Ballroom Hotel de Wendel, Musee Carnavalet

Art Deco is not this blogger's delight, but this piece of architectural salvage was certainly worth saving. In 1925 the  Catalan artist Jose-Maria Sert y Badia (1876-1945) was commissioned to paint the walls and ceiling of the Ballroom of the Hotel de Wendel on Avenue New York. He produced a fabulous depiction of the voyage of the Queen of Sheba headed for her mythic rendez-vous with King Solomon.

The decor owes its special effect to the silver leaf used as the ground.  An Art Deco tour de force inspired by Baroque painting.

The ballroom was installed at the Musee Carnavalet in 1989.