Paris Diary by Laure

Japonism and Impressionisms in etchings and peonies

parisdia30 April 2018Art, Flowers and gardens

William Merritt Chase, A Comfortable Corner (At Her Ease, The Blue Kimono), ca 1888, © Water Mill, New York, Parrish Art Museum

When I went to Giverny on my yearly Spring visit, I had the surprise of seeing new tall peonies given by the director of the Yuushien Japanese garden of Shimane province. A ceremony celebrating 160 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries took place in Monet’s garden with Hugues Gall and Ambassador Masato Klitera planting the flowers the same way that Monet had painted “Les Pivoines” in 1887. Simultaneously, the Musée des Impressionistes at the end of the street, is celebrating “Japonisms and Impressionism” relations between 19 th century painters.

Lunch at Le George, what fun!

parisdia27 April 2018Restaurants & Hotels

Raw swordfish

Italians are aways the best fun, so when I found myself invited for lunch by a young director of communication from Milan, Ginevra Boralevi, with her best friend Allegra de Maigret and the super Italian chef Simone Zanoni at the one star restaurant Le George, I was in heaven. We had the best table under the veranda (not outside because it was mildly raining) and the very young and relaxed staff could not have been nicer including the sommelier Gabriele del Carlo. Hotel George V Four Seasons has a reputation for luxury and jet settism. But we were never intimidated and lunch lasted till three pm.

From Monet’s waterlilies to Rothko’s abstraction, at l’Orangerie

parisdia27 April 2018Art

Two paintings by Monet of “Le Pont japonais” with Morris Louis’, Vernal 1960, (center) and Willem de Kooning, Villa Borghese, 1960 (right)

When Alfred Barr bought a large “Nymphéas” for MoMA in 1955, Monet suddenly became the hero of “Mainstreams in Modern art” facing “Autumn Rhythm” by Pollock in John Canaday’s book on abstract expressionism in America. Based on a number of writings of the fifties by art critic Louis Finkelstein and Clement Greenberg, the new exhibition at Musée de l’Orangerie is curated by Cécile Debray, its director. It shows some of the most wonderful American art from Mark Rothko to Philip Guston who brought back Monet into fashion.Read More

A visit “chez Caillebotte” in Yerres

parisdia23 April 2018Art, Furniture1 Comment

The neo classical Orangerie in the park of Propriété Caillebotte also serves as exhibition space

You probably identify Gustave Caillebotte with his paintings of umbrellas around Gare St Lazare. Left apart from the Impressionist craze, he was rediscovered two years ago with a large retrospective at Musée des Impressionistes in Giverny and now, he has his own house outside Paris, a charming 1824 building which was renovated by the city of Yerres. It is an hour’s drive on the way to Provins and 24 mins on the RER from Gare de Lyon.Read More

Joël Dicker flies very high in sales

parisdia20 April 2018Books

Joël Dicker presenting his book and his film projects at the Swiss Embassy in Paris

It was a lovely literary evening at the Swiss embassy in Paris where Ambassador Bernardino Regazzoni and his delightful wife were hosting Swiss writer Joël Dicker to celebrate his fourth best seller “La disparition de Stéphanie Mailer” which sold 48 000 copies in its first six days. The dashing writer who was discovered by publisher Bernard de Fallois, gave a wonderful presentation and described extensively his writing technique under the attentive ear of Michel Zink, the newly elected academician and Medievist. Read More

Delacroix can still surprise us at the Louvre

parisdia20 April 2018Art2 Comments

I am always reticent to tell you about exhibitions that have been widely reviewed by famous art critics but, this time, the Delacroix show at the Louvre is just too exciting to be missed. The 180 paintings were selected over a forty two year career of one of the most revered French painter of the 19 th century. The show will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of art on September 17 th.Read More

A summer opera festival at Baugé

parisdia20 April 2018Flowers and gardens, Performing artsLeave a Comment

Karlene Moreno Hayworth in Madame Butterfly, photo Alexis Hayworth

Priscilla de Moustier has a beautiful salon in the Faubourg Saint Germain and she is generous enough to let young musicians use it. It was a lovely evening that she organized to announce this year’s festival of opera in Baugé, a little village between Le Mans and Saumur, where opera fans Bernadette and John Grimmett, have created sixteen years ago, a festival on the model of Garsington. I have not been yet but judging from the exceptional young talents I heard that evening in Paris, the experience should be great fun. For the first time, Ecole Normale de Musique is involved with their two new laureates, soprano Masayo Tago and counter tenor Théo Imart.Read More

“Wild souls” or symbolism in the Baltics

parisdia16 April 2018Art

It is rare to walk into an exhibition in a famous museum like Musée d’Orsay and see 130 works whose authors you have never heard of before. This is the miracle of the show, “Wild souls, symbolism in the Baltic States”, which was inaugurated last week by President Emmanuel Macron and the heads of states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It is part of the celebrations of the 100 th anniversary of their independence. Read More