Les Plaisirs et les Jours de Jacques Guérin
Collector of Literature and Literati
Very occasionally the most interesting and surprising memoirs are not about famous writers, composers or painters but rather about people who moved in their circles. Les Plaisirs et les Jours de Jacques Guérin, an evocation of the industrialist (he was … Read More
La Nature n’Est pas un Décor: De Monet aux Artistes Contemporains
Fair-weather Art and Nature
Every year, when the weather turns fine, I take a trip to Yerres, a short train ride from Paris, to see two reliably fine exhibitions and revel in the beauty of the English-style park graced with the handsome former home … Read More
Ercole Amante
Glorious Revival of a Rare Opera
Given the many constraints that female artists, writers and composers faced in the 17th and 18th centuries, it is a wonder that they managed to create as many completed works as they did. Among all these extraordinary women, composers perhaps … Read More
Paul and Paulette Take a Bath
Odd Couple in Paris
One reviewer of the indie film Paul and Paulette Take a Bath, written and directed by Jethro Massey, called it “twisted,” but it seems to me that it is not the film itself but the main characters – and, by … Read More
Madame de Sévigné: Lettres Parisiennes
Lasting Letters
The 400th anniversary this year of the birth of that great letter-writer, the Marquise de Sévigné, afforded me the opportunity both to visit the wonderful new exhibition “Madame de Sévigné: Lettres Parisiennes” at the Musée Carnavalet (located in a building … Read More
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