The Coupola | Galerie des Galeries

Architectural Modernity and Artistic Continuity

For 112 years, the dome of Galeries Lafayette, erected in 1912, has drawn the gaze of visitors to the flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann. With its two faces, interior and exterior, structure and decoration, it embodies the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernity at the heart of the department store's enduring legacy.

In 1893, two cousins from Alsace, Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, joined forces to take over the lease of a modest haberdashery and, in 1894, opened the first Galeries Lafayette store at 1 rue Lafayette. The store's rapid success allowed the founders to significantly expand the initial sales area from 70 square meters, and the "real estate strategy," a deliberate property policy, guided investments in the company's early years.

In 1902, Galeries Lafayette, which had become a public limited company in 1899, purchased numbers 38, 40, and 42 Boulevard Haussmann. The buildings were gradually converted for retail use, establishing a "second wing" on Boulevard Haussmann. In 1903, Alphonse Kahn first referred to the complex, comprising the two buildings on Boulevard Haussmann and Rue Lafayette, as "our department stores."

The dome was erected during the expansions undertaken between 1909 and 1912. Leading artists of the Art Nouveau movement were commissioned by the architect Ferdinand Chanut. Jacques Gruber, a master glassmaker of the Nancy School, created the colorful, neo-Byzantine-inspired stained-glass windows that adorn the dome; Louis Majorelle crafted the ironwork for the balconies and the grand staircase of the main hall; and Edouard Schenck created the ironwork for the dome itself.
Ferdinand Chanut's project responded to the request of his patron, Théophile Bader, who wished to create a "luxury bazaar" and dramatize the sales space. The abundant and luxurious merchandise was to be displayed in a sumptuous setting, bathed in a warm, golden light filtered through the dome's stained-glass windows.

This was a major undertaking, and it's worth noting that sales continued in the section of the store that had already opened in 1908. The modernity of the materials used reflected the ambition of this project. The dome is, in fact, a metal structure, the use of which gradually became commonplace in department store architecture during the second half of the 19th century.

It rests on ten concrete pillars arranged in a circular plan, at a time when the use of this material still met with some resistance. As early as 1908, Galeries Lafayette was the first commercial building constructed of reinforced concrete. The properties of this material allowed for the transformation of a traditional Haussmannian apartment building into a department store capable of supporting the weight of the fixtures, merchandise, and numerous customers. These modern and innovative construction techniques, and in particular modular metal architecture, made it possible to complete the construction of the dome in just a few months, marking the end of the project.

These elements rest on a metal ring, an Eiffel-type structure at the base of the building, supplied by the Savey company. This company, also responsible for the glass roof of the Grand Palais and the Gare d'Orsay, situates Galeries Lafayette within the Parisian metal architecture characteristic of the period. The dome, which reaches a height of 43 meters, is topped with a metal lantern, now housing a pulley used to hoist the famous Christmas tree and various advertising displays.

Photo credits: (c) Galeries Lafayette Archives, (c) Caroline Richard

Gruber's stained glass windows

Trained at the Schools of Fine Arts in Nancy and Paris, Jacques Grüber, alongside Émile Gallé and Louis Majorelle, was one of the founders of the École de Nancy, a pillar of the Art Nouveau movement in Lorraine. He devoted himself entirely to the art of stained glass after 1900.

When the founders of Galeries Lafayette and the architect Ferdinand Chanut commissioned Jacques Grüber to decorate the dome, he had a workshop in Paris on the rue d’Alésia, and his production was flourishing.

In accordance with the program defined by Théophile Bader and Ferdinand Chanut, Jacques Grüber created a series of colorful stained-glass windows in a style often described as “neo-Byzantine.”