I know. The Scandal of the Diamond Necklace is quite well know and it's been mentioned in several history books, novels, movies.. Are you sure you know all the history though? In reality, this affair is more complicated that it seems and it destroyed Marie-Antoinette's reputation forever. If you are up for a story full …
Continue reading Small Talks from Versailles: the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.
After talking about the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe I cannot overlook the enormous "Flying Dragon" that landed a couple of weeks ago in Place Vendôme generating quite a buzz. Created by Alexandre Calder in 1975 using bright red steel plate, this giant modern dragon is an unexpected view among the symmetrical buildings that …
A little review about Musee Carnavalet in Paris
"Je suis femme francoise & peintre; j'ai droit a votre confiance, a votre accueil & a celui du public; ma je n'accepte ni le votre, ni le sien; je veux le meriter" Avis important d'une femme sur le Salon de 1785 par Madame E.A.R.T.L.A D.C.S, 1785. On Monday I was supposed to visit the exhibition …
Continue reading Femmes Peintres 1780-1830 – Women artists, 1780-1793. Exhibition Review
After years of renovation works the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection finally opens its doors to Parisian art lovers and - for now, not-so-many - tourists. It is a new art venue you should not miss if you are interested in contemporary art but also if you love architecture. The Japanese architect Tadao Ando …
When talking about Versailles' royal palace, I noticed that many people do not expect it to be so far from the city centre. To be accurate, the Chateau is not even in the outskirts of Paris, being Versailles a nice, indipendent town with about 90000 inhabitans located 14 miles west to the Ville Lumiere. To …
Continue reading Small talks from Versailles: why Versailles is in Versailles?
"The Devil pulls the strings which make us dance; We find delight in the most loathsome things; Some furtherance of Hell each new day brings, And yet we feel no horror in that rank advance" - C. Baudelaire. There is something very true in this Baudelaire's quote and I am not referring just to moral …
Continue reading Hell’s never been so cool – Focus on Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell”
Two of the most frequently asked questions in my Louvre tour are: "What happened to the Louvre during WWII?" and "Why the museum was not pillaged?" The answer is an amazing history that worth to be told and should be transformed into a movie. Ready to discover it? Everything started in 1939, before the war …
Continue reading When the Louvre was evacuated and Mona Lisa went missing
The last time I was in the Louvre one of my guests asked me to surprise him. He had already visited the museum several times so he was looking for something "new". Well, "new" is not really an adjective you often hear in the museum, where the youngest works are about 200 years old and …
Continue reading Focus on a Masterpiece: The most ancient statue in Paris
Today I was dreaming about having a balcony in Paris. Not necessarily a huge one. A small one would be fine for me. One like Le Balcon (The Balcony) painted by Edouard Manet in 1868/1869 would be perfect. I love that picture. It really is one of my favorite paintings ever so I decided to …
Continue reading Focus on a Masterpiece: Le Balcon – The Balcony (Manet, 1868/69)
Your Tour In Paris 