Μaison Égyptienne

This guide to the Maison Egyptienne in Strasbourg follows painter Adolphe Zilly, who in June 1906 covered five storeys of bare plaster in just fifteen days with ochre, blue and gold Egyptian figures drifting through papyrus and lotus. It traces the building back to architect Franz Scheyder's plain 1904 plans, and the mystery of how Egypt crept into the design before the 1905 permit was granted. You'll also hear about Robert Goeres, the tailor who commissioned it for his shop and two apartments, and about Scheyder and Zilly's earlier collaboration decorating a Schiltigheim building with serpents for a pharmacist.