We humans are so vain that we like to see representations of ourselves everywhere and attribute our own thoughts and emotions to other creatures. “Persona: Strangely Human,” a new exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly, explores this anthropomorphizing tendency … Read More
Ai Weiwei, the superstar Chinese artist and courageous activist, left China and moved to Berlin following the return last year of his passport, taken from him when he was jailed by the Chinese authorities for three months in 2011. His … Read More
The wine bar La Cave du Paul Bert is so new that the sign painter was still tracing out letters on the front windows when we arrived last week. Judging by the meal we had, however, you would never have known that this was a new restaurant, so assured was the preparation of each creative dish we tasted.
It’s difficult to believe that the Marais, today a bastion of elegance – as it was when its graceful hôtels particuliers were built in the 17th century – was for much of the 20th century a grimy, dilapidated, poverty-stricken quartier … Read More
A friend with a sharp eye spotted Botanique even before it opened, when its pretty little two-story yellow-brick building with a long row of windows was being renovated. A couple of months after the opening, she invited me to dinner upstairs in the “gastronomic” dining room, where a tasting menu is served in the evening.
SURREAL INSPIRATIONS Only two weeks left to see a spectacular exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly: “Sepik: Arts of Papua New Guinea” (through Jan. 31). The surprising and fascinating objects are beautifully displayed and arranged according to the way … Read More
“God, what a bore it is to have to dress up and go out when one would ever so much rather stay at home,” the Duchess de Guermantes says ingenuously in Marcel Proust’s novel A la Recherche du Temps Perdu … Read More
Wealth combined with good taste and an eye for the new often leads to the creation of a great art collection. That was the case with the Swiss couple Hedy Bühler and Arthur Hahnloser, who in the early 20th century … Read More
I really didn’t know what to expect from Café Pelican, a new restaurant in the 10th arrondissement, mainly because I knew nothing about it. It had been chosen by my food-blogger friend John Talbott, and I always trust his choices.
When his pictures weren’t downright naughty, they were often breathlessly passionate, but apparently Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), the illustrator of the libertine era par excellence, didn’t practice what he painted. Falsely credited with passionate liaisons with famed courtesans, he was actually … Read More
