Dali at the L'atelier des Lumières

Although the L'atelier des Lumières is not a museum, it was another chance for us to see art on our trip to Paris. And, since the current show features one of my favorite artists, Salvador Dali, I was particularly excited to go. As the show began, I realized that the only possible music that could be used to present Dali's art would be Pink Floyd. Sure enough, all but one of the songs used during the show were from Pink Floyd, which made the show even better. Here are just a few photos, which as usual don't really do it justice.

This was definitely the best show we have seen at the L'atelier since the Van Gogh show, the first one we saw (see https://vinoconvino.blogspot.com/2019/06/latelier-des-lumieres.html for our post on that visit), but while we loved the Dali portion, and even watched it twice, the second section was a bit of a disappointment despite being about Gaudi, the Spanish architect, whose work we also really like. Maybe because it was too focused on the Sagrada Familia church to the exclusion of others of his works.

Once again, a very worthwhile and fun experience.

As usual, we really enjoyed our time in Paris. In addition to just walking around the city, we visited a number of the city's Christmas markets, which tended to include some booths selling various types of artisanal products, and some (sometimes a lot) selling various types of food, generally in large quantities. Although we enjoyed looking at the various options, we did not partake of the Christmas market food because the regular food in Paris is just too good. Also, most of the food was like food at a US fair -- over sized, over priced, and super bad for you. While mulled wine seemed enticing in theory, it wasn't that appealing in the end. We did buy a number of food products to take with us, including several things from the Alsatian market, which featured products with a German flair (not surprising given the history and geography of the region). 

Christmastime was a very fun time to visit Paris. The lights were pretty, but not as nice as the ones here in San Sebastian. We feel fortunate that the weather was not too cold, and we saw very little rain as well, allowing us to walk and enjoy Paris's beauty.

Hasta luego,

Jeff and Shana

 

Overdosing on Art in Paris: 5 Museums in 5 Days

We noticed a few months back that Paris was hosting an impressive exhibition, “The Morozov Collection. Icons of Modern Art.” It seemed the perfect excuse to get back to Paris. We decided to go the second week of December, which also gave us the opportunity to experience the City of Lights dressed up for the holidays, together with the Christmas markets. It turned out that there were a few other special art exhibitions going on as well.

Jeff was a bit hesitant about planning to see four art exhibits in four days, plus a return to the Atelier des Lumieres immersive art show. In the end we did five art exhibits in five days (plus the immersive show) thanks to a local train strike that meant an extra night in Paris. All in all, it was a terrific opportunity to enjoy some of our favorite artists.

First up was a trip out to the Foundation Louis Vuitton to see the Morozov Collection. The Morozov brothers were two Moscow art collectors who assembled a huge collection of French and Russian modern art in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

This show was impressive for many reasons. First, it took over the entire building’s galleries and included 200 pieces. It wasn’t just the number of pieces, but also the quality of works displayed. There was an entire room of Cezanne paintings, another room for Matisse works, plus multiple pieces by Picasso, Monet, Rodin, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, to name just a few. Second, the collection’s history was fascinating because it was seized by the Russian government after the 1917 revolution and now sits in various state museums, including the Hermitage. It was fortunate to have survived Stalinist policies and WWII. Third, the political machinations and collaboration among museums that went into having all of these works displayed outside of Russia for the first time was remarkable. Finally, the personal story of the two brothers and their passion for art as told through the collection was fascinating.

As a bonus, the Foundation Louis Vuitton is a Frank Gehry designed building that is a work of art in and of itself and we enjoyed the features of the building, especially the rooftop terraces, as much as the art.

Our next museum stop was a return visit to the Musee d’Orsay to see “Signac the Collector.” Paul Signac was a lesser-known Neo-Impressionist artist who traded his own works for and bought numerous pieces by his contemporaries who happened to be some of the most famous painters of the late 19^th century, e.g., Seurat, Van Gogh and Matisse. The records he kept of each acquisition allowed the exhibit to create a very personal story of his passion as a collector and friendship with the artists.

Next, the Picasso and Rodin museums had teamed up for a joint exhibit of the artists’ works showing how they worked with similar themes, materials, and had related influences. Both artists were so prolific that there were sufficient parallel works to display at both museums! So, while we debated whether we should go to one or the other, we went to both, which was the right choice. While I don’t believe in taking pictures of art (why do people do this??), I made an exception for the opportunity to photograph Picasso’s and Rodin’s “The Kiss” sitting next to each other.

Our final museum visit was not planned, but with the extra day in Paris, we went to the small Musee Jaquemart Andre to see “Botticelli, Artist & Designer,” an exhibition of some 40 works by the Florentine master in a 19^th century palatial building known for its own collection of 15^th to 18^th century art. Botticelli’s Renaissance style was quite a contrast to the modern art we had witnessed the previous four days.

When all was said and done, we enjoyed “overdosing” on art in Paris. While we won’t necessarily repeat the 5 art museums in 5 days experience anytime soon, we now know it can be done.

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff