Amazingly, two months in Paris have come to an end. How can I possibly leave with so much left undone? C'est la vie.
Running around like a tourist is wonderful, but what makes a new city more special is having personal contacts. We had the good fortune of having two sets of friends who really enhanced our stay here.
I met sisters Francoise and Sylvie Blesson back in 1977 when I was volunteering at a restoration site in southern France. We've remained in touch all these years and have seen these dear friends on 3 other previous trips to Paris. This time we had a lovely lunch at their home in St. Cloud (suburb of Paris) and had an historic (and delicious) dinner together in central Paris. Why historic? Le Procope began in 1686 and claims to be the oldest restaurant in Paris in continuous operation.
Even Napolean ate here. In fact,
here is his hat that he left in lieu of payment for a dinner. Incroyable!
Another couple, Laurent and Marianne Careaux, are old friends of my brother and now I've adopted them as my own friends. Marianne is an art historian specializing in decorative arts and works at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Not only does she do guided tours there, but she also does architectural walking tours and included us in a few of them. I cannot thank Marianne enough for her kindness and generosity in taking so much time to share her knowledge with me. I just wish I could remember everything that she told me! More about Marianne's guiding to follow.
One evening after a dinner out with Miles' host at the university and his wife (Samuel and Betina Forest), I noticed a huge building that looked very interesting and different. Why different? It was an excellent example of 1930s art deco and I haven't seen much evidence of that in Paris. Turns out it is the Rex Theater, a movie house built in 1932. It is noted for its sumptuous decoration and its over sized main auditorium, which is the largest cinema theater in Europe with 2,750 seats. Being a movie and architectural buff, I went back the next day and took the back stage tour which felt very Disneyland-esque. This ‘self guided’ backstage tour describes the history of the theater and the movies with plenty of thrills and special effects. Rather fun, but more for kids. The auditorium is just huge and has two balconies. They don't make movie houses like THAT anymore. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, but here's one shot of the building.
Being here for 2 months allowed me see a lot of the smaller lesser-known museums. One such treasure was the Ossip Zadkine Museum near the Luxembourg Gardens. This 20th century sculpter worked in wood, stone and metal. The small and charming house and garden were a real treat.
Now back to Marianne's guiding: She offered to guide us around the Nissim de Camondo Museum where she also works. The back story is both historic and tragic. One of the most sumptuous private homes from the early twentieth century in Paris, Moïse de Camondo, a Parisian banker during the Belle Epoque,
was a passionate collector of French furniture and art objects from the
eighteenth century. He was born in Istanbul in 1860 into a Sepharadic
Jewish family that owned one of the largest banks in the Ottoman Empire,
established in France in 1869. Moïse de Camondo meant to give his
mansion and collection to his son Nissim, but World War I broke out, and
Nissim was a pilot killed in an air battle in 1917. After this tragic loss, Moise
decided to bequeath his property to the Musee des Arts Décoratifs in memory
of his son. The museum opened the year after Moïse died in
1935. During World War II, his daughter, Béatrice, his son-of-law Léon
Reinach and their children, Fanny and Bertrand, were killed in the Nazi camps and the Camondo family died out.
Marianne also took me around the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, a private museum located in the Louvre with so many examples of the decorative arts from the medieval times to the present. Absolutely overwhelming! Here are a few highlights from old to modern:
Running around like a tourist is wonderful, but what makes a new city more special is having personal contacts. We had the good fortune of having two sets of friends who really enhanced our stay here.
I met sisters Francoise and Sylvie Blesson back in 1977 when I was volunteering at a restoration site in southern France. We've remained in touch all these years and have seen these dear friends on 3 other previous trips to Paris. This time we had a lovely lunch at their home in St. Cloud (suburb of Paris) and had an historic (and delicious) dinner together in central Paris. Why historic? Le Procope began in 1686 and claims to be the oldest restaurant in Paris in continuous operation.
With Sylvie and Francoise at Le Procope
Napolean's hat
Another couple, Laurent and Marianne Careaux, are old friends of my brother and now I've adopted them as my own friends. Marianne is an art historian specializing in decorative arts and works at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Not only does she do guided tours there, but she also does architectural walking tours and included us in a few of them. I cannot thank Marianne enough for her kindness and generosity in taking so much time to share her knowledge with me. I just wish I could remember everything that she told me! More about Marianne's guiding to follow.
Marianne and me
One evening after a dinner out with Miles' host at the university and his wife (Samuel and Betina Forest), I noticed a huge building that looked very interesting and different. Why different? It was an excellent example of 1930s art deco and I haven't seen much evidence of that in Paris. Turns out it is the Rex Theater, a movie house built in 1932. It is noted for its sumptuous decoration and its over sized main auditorium, which is the largest cinema theater in Europe with 2,750 seats. Being a movie and architectural buff, I went back the next day and took the back stage tour which felt very Disneyland-esque. This ‘self guided’ backstage tour describes the history of the theater and the movies with plenty of thrills and special effects. Rather fun, but more for kids. The auditorium is just huge and has two balconies. They don't make movie houses like THAT anymore. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, but here's one shot of the building.
The Rex Theater
Being here for 2 months allowed me see a lot of the smaller lesser-known museums. One such treasure was the Ossip Zadkine Museum near the Luxembourg Gardens. This 20th century sculpter worked in wood, stone and metal. The small and charming house and garden were a real treat.
View out to the garden
Garden sculpture
This was my favorite: Les freres Van Gogh
(You can see the emotion between the two brothers if you enlarge the picture)
Marble basin in entry way
One of many salons
Roll top desk with marquetry
I thought this was wood inlay, but Marianne educated me. Marquetry is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. Inlay is a decorative technique of inserting pieces of
contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object
to form patterns or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. Well, now I'm ready for Jeopardy!
Close-up of marquetry
Formal dining room
Nice office!
Garden
Marianne also took me around the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, a private museum located in the Louvre with so many examples of the decorative arts from the medieval times to the present. Absolutely overwhelming! Here are a few highlights from old to modern:
18th century bed
Early 20th century art nouveau
Art nouveau--this cabinet has a fish-skin veneer
20th century bowl
View of the Louvre gardens from the Musee des Arts Decoratifs
Ile de la Cite
So my love affair with Paris is over...till next time. Onward to Auckland, New Zealand!!!
Thank you for your wonderful 'insider's view' of The City of Light. You really did leave no stone unturned. Francoise and Sylvie sound delightful and the fact that you actually went to eat at Le Procope is awesome. I have walked by there so many times. The Rex is very impressive from the outside and I can only imagine the grandeur of the interior with its huge auditorium. Your photos are exquisite; LOVED 'Les freres Van Gogh' You really hit the gems in the Ossip Zadkine, Nissim de Camondo (what exquisite marquetry in that rolltop desk!) and Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Under Mariane's expertise, the latter must have been a real treat. We wish you 'Bon Voyage'y to Auckland. May your adventures continue.
ReplyDelete