This weekend was busy. Our level of activity jumped up with Deb's being able to get better sleep during the nights.
On Saturday we started out with a visit to our favorite brocante market, that being the one that is just across the canal over on Rue de Flandre. It is a several block parkway with a large area between the streets where the vendors can set up their booths. It was a cooler day with a breeze so the urge to saunter along was not as strong as it might have been. We walked through and enjoyed looking without buying anything. Then we jumped on the bus over to the much more developed antiques market called "Paul Bert" which is up near the big flea market at Porte de Clignancourt. It is covered and has permanent stalls for the dealers that reside there. This market is at least one maybe two levels up from the brocante markets in that pickers with comb the brocantes and if they find really good pieces then they will bring them up here to sell to the dealers. So prices are in line with a second or third markup as well. Still it's fun to look, plus it got us out of the wind and was a bit warmer though not much. So that was Saturday.
Today we wanted to honor our commitment to membership in the print club and made our way down to the Petit Palais to see a large print show. It was a two part affair consisting of an overwhelming collection of Kuniyoshi prints belonging to a Japanese collector and then followed up with an exhibition of print making that was taking place in Europe at the same time period. Like the difference between black and white television of the 50's and color television of the 60's.
There must have been over 300 Kuniyoshi prints covering every phase of his career and most major series themes I'd guess. All in tip-top condition and showing brilliant colors and patterns, almost too many to encompass at one sitting. Samurai, Dragons, Monsters, Geishas, Landscapes, Caricatures, and Animals, amazing and beautiful.
The second part was dedicated to European prints from Goya to Redon, and for the most part created before there was any real knowledge of print making from Japan. So it is really focused on European themes, and to me for the most part, of the supernatural and death. Grim! But to be fair there were some very good prints. I especially liked some of the Redon prints where a large single eye features in the overall theme, surrealistic and interesting. I didn't take photos of the final section of prints, too dark and after the color of Kuniyosi too difficult to capture.
It was coming on 6:00pm when we got out so the sun was down and for the first time since Deb has been here we got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. Last week it was almost completely dark the whole time. So that was an evening bonus for us. We walked along the Seine to where our bus leaves from only to find that it was going to be almost 30 minutes before the next bus. So we took the Metro back and arrived about the time that the bus would have picked us up. We celebrated a small Thanksgiving with turkey, potatoes, and home made cranberry sauce that Deb made from cranberries she brought back from Denver, delicious. Also the last bottle of Nouveau Beaujolais from our wine merchant.
On Saturday we started out with a visit to our favorite brocante market, that being the one that is just across the canal over on Rue de Flandre. It is a several block parkway with a large area between the streets where the vendors can set up their booths. It was a cooler day with a breeze so the urge to saunter along was not as strong as it might have been. We walked through and enjoyed looking without buying anything. Then we jumped on the bus over to the much more developed antiques market called "Paul Bert" which is up near the big flea market at Porte de Clignancourt. It is covered and has permanent stalls for the dealers that reside there. This market is at least one maybe two levels up from the brocante markets in that pickers with comb the brocantes and if they find really good pieces then they will bring them up here to sell to the dealers. So prices are in line with a second or third markup as well. Still it's fun to look, plus it got us out of the wind and was a bit warmer though not much. So that was Saturday.
Today we wanted to honor our commitment to membership in the print club and made our way down to the Petit Palais to see a large print show. It was a two part affair consisting of an overwhelming collection of Kuniyoshi prints belonging to a Japanese collector and then followed up with an exhibition of print making that was taking place in Europe at the same time period. Like the difference between black and white television of the 50's and color television of the 60's. 
There must have been over 300 Kuniyoshi prints covering every phase of his career and most major series themes I'd guess. All in tip-top condition and showing brilliant colors and patterns, almost too many to encompass at one sitting. Samurai, Dragons, Monsters, Geishas, Landscapes, Caricatures, and Animals, amazing and beautiful.
The second part was dedicated to European prints from Goya to Redon, and for the most part created before there was any real knowledge of print making from Japan. So it is really focused on European themes, and to me for the most part, of the supernatural and death. Grim! But to be fair there were some very good prints. I especially liked some of the Redon prints where a large single eye features in the overall theme, surrealistic and interesting. I didn't take photos of the final section of prints, too dark and after the color of Kuniyosi too difficult to capture.
It was coming on 6:00pm when we got out so the sun was down and for the first time since Deb has been here we got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. Last week it was almost completely dark the whole time. So that was an evening bonus for us. We walked along the Seine to where our bus leaves from only to find that it was going to be almost 30 minutes before the next bus. So we took the Metro back and arrived about the time that the bus would have picked us up. We celebrated a small Thanksgiving with turkey, potatoes, and home made cranberry sauce that Deb made from cranberries she brought back from Denver, delicious. Also the last bottle of Nouveau Beaujolais from our wine merchant.
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