The Simple Pleasures of the Trivial Mind 11-7-15

Basically both Deb and I like a simple life, we simply do what we want most of the time.  Today was no different.  We planned to do one thing and ended up doing something else, again.  Being Saturday and having no guinguette to run to for a last nice day on the Seine.  We thought we would go over to the big Paul Bert antiques market, it's over next to major Paris flea market at Clignancourt in the 18th arr. but I took a quick look to see what other markets might be available and there was one on Avenue de Flandre just across the canal.  So we walked the 10 minute walk over and spent the day perusing the gaggle of vendors that set up over there.  We are pretty committed to this market because we've had more hunting luck there than any of the other markets.  Luck is not measured in major finds but more in just interesting little things we find.
You may remember that I bought a print from the auction house, Hotel Drouot, a couple months back.  Well that set in motion a flurry of activity in Denver of all places.   We belong to the Rocky Mountain Print Collectors, a club dedicated to the enjoyment and collecting of original art that is created in multiples.   That particular print was created by a company, Cadart, who was instrumental in the creation of fine prints as collectibles for the non-wealthy art connoisseur in the middle and later part of the 19th century.
Long story short we somehow got roped into doing a presentation on Cadart and their prints.  Now at the time we only had one print, not very impressive for a collection.  So Deb found one being offered on Ebay by our friend, Jeff Jeremias, and bought it.  Then we had two, so yesterday at our little market I found a third, whew!  Now we have a small collection.  It was created around 1851 and depicts a street that is no longer in existence, having been destroyed around 1864 after a run of 600 plus years, a victim of the Haussmann reconstruction of Paris.
Later we went for dinner at Art et Science Reuniss, our local restaurant that we like so well.

Versailles - Grande and Petite Trianon 11-6-15

Today's forecast was for warm temps with only a 7% chance of precipitation so we decided to go out to Versailles to see the gardens and also the two palaces that were created for the kings to get away from the pressure cooker that was the court at Versailles.
Our trip out was a bit complicated with a change from the Metro to the RER and then another change to a further RER train that goes out to Versailles.  It went without a hitch and we were out in about an hour.  We purchased tickets outside so that there would be no waiting once we were actually in the site and with that done we went to lunch.
Once we finished lunch we walked right in and out into the gardens for the trip out to the area where both the Grande Trianon and the Petite Trianon were built.  It's about a kilometer walk out so we had quite an opportunity to view the gardens as we went along.  The it was overcast and sun never came out anytime during the day and to add to the merriment it was one of the 7% days.  A very light misting rain started falling during our walk out and we were a bit moist when we got to the Grande Trianon.  Of course with only a 7% chance of rain we had neither rain gear nor umbrellas, this has caused a policy shift, "we will always have umbrellas if there is less than a 90% chance of precipitation for the rest of the winter.
As I mentioned it was not cold so the mistiness was not a major hinderance and we soldiered on. They are getting ready for winter out in the gardens by turning the soil in the gardens and they've also wrapped a large percentage of the outdoor sculptures in their canvas winter coverings.  I find it quite interesting when I see this approach because it creates so many interesting shapes.
We started out in the Grande Trianon which was constructed by Louis XIV and is very restrained in it's design.  It's neo-classic in design and has lavish use of marble cladding and porphyry columns on the exterior and wood paneling and moulded plaster on the interior walls and either parquet floors or black and white marble floors throughout.  The furniture was also very restrained and quite plain which fits with the stories of Louis XIV's somewhat austere lifestyle.  After Louis XIV it passed down to the further Louis up to the revolution and after the revolution to Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Louis Napoleon before becoming property of the French state.  It's not a very large palace comparatively speaking but certainly large by today's standards.  It's quite different for the Petite Trianon.
It was created for Louis XIV's mistress Madame Maintenon and was equally used by queens and mistresses of the following kings/emperors but it's most closely identified with Marie-Antoinette as she seems to have made so many changes and imprinted her tastes on the interior design and furnishings.  It is much smaller and size-wise certainly wouldn't be out of place in today's mansion market, but it's still pretty big.  It has the same restrained approach to design and interior furnishings as the Grande Trianon.

Not too much news 11-5-15

Today was the day I had to get my permanent crown so I went early to the dentist, while Deb cleaned the apartment.   Afterwards I went to a brocante at the Bourse, nothing to report and not much of interest.  
After a sandwich I went over to Drouout to see if the auctions held any great finds, nada.  So I came home late in  the day.
In the evening we went to an art opening that we had been invited to, but not wanting to take our ploucdom to new levels of gauche I didn't take a camera.   So all in all not much to report.

So Much More than just a Pretty Face - Vigee-Lebrun 11-4-15

It was the first exhibition of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun in Europe ever and the first public exhibition anywhere since 1984, and that was in the U.S.  I sure don't know why, because she is a first rate painter.   We were aware of her from our Colorado art history research, as it was she for whom the first association of Colorado women artists was named.  We've seen her works, in the Louvre and in the Jacquemart-Andre but it's hard to judge from a sampling of two.  But this exhibition in the Grand Palais is just superb, it really allows one to see just how accomplished she was.  Her artististic outpouring came from the 1780's thru the 1840's and encompassed the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette as well as Catherine the Great of Russia, and the Habsburgs of Austria all of who's courts she painted in.  



She had to flee the French Revolution due to the fact that she was the designated portrait painter for Marie-Antoinette and thus tarred with a very dirty brush at that time.  So she spent 12 years travelling around to the courts of Europe supporting herself and her daughter very nicely on the proceeds from the portraits she painted of the leading nobility from various royal courts.



She was able to return to France after the excesses of the revolution had played out and Napoleon was in power.   She is beautiful herself and her talent for making her sitters very appealing as well is not to be denied.
After the exhibition we walked by Sotheby's and on a whim went in to have a look, very high end stuff and an auction going on which was great sport to see.

It Had to Happen Eventually - Musee Picasso 11-3-15

Well it had to happen eventually, we made a trip to the Musee Picasso today.  They have been celebrating an anniversary of their founding and have mounted an exhibition celebrating their founding in 1985 (30 yrs).

Jacqueline Portrait

We took one of our bus routes down to within a couple blocks and walked over but when we went in the gateway to the courtyard there must have been 100 people in line waiting to get in.  Since we had not pre-purchased our tickets we decided to take stock.  We told the line monitor that we were going to lunch to consider our options, his response, "great idea, bon appetite" so we walked across the street and ordered a couple hot drinks.  A tisane for Deb and hot chocolate for me while we formed a new plan for the day since neither of us wanted to stand in a long line.  After we finished we walked back to see where we could pre-purchase tickets, when low and behold the line was gone!  So we walked right in.
The museum is large for a single artist so it took us the rest of the afternoon to walk all the way through.  Deb was a bit put off because they didn't really follow a chronological order that we could discern, but it didn't make it less interesting just harder to understand his evolution as a painter.

1951 cityscape

Still Life on Rattan 

But to be fair they seemed to be presenting his evolution within movements of which he was the avant garde.  So we had his early more conventional painting, the blue and rose periods, and then branched quickly into his forays into african-tribal influences, cubism, surrealism, and then abstraction.  It was interesting to see that as he got older he still really experimented but he also mellowed and in the 50's he was painting things that we in Colorado would readily recognize and identify with.

Rosenberg Portrait/Paintings

There was one contemporary installation that was quite moving, especially if you've seen or read, "The Monuments Men" or "The Rape of Europa" about the theft by the Nazis of artwork from all over Europe.  They focused on Jews but not exclusively, this shows a Picasso portrait of the wife and child of Paul Rosenberg, an early supporter and collector, and all the paintings that were confiscated from him during WWII and before, some of which have never been returned.  It's quite chilling if you're a collector.

Taureau Plate

Portrait of Dora Maar

Like his relationships with women, even though he respected them, he had relationships with other artists that would blow hot for a while and then die out.  It was interesting to find out that his private art collection of other artists has more Renoir than any other artist, especially in light of the recent groundswell against Renoir. Then followed by Matisse, who along with him were the most influential artists of their period. Many of his late paintings were quite reminiscent of Matisse. Of course Cezanne was dead by then but he was highly respected by Picasso as well.

I don't think we're in Paris anymore Toto 11-2-15

It was a very foggy day in Paris this morning and somehow it transferred over to my mapping skills. Deb suggested we go to the Musee Dapper, a museum dedicated to African tribal art and considered to be one of the top museums for this type of art in the world. She didn't know exactly where it was but compared to her I was playing pin the tail on the donkey, BADLY!
I looked it up online and got the address, rue Paul Valery, so I looked it up on a tablet app I have that will give the metro, bus, car, and bicycle routes and timing.  I found it and because it was kind of complicated I wrote it all down.  What I neglected to notice that the rue Paul Valery that I had accessed was clear to hell and gone down to the south of Paris, not in the 16th arr. close to the Arc de Triumph as it should have been.  So we jumped on the Metro and transferred to the RER C train and at the first stop I said, "wait a sec, this doesn't seem right" but I looked at my instructions and at the route map and everything corresponded.  So we kept on going, about 30 minutes south and in no way, shape, or form were we going to get to this museum on that route.  So a quick executive council was held and we got on a train going back into town.  So about an hour later we walked up to the front door of the museum and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many of the objects on exhibit were collected in the early 20th century and are outstanding specimens of the genre.   There are ritual dolls, masks, funerary items, a couple textiles, some metal sculpture, weapons, etc.  It's a small museum but very high quality.
The takeaway from this little entry is to check the city as well as the street and next time I will.  Did I mention that it was foggy and that we still enjoyed the little train ride?

Winter is Coming... But NOT Today 11-1-15

Today was the sort of day I wanted everyday this year, it was the sort of day that exists as the ultimate Paris day.  The sun was out, it was warm, but not hot.  If I could have this sort of day everyday I'd be one happy camper, with one exception.
Since it was so nice we headed off to one of our favorite brocante sales, at the Porte de Vanves. It's down in the southwest part of the city and is held every Saturday and Sunday.   We spent about an hour and a half looking through the market being interested in what was on offer.  At one point I walked down a side alley where there must have been 25 or 30 little vendors set up, usually these are just people who have bought a bunch of junk at other sales and are trying to sell them for a profit, but most of these people had really nice stuff to sell so it was more fun.   As I got to the end and was turning back to go along the other side I heard a police siren (one blast), suddenly all of these vendors were grabbing their stuff and packing them into bags and duffels and boxes and whatever.  It turns out that they just set up without paying any required fee and thus were illegal so the police were rousting them.
Anyway we stayed until the vendors were packing up and then decided to go to lunch.  Since we were so close to our favorite guinguette, Javel, we decided to go there and sit next to the Seine in the sun and have lunch.  That's when the cloud appeared, evidently at the end of the outdoor season they close and literally all the building were GONE!  They were constructed of plywood and when the season ended they were torn down and carted off and the place reverted to being a parking lot, bummer.   So we got back on the tram and went back to where our last walk ended, at Parc Montsouris and found a little corner restaurant that was packed to the limit for lunch.
We had a very nice lunch of swordfish (for me) and dorade royal (for Deb) along with a carafe of Muscadet.  As lunch finished we noticed a bunch of police blocking off the street across from us and suddenly there was a pack of two or three hundred in-line skaters gliding up the road, past the restaurant, and up the hill.  Many in costume and all having a great time, very crazy.
We went into the park to walk in the sunshine and across it to the other side so that we could go the the Cite International Universitaire de Paris.  It is a series of building from the 1930's each one built by a different company to house international students from that country studying in Paris.  It was an attempt to further the "league of nations" idea after World War I.  What's funny is that there are not any classes offered just housing for students studying abroad.  My understanding is that one can rent a room during the summer at very inexpensive rates, when the students are gone.
Anyway there hundreds of people out in the commons engaging in happy sunny fall games and sunbathing.
We took the tram back to the apartment as the sun was going down.