Paris Guide^©
Mel & Judith Croner

Events

This section contains links to several website that provide up-to-date on information about events, exhibitions, and happenings in Paris. 

Maison de la France is the official website of the French Tourist Office - http://www.franceguide.com/.  A very good compilation of events, music and sights of Paris is Paris Ile-de-France / http://english.pidf.com/page/p-289/.

Also try http://www.paris.org/Calendar/ or Time Out's Paris guide at http://www.timeout.com/paris/ for a comprehensive and current resource of events, exhibitions, tourist sites, transportation, etc.

Michelin has been guiding visitors to France for nearly a century.  The site is excellent for driving in Europe -http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/HomePage.

We also like Rendezvous France for a very insightful newsletter about current happenings in Paris and throughout France.  http://www.rendezvousfrance.com/

Winter - Spring 2008

Some events of interest during Winter - Spring of 2008 in Paris:

Ö Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958) at the Musée du Luxembourg, February 20 - July 20, 2008.  (www.museeduluxembourg.fr)  Vlaminck was a French painter, printmaker and author. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were united in their use of intense color. 

He was born to famous musician parents in Paris. On June 18, 1900, while on military leave, he met André Derain, with whom he soon rented a studio on the Ile de Chatou and began to paint. In 1902 and 1903 he wrote several mildly pornographic novels which were illustrated by Derain.

For the next few years Vlaminck lived in or near Chatou, painting and exhibiting alongside Derain, Matisse, and other Fauvist painters. At this time his exuberant paint application and vibrant use of color displayed the influence of Vincent van Gogh, and, more generally, his compositions suggested a familiarity with those of the Impressionists, several of whom had painted in the same area in the 1870s and 1880s. Those motifs which he most favored, like the Pont de Chatou, were revisited many times.

From 1908 his palette grew more monochromatic, and the predominant influence was that of Cézanne. In 1911 Vlaminck traveled to London and painted by the Thames, and in 1913 painted again with Derain in Marseille and Martigues. In World War I he was stationed in Paris, and began writing poetry. Eventually he settled in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. He married his second wife, Berthe Combes, with whom he had two daughters. From 1925 he traveled throughout France, but continued to paint primarily along the Seine, near Paris. His later work displayed a dark palette, punctuated by heavy strokes of contrasting white paint.

A practiced story teller, Vlaminck wrote many autobiographies, marred little either by lack of confidence or adherence to the truth.

Vlaminck died of old age in Rueil-la-Gadelière on October 11, 1958.

Ö Camille Claudel (1864-1943) at the Musée Rodin, April 15- July 20, 2008. (www.musee-rodin.fr). This exhibition gathers the main body of the work of the artist with more than 80 marble sculptures in onyx and bronze, ceramics and plasters as well as dozens of engravings and drawings drawn from private and public collections. Many of these works have never be exhibited.  As a young woman, Camille Claudel was recognized for both her artistic talent and her physical beauty; nevertheless, she spent most of her adult life as a recluse. Much attention has been focused on Claudel's relationship with her teacher, mentor, and lover, Auguste Rodin. Her complex personal drama has brought her prominence through scholarly and popular accounts. Yet it was first and foremost her unrivaled ability to convey narrative through marble and bronze that attracted patrons and critical accolades.

Born in Fère-en-Tardenois, Aisne, Claudel moved with her family to Paris around 1881. She studied sculpture at the Académie Colarossi, one of the few art academies in France open to female students. Along with other sculptors, she also shared an independent studio where Alfred Boucher taught. In 1883 Boucher won a Prix de Rome and departed for Italy; he asked Rodin to serve as adviser to Claudel and her colleagues in his stead.

Two years later, Rodin asked Claudel to become a studio assistant. By working as Rodin's apprentice, Claudel had the chance to study the nude figure, an unusual opportunity for a woman in the 19th century, but one that gave the artist a profound understanding of anatomical nuances. Claudel modeled hands and feet for Rodin's Burghers of Calais and posed for figures in his Gates of Hell.

In 1893, because Rodin's work and stature occupied front stage in French culture, Claudel secluded herself in her studio to disassociate herself from him and to try to establish her own reputation. Her love for portraying the human form resulted in certain sculptures that the state and an infuriated press censored as overly sensual and inappropriate for public display. These circumstances may have contributed to the decline of her career and her mental state. In 1913 Claudel was committed to a mental asylum, where she remained until her death 30 years later.

Ö Man Ray (1890 - 1976) at the Pinacothèque, 28, place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris, Téléphone: 01 42 68 02 01.  March 15, - June 1, 2008.  (http://www.pinacotheque.com/site/index.fr.html)  Legendary photographer, painter, and maker of objects and films, Man Ray was one of the most versatile and inventive artists of this century. Born in Philadelphia in 1890, he knew the worlds of Greenwich Village in the avant garde era following the 1913 Armory show; Paris in the 1920's and 1930's, where he played a key role in the Dada and Surrealist movements; The Hollywood of the 1940s, where he joined others chased by war from their homes in Europe; and finally, Paris again until his death in 1976.

Ö Marie Antionette (1775 - 1793) at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, March 5, - June 5, 2008. (www.grandpalais.fr). Mary-Antoinette has been the subject of numerous interpretations: the "Austrian" greedy for expensive pleasures, "Victim" of the events at Versaille, or the thoughtless "eater of cake."  What does the world really know however about this tragic figure? It is the goal of this exhibition to understand the life of one of France's last queens.

By bringing together  nearly 300 items (painting, sculptures, objects of art) from all over Europe, this exhibition highlights the personality and the destiny of Mary-Antoinette.  It invites the public to walk along to her side, from the court of Austria to the apartment of the king of France to the guillotine.

Born in 1755, Mary-Antoinette was not intended to reign.  However, the events of European politics led her on a different path.  The young archduchess of Austria marries the heir of the crown of France on May 16th, 1770.  When she arrives at Versailles, the girl received a well-manicured art education: she draws, acts in plays stage, sings and dances.  In the "cocoon" of the royal family, her tastes are formed, according to the example set by her husband's father.  She lives among oriental  lacquers, Asiatic and French porcelains, tapestries, painting and sculptures, ceramics.

In Versailles, the Dauphine Mary-Antoinette is worshiped.  Her beauty is celebrated.  She becomes queen.  Her tastes become more exotic and more expensive.  Every aspect of her life is full of ceremonies and festivities: her marriage; the births of her children; public celebrations. Until the Revolution, Louis XVI and his ministers have no political ambitions and little political sensitivity; he occupies himself with the arts and his court.  Highly aware of trends and new ideas and anxious to avoid being deemed " passé ", the young queen creates a unique environment for herself.  It includes art, fantasy and music.  As France's first "patron of the arts," she creates a style that remains linked to her name even today.

While the French court tries to portray Marie Antoinette in a favorable light by means of extravaganzas, public visits and propaganda, her image become more and more tarnished and unfavorable among the French people. After their hurried departure from Versailles in October, 1789, the royal couple does not appear to understand the events that are unfolding.  Mary-Antoinette's dark hours after the execution of Louis XVI creates her myth that survives today.

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Send your suggestions to: mel@croner.biz