PINARD René (1883-1938) - Lot 166

PINARD René (1883-1938) The slipway at Port Maillard with a view of the "Poissonnerie" on the tip of Ile Feydeau in the background Etching Signed lower right in the margin, dated 1931 and numbered lower left 69/180 Subject size: 41 x 59.5 cm Sheet size: 54 x 71 cm Note: In 1783, Mathurin Crucy, the city of Nantes' public works architect, drew up plans for a fish market to be built at the eastern end of Île Feydeau. However, it wasn't until after the French Revolution that the fish market was actually built. The first building was erected in 1802, based on plans by the (original) architect. From 1810 onwards, a municipal decree made it compulsory to sell fish at "La Poissonnerie" market. Over time, the wooden market hall fell into disrepair, and the municipality decided to replace it. The design of a new building was entrusted to Théodore-Henri Driollet, another French architect, who was appointed architecte-voyer de la ville de Nantes in 1837. He designed a circular building that played with the reflections of the Loire River. Completed in 1853, the new fish market on the same site is distinguished by its elegance, but the new market is also strongly criticized for its insalubrity, and soon requires renovation. Between 1929 and 1946, when the Loire was filled in, the island gradually joined the Nantes riverbanks, becoming a district in its own right. Quai Turenne and 'le bras de l'Hôpital', as well as Quai Duguay-Trouin to the north and 'le bras de la Bourse' gradually disappeared. The island was also home to the Place de la Petite-Hollande covered market, destroyed in 1932, on its western tip (today's Square Jean-Baptiste-Daviais). The municipal fish market was destroyed in 1940, leaving the site undeveloped for several decades.