A very personal and subjective view of Paris life for all of you who are curious of what's going on in France

Yes the painting by Courbet, “The origin of the world” (1866) is present in the exhibition but it is a much more intellectual and scientific theme which is explored here following Darwin’s “Origin of the Species”, than an erotic show… Inaugurated  in December 2020 when all the museums were asked to close, this last exhibition prepared by Laurence des Cars at Musée d’Orsay, “Les Origines du monde”, is fascinating but needs a little intellectual effort. The subtitle, “the Invention of nature in the 19 th century” is a vast program and I have to admit that most paintings were new to me and are a good mirror of the fascination of the world in the 19 th century. The show closes on July 18 so make sure not to miss it.Read More

I had never heard of printer Pierre Gatier, 1878-1944, who concentrated on social life in Paris, elegant ladies of the turn of the century and boats. He made a name for himself with aquatint prints of the Belle Epoque. His first important collector was fashion designer Jacques Doucet whom he met in 1908, and who acquired 155 works of his. Doucet’s collection of 14 000 prints was bequeathed to INHA (Institut national d’histoire de l’art) who lent many pieces for the show. The little town of l’Isle-Adam is exhibiting 130 prints by this artist who lived there, in Seine et Oise, part of his later life. Visiting the Louis Senlecq museum was a good excuse to get out of Paris and drive to this elegant area which used to be the property of Prince de Bourbon Conti in 1746 and still is extremely pretty, with a beach on river l’Oise and many affluent houses. Photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue lived there and gave his collection of paintings to the museum. The town is run, for the third generation, by a Prince Poniatowski. After Michel (the minister under Giscard d’Estaing) and Axel, now Sébastien (born 1979) since 2017. Read More

I always think of René Magritte as the painter of night with the moon and strange shadows. At l’Orangerie this time, he is sunny and explodes with light. The reason is the theme of the exhibition “Magritte’s Renoir period, 1943-1947”, where he is inspired by the French Impressionist’s bright colors. Convinced that the defeat of the German troops at Stalingrad heralded the final defeat of Nazi Germany and the approaching end of the world conflict, Magritte saw himself as a prophet of happiness and of the return of peace. The 100 paintings and drawings shown here until July 19 are a true discovery. And some are quite naughty.

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Born in 1956, Jean-Michel Bacquet has studied at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and was a young laureate of the Prix du Dessin Pierre David-Weill at the Académie des Beaux Arts. He now lives between two beautiful and wild areas six hours apart, Flayosc near Draguignan, in Provence, and Montarnal near Conques, in Aveyron. He paints and draws and the show, “Seasons” at galerie Documents 15, is mostly concentrated on works on paper, in black and white and in color. And they are magical. It can take him 10 years to complete his paintings for which he likes to catch the right light. He has been compared to a monk for his patience and his spiritual strength.Read More