Many of us drive through the north of France to reach Southern England through the Chunnel and why do we never stop on the way? Calais has two museums which are worth looking at. To reach this sadly famous city, in perfect temperatures, I drove around the Baie de Somme, admired its lovely pré salé lambs, raised on salted grass … Read More
Mount Fuji is celebrated at Musée Guimet and contemporary artist Ru Xiao Fan enchanted me
It was a lovely relief to visit Musée Guimet this week in the middle of the heat wave. Not only because, like all museums, it is air conditioned, but mostly because the present exhibition is devoted to Mount Fuji and snow! The seventy amazing prints by Kawabata, Kawase, Utagawa and the famous Katsuchika Hokusai , were selected in the collection of … Read More
Emile Simon is amazing in Quimper
There is a famous Simon painter in Brittany and he is called Lucien. He was the object of an exhibition last year in Quimper and his family is still very present in nearby Sainte Marine where they own the semaphore. But this time, it is Emile Simon (1890-1976), a modest art professor from Rennes, winner of the Prix de Rome, … Read More
Driving North into Flanders
After my successful tour of Brittany I decided to join a friend in Abbeville and explore the multiple museums of the north. Lille is well known for its Arts Museum and diverse peripheral curiosities like Robert Mallet Stevens’ Villa Cavrois, La Piscine in Roubaix and Villeneuve d’Ascq’s Museum of Modern Art. But I have a weakness for Cassel, a little … Read More
A priest brings glass sculptors to Heaven at MusVerre
It is a true expedition to reach MusVerre, near Maubeuge on the Belgian border, a half hour from Château de Chimay, three hours from Paris, an hour and a half from Brussels. The museum is dedicated to contemporary glass sculpture and was designed by W architectures and architect Raphaël Voinchet in 2016. It houses collections of “bousillés”, free works from the … Read More
In Rennes, an exceptional museum with initiative
Visiting Rennes’s Musée des Beaux Arts had been on my mind for a long time, but for some reason, one never stops in the capital of Brittany and it is a major mistake. This time, the opportunity of meeting Guillaume Kazerouni, the man in charge of its ancient arts collections, convinced me. This impish hyperactive scholar, has a reputation of … Read More
Wandering around precious Brittany
There is nothing I love more than getting into my small car and driving around France, stopping over at dear friend’s houses. The Bottin Mondain (social register) started a new addition of castles listed by area, and it would be tempting to just try and tour France according to this list but I have not dared it yet. I just … Read More
At MAD, an explosion of drawings
When Bénédicte Gady, head of graphic arts at MAD, announced two years ago that they were opening up the department of drawings to the public, a small group of collectors congratulated her politely just before Salon du Dessin. At the time, the Getty Foundation offered to pay for a full time researcher, Sarah Catala, to help her. Today, with the … Read More