Introduction  引言

The panorama of Paris is one of the most beautiful in the world and has been a powerful source of inspiration for artists since the fifteenth century. At the same time, the roof tops of Paris are difficult to see from the ground below. From the sidewalks, they are masked by imposing facades, retreat behind high balustrades, or are hidden by other buildings. “The Roofs of Paris” makes visible these little-known yet major elements of Parisian architecture, celebrating their vital role as carriers of French artistic style and French cultural heritage.

The exhibition reveals Paris as it metamorphosed from a dark and ornate medieval city into the ‘city of light’. The Paris seen today is in many ways the creation of the mid-nineteenth century, when Emperor Napoleon III (reigned 1852-70) and Georges Eugène-Haussmann (1809-1891) opened up the dense medieval fabric with large boulevards and monumental squares. Then as now, light and shadow play across the rapidly moving Seine, illuminating Gothic spires, golden domes, zinc mansard and slate roofs. At times welcoming and at others unsettling, Paris becomes grey and dark in a storm only to reemerge sparkling in the sun. At night, the uniform facades of Haussmann’s Paris offer a somber and imposing presence, broken by the rhythmically-placed streetlamps and the well-lit cafes and restaurants. Paris’s changeable façade, seemingly composed of light and air, continues to captivate photographers, writers, architects, filmmakers, and painters to this day. As a setting for movies, novels, even advertisement Paris offers a permanently beguiling nature: romantic, urbane, bejeweled, dark, ancient, and modern.

自十五世紀以來，巴黎首屈一指的城市風光就為藝術家們提供源源不絕的靈感。然而，身處巴黎之中的人們卻不容易欣賞到鱗次櫛比的頂上風景。人們的目光不是被宏偉的建築所吸引，就是被陽台或高樓遮蔽了視線，凡此種種往往都讓人忘記了「屋頂」的存在。

《在巴黎屋頂的邊緣》就為觀眾展示巴黎屋頂多姿多采的歷史和風格，以及它在法國文化中的角色。

是次展覽從不同角度展示巴黎由一個中世紀城鎮蛻變為「花都」的過程。今日我們所見的巴黎很大程度是十九世紀中期都市化的結果。受拿破崙三世（1852-70在位）的委託，奧斯曼男爵（1809-1891）大刀闊斧的改造巴黎的風貌，在他的命令下，老城區開闢出筆直的林蔭大道，市內亦增設了眾多宏偉的廣場為點綴。今天的巴黎，也和當時一樣，哥德式的塔尖、金光燦爛的圓拱、那些由鉛、鋅、石板修建的屋頂，投映在波光粼粼的塞納河面，時而嫵媚可愛，時而氣象萬千。每夜華燈初上，大街兩旁屹立的樓房蒙上一層黑紗，錯落的路燈交織著咖啡店和餐廳的光影，又別具一番風味。光影幻變的巴黎到今天還是攝影師、作家、建築師、導演和畫家們的素材，而在電影、小說、甚至是廣告裡面，巴黎都是千變萬化，叫人難以名狀：它既浪漫，也有都市的急促；它既華美，但也有憂鬱的一面；它既是古老的，也是摩登的。