Villa Elena, Un rêve sicilien
2022 – Editions Flammarion
In the south-east of Sicily, near the town of Noto, an ancient monastery restored by Jacques Garcia, Villa Elena, offers itself as a haven of peace in the heart of vast fragrant orchards. Reflecting the decorator’s passion for ancient civilizations, the estate, whose panorama extends to the sea and Syracuse, mixes ancient, Arabic, Norman influences, borrowings from the Renaissance and Baroque, mirrors of Sicilian history. Surrounded by shaded terraces of lush vegetation, the villa has sumptuous living rooms where marbles, stuccoes, majolica, silks and velvet have restored its former glory to this house worthy of the Guépard of Lampedusa, unveiled here for the first time. Bruno Ehrs’ photographs, taken during the four seasons, magnify the decadent splendor and aristocratic art of living of a sublimated Sicily..
Champ de Bataille, Vingt ans de passion
2013 – Editions Flammarion
Majestically overlooking the rich lands of Normandy, the castle of Champ de Bataille, owned by Jacques Garcia, is a true jewel of architecture, furniture and the French garden of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is with passion that Jacques Garcia undertook the restoration of the castle to restore its former splendor and make it his home. The elegant rooms of the castle are equipped with a priceless collection of paintings, sculptures, porcelain, silverware and furniture, many of which come from the collections of the Court of France. Vast and sumptuous gardens designed by Jacques extend over more than forty-five hectares. Classical temples, an ancient theater and marble statues surprise and amaze visitors who stroll along the alleys. Not far away, out of sight, stands the very secret pavilion of dreams, imagined and entirely built by Jacques Garcia from authentic vestiges, a true ode to the Mughal India he adores. This superbly illustrated book will be a real discovery for specialists in French art and a source of inspiration for all those who are passionate about interior design and the art of restoration.
Le Style à la Traviata
2005 – Editions Albin Michel
Jacques Garcia and Henry-Jean Servat revisit in their own way this great classic of opera through the splendour of the Second Empire, the memory of the courtesan with a tragic destiny, Dame aux camélias for Dumas, Traviata for Verdi, and those who embodied them on stage, from Maria Callas to Isabelle Adjani. For the first time, a great decorator stages his art in an exceptional album, playing with shapes and materials to illustrate his ideas, references, tastes and some of his secrets. This beautiful book composed of more than a hundred original documents (photographs, sketches, drawings, engravings) invites us to discover what Jacques Garcia calls “the style à la Traviata”. In four acts, Glory, Love, Feast and Death, he offers us a journey to the heart of his battlefield castle and its treasures preciously safeguarded: master paintings, hangings, precious furniture, silverware…
Moderne
2003 – Editions Gallimard
The decorator in charge of fashionable places – in Paris but also in Geneva, New York or Chicago – delivers without false modesty his ideas, his references, his tastes, his dislikes – and some of the secrets that make the success of his creations. Jacques Garcia himself leads the reader through twenty large modern decorations, from his imagination. He takes the opportunity to freely exhibit – photos and drawings in support – the conceptions that underlie his work. Garcia’s verbal inventions are the mark of a rebellious spirit. Often full of humour, they throw an unexpected day on this subtle art among all, which claims to play with the spirit of the place.
Jacques Garcia ou L’Eloge du décor
1999 – Editions Flammarion
Author of the decoration of some of the most popular establishments in Paris – from the Hotel Costes to the Ladurée tea room on the Champs-Élysées, via the new Fouquet’s, his reputation spreads to New York, Moscow, Beirut, Brussels, Baden-Baden… But his masterpiece is the castle of the Battlefield, where all the inspirations contribute to the blossoming of a new style: the “Garcia style”. Jacques Garcia invites us here to discover an original and powerful work, which strives to revisit the wonders of the past to better combine them with the present. Magician of atmospheres, he knows how to bewitch the spectator. Very richly illustrated Jacques Garcia ou l’Éloge du décor, considered a classic, shares with us the joys of a certain French art of living, in the imperishable tradition of “great taste”.