground floor where Serge always received and composed.
PHOTO JEAN-BAPTISTE MONDINO, PROVIDED BY MAISON GAINSBOURG
Charlotte Gainsbourg welcomes you to her father's house.
Cabinet of curiosities
In the darkness we first see the grand piano that stands in the middle of the room. Then our eyes get used to it and we gradually recognize the cabinet of curiosities that shaped his daily life. Police badges (which he collected), gold records, an organ, dozens of different objects, a huge frame of Brigitte Bardot – with whom he wanted to live with in this house, purchased in 1968, and in which he ended up living with Jane Birkin, from 1969 until their separation 1981.
PHOTO MARTIN BUREAU, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVE
A woman walks past Serge Gainsbourg's graffiti-covered house on Rue de Verneuil in Paris.
But what is most striking is the fact that nothing has changed in 32 years. Here's a pack of Gitanes and an ashtray full of cold cigarette butts. Further back, a briefcase lay on the floor, next to a broken sofa that held the shape of his body. A telephone, newspapers. As if Serge had just left to pour himself a drink 10 minutes ago. As if he were still alive.
PHOTO ELLIOTT VERDIER, THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVE
A lighter and a pack of cigarettes that belonged to Serge Gainsbourg
Charlotte Gainsbourg wanted to keep the house intact. A way for her to preserve his memory and visit him even after his death. This is particularly noticeable in the small kitchen at the end of the ground floor, where spice jars stand next to a beer in the fridge (the door is transparent) and empty bottles of wine, including a Château Haut-Brion 1928, the year the singer-songwriter was born.
The experience becomes even more surreal on the second floor. His shirts and jackets hang in a tiny closet over his eternal white slippers. Then we take the corridor. We pass the bathroom where, as we learn, he only washed with a bidet. Eventually he ended up in the bedroom where he loved… and where he died. “One leg was sticking out of the blanket. “That’s how we found him,” Charlotte whispers into the headphones. We lay down next to him. Time has stopped. We had him embalmed so he could stay longer. People were singing outside. I came to tell you that I'm leaving. »
It's hard to become more intimate. Access to the Gainsbourg hideout is simply exceptional. You could easily feel like a voyeur. But since it's Charlotte who takes us by the hand and shares her memories, things go better. We feel authorized, almost invited.
What's also surprising is how small the place is. Far from being a mansion, this old mansion features low ceilings and narrow corridors. Due to the small size of the premises, we cannot all be there at the same time. Unlike Elvis' house, which we visit in a herd, here we enter slowly, with the impression of being almost alone. A feeling of intimacy enhanced by all those black painted walls and those shuttered windows that envelop us or oppress us, as the case may be. Gainsbourg lived at night, even during the day…
PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAURENCE, THE PRESS
The statue of the cabbage-headed man, made famous by the album of the same name
Gainsbar output
After this intense closed session, we are inevitably less impressed by the museum across the street, which is more predictable and where we follow the singer's career in a long corridor of eight stops. However, there are many treasures to see between song manuscripts, old 45s, personal items and some extremely rare archive films. Not to mention the statue of the Cabbage-Headed Man, made famous by the album of the same name, staring back at us from the end of the corridor.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAISON GAINSBOURG
Welcome to Gainsbar…
PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAURENCE, THE PRESS
The Gainsbar to avoid visiting…
PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAURENCE, THE PRESS
Objects that belonged to Gainsbourg
PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAURENCE, THE PRESS
Precious artifacts for admirers
PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAURENCE, THE PRESS
I don't love you either… an international success
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Everything ends – not without humor – in the aptly named Gainsbar, a chic lounge as a tribute to the singer, where you can enjoy his favorite cocktails, the “Serge 78”, the “Fameux Gibson” or the “Pastis 102” (or another). can sip double Pastis 51). A bit of a tourist trap, but in our experience a good escape.
Some French artists, including Eddy Mitchell and Étienne Daho, have expressed their opposition to the project. But for Gainsbourg admirers, this pilgrimage is an absolute must. Emotionally powerful. Michel, a Belgian fan we met outside, puts it so well: “We don't leave here in the same condition as we came in. »
The House of Gainsbourg enjoyed phenomenal success among the general public. We were fully booked before the opening and all the places that had already been advertised were occupied. We recommend that you subscribe to the newsletter to be informed about new dates.