back in the musée life again

Bienvenue and welcome back to Musée Musings, your idiosyncratic guide to Paris and art. I’ve got my groove back - three temporary exhibitions this week, as well as 10 pages a day of Proust with my morning café crème. And I’m wandering around Paris in a way that celebrates the pleasure I shared with Nicolas when he was my unerring and relaxed guide.

First, because you asked (well, maybe not YOU, but somebodies), here’s a tiny bit more on French Bee. The most economical ticket permits one carry-on but no checked bags. Includes no meals and eventually a seat that nobody else wants. We booked Nicolas on the next rung up plus one add-on. His ticket, which cost 100€ more than the basic one, included 1 meal and 1 checked bag (23 kilos, nearly 50 lbs). Ginevra consulted ‘Seat Guru’ and found a little section of seats, away from the (I’m guessing) unwashed masses and not far from the next level up (something between economy plus and basic business) for 35€ more.

Everything is automated at the airport. At one machine, we printed Nicolas’ baggage tag and boarding pass. At another, we weighed his bag and sent it on its way. There was no waiting in line to use these machines. People were around if you needed help figuring out how to help yourself. So what about the meal, the seat, I hear you ask. According to Nicolas - good & comfortable.

Last week, on my way to see the Elliott Erwitt show at the Maillol, I walked by Beaupassage, nestled between Blvd Raspail, rue de Grenelle and rue de Bac. The day Nicolas and I first spotted it in 2018, was actually the day it opened. I haven’t been that way in a while and it was lovely to see how it has flourished, especially the plants and trees. I wanted a burger from Père et Fils par Alléno. And a café at Certified. I recommend both. If you don’t know Beaupassage or haven’t been for a while, it’s definitely worth the trip. (figs 1, 2, 3)

Figure 1. Beaupassage, Paris

Figure 2. Getting ready to eat my Nikita at Père et Fils par Alléno

Figure 3. A perfect Café at Certified

After lunch, I convinced my companion that we should walk rather than take the metro home. I knew that if I googled my address, the suggested route would be the most direct and the least interesting. So first I googled directions to Shakespeare & Company. En route I saw that Taschen was having a sale, I spotted a book that I just had to have - Eugène Atget’s Paris. (see below 16)

Next we walked to Bertillon, part of the way along the Seine, part of the way on the quai. (fig 4) Since I know how to get from Bertillon to the Place des Vosges, my cell phone stayed in my purse for the final leg of the trip. The walk may have been a little longer but it was definitely a lot more interesting.

Figure 4. Along the Seine

Another day, the aubergines et courgettes that I had bought at the marché would not leave me alone. Alison Roman came to the rescue for one pasta recipe and one bread recipe for the zucchini. Both delicious. For the eggplant, a Kay Chun recipe for chili (NYT) which substitutes eggplant for the meat. Recommend!! I made salsa with the perfectly ripe avocado that I also got from the marché. And I found tortilla chips at Picard. I’m not really a Picard kind of girl, but there are a few things that I do buy there - like their frozen edamame beans and their potato chips. They sell a brand of coffee pods which, although the price keeps going up, is still less expensive than the same brand at Eataly. And as it turns out, their tortilla chips are pretty good, too.

On the museum front, I went to the Louvre to see the exhibition, ’Naples à Paris’. (fig 5) The Capodimonte Museum in Naples is closed now for renovation. The paintings that weren’t too fragile to be moved, came to the Louvre. They are displayed in three locations. One room traces the history of the Capodimonte Museum and the Farnese family. Pride of place in this room is given to two very well known portraits by Titian, one of Pope Paul III alone and another of the Pope with his grandsons, Ottavio and Alessandro Farnese. Let’s not discuss celibacy, okay? (figs 6, 7) In another room are splendid drawings, mostly by Michelangelo.

Figure 5. Naples à Paris,  Exhibition poster, Louvre

Figure 6. Pope Paul III, Titian, 1543

Figure 7. Pope Paul III and his grandsons, 1545

It is the third space that is the blockbuster. The corridor that leads to the room where the Mona Lisa holds court. The corridor where other masterpieces by Leonardo as well as some by Raphael and other Italian Renaissance masters are mostly ignored by people trudging along. The Louvre’s curators thought the best way to display the paintings from the Capodimonte was to intersperse them with the Louvre’s own Italian Renaissance masterpieces. It’s like a big battle of the big bands. If I hadn’t just been in Florence, just been to the Uffizi, I would have been overwhelmed. But it was still a thrill to see two of my favorite paintings which are at the Capodimonte, ‘in real life,’ Masaccio’s Crucifixion (fig 8 as seen from below) and one of Artemisia Gentelleschi’s gruesome ‘Judith and Holofernes.’ Paintings that definitely are about the man who raped her. (fig 9)

Figure 8. Crucifixion, Masaccio, 1428

Figure 9. Judith and Holofernes, Artemisia Gentelleschi, 1612

BTW, I did walk home from the Louvre. By ignoring the route suggested and turning left rather than walking straight, I was rerouted and my journey home was much more interesting. I walked by one of my favorite passages, Galerie Vera-Dodat and the Bourse de Commerce with the equestrian statue by Charles Ray. (figs 10, 11)

Figure 10. Galerie Vero-Dodat (one of Paris’ wonderful passages)

Figure 10a. Il Bisonte (where I buy all my purses) in Vero-Dodat

Figure 11. Equestrian Statue by Charles Ray, Bourse de Commerce

Another day, I went to the lovely little Musée de Montmartre to see an exhibition on Women and Surrealism. There was an exhibition on exactly that subject at the Venice Biennale last year. But I was so overwhelmed by everything else there was to look at, I didn’t do it justice. This little exhibition was intelligent and thoughtful and just the right size. (figs 12, 13)

Figure 12. A little corner of the Women in Surrealism exhibition, Museée de Montmartre

Figure 13. La Femme Surréaliste, 1977

There are two photography exhibitions at the Jeu de Paume, Frank Horvat, a fashion photography and photojournalist and Johan van Der Keuken, a photographer and documentary film maker. Both were well done and very interesting. (figs 14, 15)

Figure 14. Frank Horvat, photograph, Chapeau Givenchy, Jeu de Paume

Figure 15. Johan van der Keuken, The Rhythm of Images, Jeu de Paume

I’m not sure which of these exhibitions I’ll tell you about next week, but for this week, I offer you a post from the past about Eugène Atget and Henri Cartier-Bresson. I know you know Atget’s photos which are interspersed among the shop signs in the very first room of the Musée Carnavalet. There was a fabulous exhibition of his work at the Fondation Cartier-Bresson a few years ago. Atget’s photos of Paris from the Carnavalet archives. At the same time that the Carnavalet had its own fabulous exhibition of Cartier-Bresson’s Paris. (fig 16)

Figure 16. Poster for Atget show at the Fondation Cartier-Bresson and the Cartier-Bresson show at the Carnavalet

Thanks to those of you who sent comments last week, they are truly appreciated. I am always grateful to receive them. Gros bisous, Dr. B.

New comments on My Ramblin Man:

Beverly, I enjoyed the inclusion Nicolas and his reaction to art and food. I think we all relate to what our kids like and dislike. I am busy but love taking a break to read your posts, Harriet, Massachusetts

Beverly, your posts are always a treat! Thank you for them. I smile at our mutual loves: Proust, the Louisiana Museum (a poster I bought there hung on my wall forever), Michelangelo’s Slaves along la Promenade Plantée, Paris’s extraordinary array of temporary expos (and museums huge, small, unexpected), Bofinger’s seafood choucroute; Melissa Clark and Alison Roman recipes. We share, too, a a love of art, a horror of most Paris bagels and NO sense of direction! Melinda, San Francisco

Comments on The Delighted Moment:

We greatly enjoyed this exhibition in April. I hope they followed my suggestion and corrected the legend under a theatre photo describing Siobhan McKenna as a British actress – she was Irish. The story of the man, the boy, the bicycle and the baguette is very amusing – a total set-up, but so charming and cheeky! David, Galway, Ireland

Thank you for the am laugh. I was reading your comments on Donna Leon ’s latest book. Sunday afternoon looking at my bookshelf, I had the same feeling as Brunetti. I have given away the first Proust, dating over 40 years. Brunetti is such a cool detective , who loves his family and savors a good plate of pasta made by his wife ! I am a fan. Did you know that in Venice there is a walking tour In the Footsteps of Commissario Brunetti.? Elliott Erwit. I’m so glad that you decided to see his show and liked the photos. I love EE’s photos. Bravo for an excellent detailed article read with keen interest. Reminded me that I must go see the show. I enjoy reading your personal stories , writing as if the reader is your « best friend » and your art critics. Anonymous, Paris

I hope that some of your readers will give French Bee a try.  Their planes are new and their service is just fine. We've read and in rnany cases reread the Brunetti books.   Leon's characters have become like family to us.  I share the comisario's view of Proust.  Maybe in another lifetime... John, Miami & Paris

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