Marseille 6th - Annex of the Palace of Justice - Pavillon Montyon
- department: Bouches-du-Rhône
- municipality: Marseille
- naming: Court House Annex - Montyon Pavilion
- address : rue Emile Pollak
- authors: Gaston CASTEL (architect), Antoine SARTORIO (sculptor)
- date: 1930-1933
- protection: unprotected building
- label patrimoine XXe: Commission régionale du patrimoine et des sites (CRPS) of 28 November 2000
In the cramped enclosure of the Palais de Justice (1862) in Place Montyon, the judicial administration sought before the Great War a space to expand its premises. Several projects placed this annex of the Palace either on the Place Montyon itself, or on the lands of the Bourse that had just been released. Ultimately, it was in 1915, at the initiative of President Rabaud, in agreement with Mr. Pasquet, Senator of the Bouches-du-Rhône and Mr. Thibion, Prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône, that plots along the Palais de Justice, on Pollak Street (formerly Fortia Street), were chosen to host the new building. The latter was to receive the annex of the Civil Court (including the chambers and correctional services) but also the Commercial Court housed since 1860 in the Palais de la Bourse.
The departmental architect Gaston Castel (1886-1971) designed the building. Second First Grand Prix of Rome in 1913, wounded of war in 1918, head of workshop at the School of Fine Arts of Marseille from the 1950s, Gaston Castel is an architect whose career remains to be rediscovered. Best known for the reconstruction of the Marseilles Opera from 1922 to 1926, he left the city a considerable work: the monument to the Heroes of the Eastern Army, the Baumettes prison, the monument to Peace, the Lycée Marseilleveyre. His production is often linked to the art-deco style. Masterful works fall under this trend as the annex of the Palace of Justice. But other constructions refer to regionalism (the pavilion of the 1925 international exhibition in Paris, the military necropolis of Luynes), or modernism (the Lycée Paul Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence).
Construction began in April 1930. At the end of 1931, the thresholds of honor of the two parts of the building were established: the annex of the Civil Court (now the Tribunal of Grand Instance) and the Commercial Court. The latter sat for the first time on April 24, 1933. The new building was inaugurated on July 16, 1933 by M. Penancier then Garde des Sceaux.
The main facade on Pollak Street bears references to Greek classical architecture. Both peristyles are crowned by the friezes of sculptor Antoine Sartorio. The relief of the Civil Court presents two female allegories of justice punishing criminals by the sword and defending the honest people of its shield. The relief of the Commercial Court symbolizes justice protecting Trade and Industry.
In the vestibule of the Tribunal de Grande Instance, the visitor is greeted by the large frescoes of Jean Lair illustrating Theabolition of corporal punishment during the French Revolution. From the central hall, a monumental staircase leads to the various levels. Today’s redesigned courtrooms have retained panels representing allegories of justice. If the Commercial Court has the same domestic distribution, the decorative treatment is quite different. To the solemn and imposing aspect of the Tribunal de Grande Instance, it contrasts a more luxurious and intimate decor. At the entrance, the large statue of justice sculpted by Henri Raybaud opens the doors of this art-deco palace whose every detail, from lighting to frescoes, were designed by the architect. The most remarkable space is the large courtroom, with the fresco by Henri Brémond To the glory of Marseille Capital of the Mediterranean and the large stained glass windows with geometric motifs that allow light to play on the grey marble panels. At the last level is a decorative panel by Louis de Lombardon, The Count of Provence Raimond-Bérenger V giving the laws to Provence. In this unknown public annex, other rooms house major works of Marseilles heritage: the sculptured group of Louis Botinelly Law and Justice Protecting the Law in the hall of honour, or the painting of David Dellepiane Ancient Marseille in the office of the President of the Tribunal.
- Editor: Emmanuel Laugier, art historian, 2004
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