David Platzer

David Platzer, a writer, journalist and singer-songwriter living in Vincennes, is a regular contributor on a wide range of subjects to Apollo magazine and other publications.

Gainsbourg 2008

February 7, 2010 | By David Platzer | Archive

Comprehending a Cult France’s beloved bad-boy troubadour Serge Gainsbourg is an acquired taste for foreigners. His cynical, grizzled, Gitane-puffing, pastis-soaked image can seem posy and pretentious. After years of trying to understand this French obsession, I have finally been convinced … Read More

Astérix at the Musée de Cluny

November 23, 2009 | By David Platzer | Archive

Cover of the exhibition catalogue. © Rmn Astérix, the plucky mustachioed Gaul created by the cartoonist Albert Uderzo and the scenarist René Goscinny, is 50 years old this autumn. Where better to celebrate … Favorite

Fastes Royaux

October 6, 2009 | By David Platzer | Archive

“Automne” (c. 1668), after Charles Le Brun. © Lawrence Perquis, Mobilier National The historian Ernest Lavisse, whose manuals on the history of France influenced generations of teachers, dismissed Louis as a philistine with no feeling for the arts, except as … Read More

Jacques Prévert: Paris la Belle

December 9, 2008 | By David Platzer | Archive

A Boom in Préversions “Les Garçons de la Rue,” a collage by Jacques Prévert on a photo by Robert Doisneau. © Fatras, Succession Jacques Prévert/Collection privée Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert reminds me of men I knew in childhood, the picture … Read More