The Queen’s apartment in Versailles gets a face lift

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This is the view, the Queen had from her bed when she woke up (except for the tractor!)

At the exact time when Notre Dame was burning, the Grand apartment of the Queen in Versailles was being inaugurated after three years of works including fireproof improvements and air “cooling”. And the result is impressive with the bedroom’s refurbishing and the adjoining three antechambers finding their old decor again. The lavishness of the fabrics, of the furniture and the gilt decor dating from 1672, can be seen after crossing the Galerie des Glaces. It was occupied by three queens, and two dauphines in the XVII th and XVIII th centuries. And nineteen royal children were born there under three kings.Read More

It’s Easter and chocolate eggs are in fashion!

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A black chocolate Easter egg at Pierre Marcolini

I love the Easter tradition when you give each other chocolate eggs or hens. When I was little I remember my grandfather giving me an animated chick who walked around carrying a basket full of very small fishes in chocolate and eggs in sugar. We call it friture in French, like fried fish… Read More

Fontainebleau celebrates Art history, on June 7-9

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Château de Fontainebleau was a royal castle from François 1er to Napoléon, with 1 500 rooms and 130 has (c) Béatrice Lécuyer-Bidal

The 9 th Festival of art history is taking place at Château de Fontainebleau, an hour south of Paris, and this year the theme is “The people”. Instigated by Pierre Rosenberg, the three day event brings together art historians, curators, museum directors, artists and publishers and this edition is dedicated to five Northern countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The budget of 700 000€ mostly paid by the Ministry of culture and some generous sponsors including INSEAD, allows all 300 events to be free for the public. It is a major International meeting, where Fontainebleau can glitter for everyone’s eye and attract school children as well as major world celebrities. Read More

Football as a political tool at IMA

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Rachid Mekhloufi was a a star with AS St Etienne but quit in 1958 to join the FLN, the first Algerian National team

You all remember Invictus, the fabulous film directed by Clint Eastwood, which recounted  Nelson Mandela’s success when South Africa won the Rugby World cup in 1995. Sport changes men’s attitudes and this is what Rachid Mekhloufi, star footballer who played with AS St Etienne tried to prove in 1958. He and Mustapha Zitouni left a successful career in France to join the first Algerian football team the FLN. The exhibition at IMA (Institut du monde arabe), “Football and the Arab World” is beautifully organized with a giant screening room featuring Zinédine Zidane‘s 90 minute film by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno lent by the Guggenheim museum, and many aspects of football as a political tool. Read More

Helena Rubinstein, a modern business woman, who loved art!

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Inge Morath, Beauty tutoring at the Helena Rubinstein salon, New York, 1958

What is most interesting in the Helena Rubinstein exhibition at Musée d’art et d’Histoire juive, is the artistic talents that she developed over a long career as a business woman of beauty. All along her intense and long life, this young woman born in Krakow in 1872, was interested in fashion, painters, architects and decorators. Like Jeanne Lanvin or Christian Dior, she collected avant garde designers and the show is full of photographs of her buildings, beauty salons and it has brought together part of her art collection. Unfortunately, the curator was her biographer and not an professional art historian. Read More

Dorignac, a forgotten painter, concentrates on black

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Portrait de femme au chignon (L’Amie), 1912, Fusain et encre noire sur papier, Courtesy Galerie  de Bayser © Galerie Malaquais © Photographe Laurent Lecat

While there is a very politically correct exhibition devoted to “Black Models from Géricault to Matisse” at Musée d’Orsay, the delightful Musée de Montmartre is giving a show to Georges Dorignac, an artist from the turn of the century, who painted everyone in black. He died at 46 in 1925, and was forgotten until recently. Eighty five of his works have been lent by Galerie Malaquais, private collectors and museums, and the strength of his drawings is a revelation. Read More

At Art Paris, Gao Xingjian and Annette Barcelo stand out

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Gao Xingjian at Galerie Claude Bernard and next week at Chaumont sur Loire

With 150 galleries, Art Paris was fun this year even though you were too often told:  “This is an all women show”, a particularly irritating comment as far as I am concerned. Artists are sexless, they are either good or bad. There were two outstanding painters for me, Gao Xingjian at galerie Claude Bernard and Annette Barcelo at Anne de Villepoix, with of course the return of 83 year old Jean Le Gac at galerie Templon and a wonderful Mexican ex-voto painter, Alfred Vilchis Roque at gallery Frédéric Moisan.Read More

“Oceans, diving in full light” at the Natural History Museum

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There are still 1,7 to 2,3 millions species to be discovered underwater

I am not particularly interested in underwater life but I have to admit that the exhibition “Océan” at Museum d’histoire naturelle, is beautiful and exciting, thanks to numerous films and interactive games for adults and children alike. It describes the first underwater explorations from Alexander the Great (325 BC) to the 19 th century, with an interview of  New Zealander diver, William Trubridge. It mostly uncovers everything we don’t know yet about the ocean which covers 71% of our planet and introduces new techniques used by scientists to discover its biodiversity. Take your time to visit it and bring your children.

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