The sun was shining over the Grand Palais for the opening of ArtParis, the first art fair to be held since February. The 112 courageous galleries who committed to attend were so happy and optimistic. Claude Bernard, could not be missed just in front of the entrance, with his four Spanish artists from the gallery. Templon had his usual stable … Read More
At Chantilly, 18 th century porcelain glitters
Château de Chantilly has been undergoing many restructurations in the last twenty years and the latest news is that Institut de France is now the only master aboard after the generous benefactor, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, has decided to move to Portugal. The first exhibition under the new era had to be a huge success and it is. … Read More
In Montauban, Ingres is the master
The city of Montauban, located an hour north of Toulouse, is famous for many reasons and at the moment primarily for its two great artists, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Emile Antoine Bourdelle born six years before the master’s death. Last December, it reopened its museum after three years of restoration and 13 million €, and visitors have come in large … Read More
Auch has an eye on the Americas
Auch is a little town of 20 000 inhabitants in the Gers of which it is the Préfecture and the gastronomical capital. This is where d’Artagnan (from the Trois Mousquetaires) reigned. In Roman times it was on the road from Arles to Toulouse and Bordeaux and thus very prominent economically. One of its oldest houses, Maison Fédel, dates from the … Read More
Unterlinden museum in Colmar, never disappoints
Like many provincial museums in France, the Unterlinden museum in Colmar is full of treasures seized during the French Revolution and/or given over the centuries by local benefactors. Its “star” is the altarpiece from Issenheim by Grünewald and Nicolas de Haguenau (1512-1516), but there is much more to see in this museum opened in 1853 and renovated by Swiss architects … Read More
Ronchamp, a chapel by Le Corbusier and now, Renzo Piano
The first mention of a church of Our Lady of the Heights, on the hill in Ronchamp, dates from 1092 and pilgrimages started in 1494. But it needed Le Corbusier’s reinterpretation in 1955, after the chapel was destroyed in the war, for it to be listed by UNESCO. I had wanted to visit this mythical place for a long time … Read More
Villa Ephrussi, a wedding place and a garden
Across the bay from Villa Kérylos, stands Villa Ephrussi in St Jean Cap Ferrat. Built by Béatrice de Rothschild and Maurice Ephrussi (an uncle of Fanny Thérèse Kann’s, married to Théodore Reinach), the Italian Renaissance house is not as interesting architecturally, but its gardens designed by Achille Duchêne and Harold Peto, are both refreshing and quite extraordinary for this part … Read More
The Riviera is still beautiful with Villa Kérylos
Villa Kérylos has been praised for a long time by Art historian Adrien Goetz, who not only wrote a novel about it but also an art book published by Editions du Patrimoine. For some reason, I never really knew where it was in the Nice area and it is only thanks to my cousin Anne Laure who drove me there, … Read More