It was a fun occasion, the cocktail party at Isabelle Langlois‘ jewelry shop next to Place Vendôme. The theme was Peridot, the green semi precious stone, and she was dressed in a perfect combination of purple and spring green. The hors d’oeuvre were all pale green and the drinks were mojitos and champagne with a green touch. We met … Read More
Departement stores are revived at MAD
“The birth of Department stores” is a new show at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, devoted to the huge social revolution which they represented in 1852, when these “new temples of modernity” emerged under Napoleon III’s Second Empire. 80% of the seven hundred objects and posters exhibitied here belong to the rich collections of MAD. This emergence of popular spending, the … Read More
XVII th century luxury in your pocket! It’s at Musée Cognacq-Jay
“Luxe de Poche” or luxury in your pocket at the Age of Enlightment, is a good title for this precious little exhibition at Musée Cognacq-Jay, founded by the creators of the Samaritaine stores… Beautifully curated by Sixtine de Saint Léger and Vincent Bastien from Versailles, it offers a sociological study of these intimate snuff boxes, smelling bottles or sewing kits, … Read More
Henry Cros is surprising at MAD and the gala was so cheerful!
It is a small show on sculptor and drawer Henry Cros that MAD has organized in its second floor galleries, but it is worth seeing especially since curator Jean- Luc Olivié, in charge of glass at the museum, has studied this artist’s work since he was a student. If you have not been to “Fashion and Sport” (until April 7) … Read More
Here and there, all the things you should know about
It’s always quite impressive and exciting to walk up the stairs of the French Académie to attend a conference in the Grand Salle des Séances. The conversation between Maryvonne de Saint Pulgent and Adrien Goetz, President of the Académie des Beaux Arts (of which she is a correspondent), was open to the public and the topic was the restoration of … Read More
Swinging London, a museum tour… with Chanel, Philip Guston and Holbein
Landing in London and being immediately spirited away to the Victoria & Albert Museum Chanel exhibition was quite fun. Virginia Fraser, mother of model and L.A. gallerist Honor Fraser, and a writer for House and Garden, has a sharp eye. She spotted all the brilliant details of the vey early (1928) and exciting dresses or ensembles sold by the couturier … Read More
Here and there, around the Marais
I went to the opening of an exquisite tiny gallery, Anne Laure Buffard, on rue Chapon, which shows (until January 13) the photographs of Pierre-Elie de Pibrac and sculptures by the ceramist Yoshimi Futamura and discovered that the whole street is now lined with galleries. The photos are the same as the ones showing at Musée Guimet but here, you … Read More
Prosper Mérimée, a multi faceted talent in Compiègne
Prosper Mérimée is best known around the world for the two operas “Carmen” by Georges Bizet (1875) and “La Périchole” by Jacques Offenbach (1868) which were based on the short stories he wrote. La “Périchole” was called “Le Carrosse du Saint Sacrement” and took place in Peru. “Carmen” is set in Andalusia, Spain, where he loved to go and where … Read More