STL DPB on the road - TEMPS ET ART

I take a picture like the first one every time I am in Paris. It is the clock tower in the northeast corner of the top floor of the Orsay Museum, obviously set up for visual impact. Can't go wrong.

The big show was about Berthe Morrisot, the only woman who elbowed her way into the Impressionists' circle (except maybe for the American, Mary Cassat). It was stunning. I had heard of her, maybe seen an image or two, but knew nothing about her. Her style is often quite loose, shapes dissolving into colored air with a flick of the brush. Note how two strokes define the crimson lips in the detail below from Girl With A Bowl Of Milk. The subject may be her daughter, Julie. If there were time, this would be worth a second visit.       

An American in Paris

I had Gershwin's music in my ears today as we walked around the city. (Why do they call it the City of Light? It not any brighter than, say, Chicago. If there's a City of Light, it's Tokyo.) Anyway, it was a cool, gray day Thursday. Pictures were where you found them.

We made the obligatory visit to the Orsay Museum. Lots of 19th Century art, lots of views from its Left Bank balconies. It was originally a train station and had huge clocks in its riverside corners. Good photo op. That's the Louvre in the background of the first picture.

We also found ourselves on Les Grandes Boulevards, doing a bit of shopping. Fashionable Japanese women seemed to be flocking to Au Printemps for the Kedzo collection. Not in our interest or price range.  

Objets d'Art

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We spent yesterday afternoon at the Orsay Museum, the showplace of the Impressionists. It occurred to me to photograph details of paintings that interested me. Well, at least after the first adolescent joke. But what joke? Isn't this in the tradition of Marcel Duchamp and Rene Magritte? Fabulous dinner for our anniversary last night at Les Bouquinistes. It was recommended by my brother who works for a French company and travels here often.

We're at the airport and about to board. Had a fabulous time. This city is full of endless pleasures.

I'll be editing more pictures on the plane, which I'll upload to Flickr when I get home tonight.

TOMORROW: Thursday Arch Series.