Paul Durand-Ruel (1831-1922), the famous art dealer who admired painters from the 1830’s, represented many Impressionists and exhibited Monet’s series of cathedrals in 1895, also fiercely defended five post-impressionist painters who were represented exclusively by his gallery at 35 avenue de Friedland. He was a major agent in discovering new painters of the late 19 th and early 20 th century. … Read More
I wish you a Happy May 1 and lots of lilies of the valley
As we do every year, Saturday May 1 will be devoted to picking lily of the valley… In France it is a holiday, Labor Day for all and shops are closed so make sure to stock everything you need for the week end… I will be celebrating three birthdays of my dear aunt Aliette, of my niece Marguerite and of … Read More
Enchanting views, let’s dream a bit!
I had my ticket to fly to Corsica and was so excited to see spring in this part of the country, which is always too hot in the summer for excursions and climbing. So, after we were locked down again in Paris, my host sent me these tempting pictures from his house perched on a mountain near Ajaccio which can … Read More
Dreaming about festive times
Guendalina Litta specializes in the planning of grand weddings and balls so now is not exactly the time to launch her new book, but if you look at it, we need more than ever to dream about future happy moments and you might want to read it for simple ideas like matching the food to colored plates or using lights … Read More
Belgian gardens are celebrated by photographer César Garçon
Christmas time is coming up and with its usual beautiful picture books. This one “La Belgique des Jardins“, is the fruit of a collaboration between Donatienne de Séjournet, one of the best expert in gardens in Belgium and César Garçon who proved with his “Italian gardens” book (2015), that he knows garden architecture well. Some are the classical ornaments of … Read More
In Veules-les-Roses, a wedding, a banquet of oysters, and the smallest fleuve in France.
One of the last weddings before they were all cancelled, took place in a charming lost hamlet of Normandy, in the middle of blue linen fields and it gave me the opportunity to spend some time in Veules-les-Roses, a sea side village with the shortest fleuve in France. A fleuve is a river which ends in the sea. This particular … Read More
In Compiègne, Eugénie is the topic of a new book and a costume show
Château de Compiègne is a sleeping beauty which is slowly being awakened by the senior curator Rodolphe Rapetti and at the moment, a modest exhibition of costumes worn by Empress Eugénie, Napoléon III’s wife, is matched by a brilliant book written by Laure Chabanne with photographs by Gustave Le Gray, paintings and watercolors by Eugène Lami, and numerous artifacts which give … 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