I have to admit, I did not remember anything about Charles VII before listening to Mathieu Deldicque and Maxence Hermant, at Musée de Cluny, telling us the story of this French king, 1422-1461. He is the 18 year old dauphin, whom Joan of Arc led to be crowned, remember? He inherited a messy kingdom from his father Charles VI, Le … Read More
Bayonne and Biarritz always win my heart
Starting the year in Bayonne with the discovery of the Collection Gramont, newly repatriated in the reserves of Musée Basque was a true emotion. The curator, Olivier Ribeton, President of Société des Amis de la Collection Gramont, and Sabine Cazenave director of the Musée Basque et de l’Histoire de Bayonne, have worked jointly for this resurrection of the collection which … Read More
Rambouillet is the new place to be!
It’s always very exciting to enter a newly restored house and Château de Rambouillet, managed by Centre des Monuments Nationaux, is particularly interesting for it glittered under three different regimes. First, King Louis XVI who used to hunt there often (it is close to Versailles) and he asked Hubert Robert to conceive laiterie (milk farm) for Marie Antoinette who did … Read More
Villers Cotterêts, the new citadel of the French language, is open
I was totally excited to finally get to Villers Cotterêts after a series of mini disasters (the opening visit was cancelled) and an hour and a quarter of driving from Paris. The small town of 10 000 inhabitants, is pretty dreary and the castle which houses the new Cité Internationale de la Langue française stands out like a meringue among … Read More
Cristal is a feast at Musée de Cluny
There is something magical about visiting Musée de Cluny, where seeing the tapestry of the “Lady and the Unicorn” is a unique experience. The museum has been refurbished eighteen months ago and has gained in luminosity and attractiveness. The exhbiiton “Travel through Cristal” (until January 14) is a precious addition to the permanent collection. Considered as a rare stone until … Read More
A Lebanese writer leads the French Academy, tapestries at auction, Irving Penn photographs and more…
When the Perpetual secretary of the French Academy, Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, died on August 5, at 94, the institution which is in charge of writing the dictionary and defending our language, was suddenly abandoned. This amazing woman, born in France, from parents who had emigrated to France, after the Russian Revolution, became one of the foremost Historians in France: she … Read More
In Ottoman Salonika, Jews reigned…
This exhibition on Jews in Salonika at the beginning of the XX th century is the story of a passionate collector who travelled to Turkey for his fashion business and started buying documentary photographs of the Ottoman world. After his famous company Anastasia went bust in the 1980’s, Pierre de Gigord sold his collection to the Getty Museum but they … Read More
At Memorial de la Shoah, music is the new theme
Music in nazis camps was instrumental in many ways and this small exhibition at Memorial de la Shoah, in the Marais, tells its story and is incredibly moving. To see musical instruments manufactured in the camps and surviving scores makes you shiver. “The marches of popular songs …lie engraved in our minds and will be the last thing in the … Read More