Autumn 2023: a Season of 18th Century Exhibits

, , , , , , ,

The autumn is often the season when most of Paris’s best exhibits are held. Besides the exhibit on Van Gogh at Auvers taking place at the Musée d’Orsay (which we cover in this article), many of the other most noteworthy exhibits taking place this autumn and winter in Paris revolve around the 18th century.

The Garden at Bourgival, 1884, Berthe Morisot, Musée Marmottan Monet

Berthe Morisot & The Art of the 18th Century, Musée Marmottan Monet

This exhibit explores the influence artists of the 18th century, including Watteau, Boucher and Fragonard, had on leading Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot. This wonderful lesser visited museum is well worth visiting for its impressive collections, including the largest collection of Monets in the world, the perfect complement to a tour of the exhibit. On from 18 October 2023 to 3 March 2024, learn more at this link.

L’Embarquement pour Cythere, 1717, Antoine Watteau, Musée du Louvre

The Regency in Paris, Musée Carnavalet

The Museum of the History of Paris will be focusing on the Regency, a lesser-known period of French history between Louis XIV’s death in 1715 to the beginning of Louis XV’s rule in 1723, when France was governed by the Sun King’s nephew, the Duke Philippe d’Orléans. On from 20 October 2023 to 25 February 2024, more information here.

Scene of Comedie dell’Arte Italienne, Claude Gillot, Musée du Louvre

Claude Gillot, Musée du Louvre

This exhibit traces the work of renowned draughtsman and printmaker in the last years of the Grand Siècle. Known for the inventiveness and originality, his works heralded the freedom of expression and customs of the Régence period (1715–1723). On from 9 November 2023 to 26 February 2024, further details here.

Portrait of Madame la Présidente de Rieux, 1742, Georges De La Tour, Musée Cognacq-Jay

Pastels, Between Line and Color, Musée Cognacq Jay

This exhibit explores pastels during the Age of Enlightenment, and features works by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, the “prince of pastelists” as well as Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, François Boucher and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. On from 12 October 2023 to 11 February 2024, read more on this exhibit at this link.

Enjoy an in-depth experience of these exhibits by arranging a guided tour led by an art historian and expert of the 18th century. Contact us for further details and booking.

/0 Comments/by

Vincent Van Gogh and Flowers 

Marguerite Gachet in the Garden, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh, Musée d’Orsay

This autumn the Musée d’Orsay will host a much anticipated exhibit, Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, exploring the Dutch artist’s final months that were spent in this village located north of Paris. Vincent stayed for a mere 70 days, ending his life on July 29, 1890, yet this was a period of intense creativity, in which he produced 74 paintings (at least one a day!) and over 50 drawings, many of which will be on display at exhibition. The exhibit provides an excellent opportunity to explore one of Van Gogh’s favorite and best-known subject matters–flowers.

Throughout his career Vincent depicted flowers, attracted to the colors and textures of the petals. In his letters, Vincent wrote that he painted flowers because he could not afford to paint after models: “I have lacked money for paying models, else I had entirely given myself to figure painting, but I have made a series of color studies in painting simply flowers, red poppies, blue cornflowers and myosotys. White and rose roses, yellow chrysanthemums.” While surely attracted to the color of specific flowers, by making flowers his subject, Vincent endowed his paintings with a force and dynamism that have become icons of modern art. 

Sunflowers, Vincent Van Gogh

Sunflowers, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh, National Gallery

Van Gogh’s paintings of sunflowers are among his most famous. Vincent painted five different versions of sunflowers in a vase from 1888 to 1889. Sunflowers are heliotropic; they follow the sun, and have been symbols of enlightenment in western art for millennia. In Greek mythology, Apollo turned the spurned nymph Clytie into a sunflower.  The fact that the flowers follow the sun, symbolized devotion. Whether or not Van Gogh knew these stories, he certainly appreciated the vibrant yellow flowers he would have observed during his time in southern France. To depict them, he concentrated on using three shades of yellow, demonstrating the nuances of a single color. Certainly, Van Gogh’s attention to brushstrokes and the form of the petals make these paintings masterworks and give the flowers an emotional charge that we appreciate today. 

Irises, 1889, Vincent Van Gogh, J. Paul Getty Museum

Van Gogh was also attracted to the irises. While in the asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, he painted the iris flowers planted in the gardens of the asylum. Irises, which grow from bulbs or rhizomes, were especially appreciated by Vincent for their color and form. In Greek mythology, Iris was a messenger who was personified as a rainbow, perhaps why the center of our eyes are called the iris today. In Renaissance art, the iris was considered the flower of the Virgin, Van Gogh may have been aware of the the spiritual and chromatic association of irises,  but in his painting, he transformed the iris into a moving vibrant form, clearly relishing in the color contrast between blues and greens. 

Dr Gachet, 1887, Vincent Van Gogh, Musée d'Orsay

Le Docteur Gachet, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh, Musée d’Orsay

In spring 1889, Vincent’s brother Theo, concerned about Vincent’s mental health following his release from the asylum in Saint Remy, solicited Dr. Paul Gachet, a physician and artist, to care for Vincent in his hometown of Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet agreed, and Vincent arrived on May 20, 1890. 

Displayed in the exhibit is one of Van Gogh’s portraits of Dr. Gachet from the Orsay’s collection, a work that reveals Vincent’s compassion for his friend. Within the portrait, on the table in front of Gachet’s hand,is a foxglove, or digitalis. This is another representation of his lifelong interest in flowers, and may have been a homage to Gachet’s medical proficiency as it was a well known herbal remedy in the 1890s.

Blossoming Chestnut Branches, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh, Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection

While in Auvers, Van Gogh was attracted to the flowers in the landscape, and his blossoming chestnut flowers were probably painted after chestnut trees during his stay. It seems Vincent painted his canvases quickly, in order to capture the blooms before they withered. Here the swirling emphatic blue strokes in the sky are similar to his rendering of night skies and the format recalls his interest in Japanese prints. 

Certainly Vincent appreciated flowers as much as landscape: referring to the last large paintings of his period in Auvers he wrote: “They depict vast, distended wheat fields under angry skies, and I deliberately tried to express sadness and extreme loneliness in them.” But these pictures also had a positive side: “I am almost certain that these canvases illustrate what I cannot express in words, that is, how healthy and reassuring I find the countryside.” We can imagine that flowers provided both solace and beauty and perhaps optimism as he explored the variety of colors, shapes, and petals. 

Van Gogh in Auvers at the Musée d’Orsay, the Final Months appears from 3 October 2023 until 4 February 2024. We are conducting guided tours of the Van Gogh in Auvers exhibit which can also be combined with an excursion to visit the village of Auvers. Learn more about this, and our other Impressionist Garden tours, at this link.

/0 Comments/by

How to Enjoy Paris in the Summer of 2023

Image by Сергей from Pixabay

View from the Arc de Triomphe, by Сергей from Pixabay

Two years after Covid, Paris has maintained its spot as the number one tourist destination worldwide! The city continues to hold this acclaimed status for many reasons: its stellar number of museums, its thriving urban culture, boutique shopping, easy access to historic chateaux and gardens, and its storied (and constantly renewing) restaurant scene. The popularity of summer travel to the French capital means that when your dreams of Paris are confronted with the current reality, the throngs of tourists may dampen your enthusiasm. However, there are ways in which you can mitigate the crowds – and disappointment. These helpful hints will help you enjoy Paris, after you’ve been on one of our tours, which will allow you to discover the city on your own and like a local. 

Read more

/0 Comments/by

My New Book ‘Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy’ Wins Prestigious J.B Jackson Book Prize

, , , , , , , ,
Susan Taylor Leduc with Marie Antoinette's Legacy

Dr Susan Taylor Leduc with her award-winning book Marie Antoinette’s Legacy

I’m delighted to share the news that my new book, Marie Antoinette’s Legacy: The Politics of French Garden Patronage and Picturesque Design, 1775–1867, has won the prestigious John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize (2023).  This award acknowledges scholarly publications by landscape historians, historical geographers, urban historians, and art historians involved in landscape studies and the environmental humanities. Initiated by Elizabeth Barlow Rodgers and the Foundation for Landscape Studies (FLS) in 2007, it is among the 2023 Landscape Studies Initiative book awards now organized by the Center for Cultural Landscapes at the University of Virginia School of Architecture. For more information about the awards, please visit https://lnkd.in/ev_wWBbF

J.B. Jackson & the Landscape Studies Initiative books awards

John Brinckerhoff Jackson was a pioneering landscape historian, author, and teacher whose writing about America helped define the interpretations of vernacular landscapes. In the spring of 1951, he published the first issue of Landscape and served as the magazine’s publisher and editor until 1968. Jackson’s collected essays have been published in seven books, including  A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time, which won the 1995 PEN prize for essays. As a scholar, Jackson greatly influenced the development of cultural landscape studies, a term that he popularized in America.  This year’s book awards jury included continuing members, Kenneth Helphand and Therese O’Malley, and newly added members, Elizabeth Meyers of the UVA CCL and former J.B. Jackson prize winner Jane Wolff.

About Marie Antoinette’s Legacy

Challenging the established historiography that frames the French picturesque garden movement as an international style, this book contends that the French picturesque gardens from 1775 until 1867 functioned as liminal zones at the epicenter of court patronage systems. Four French consorts—queen Marie-Antoinette and empresses Joséphine Bonaparte, Marie-Louise and Eugénie—constructed their gardens betwixt and between court ritual and personal agency, where they transgressed sociopolitical boundaries in order to perform gender and identity politics. Each patron endorsed embodied strolling, promoting an awareness of the sentient body in artfully contrived sensoria at the Petit Trianon and Malmaison, transforming these places into spaces of shared affectivity. The gardens became living legacies, where female agency, excluded from the garden history canon, created a forum for spatial politics. Beyond the garden gates, the spatial experience of the picturesque influenced the development of cultural fields dedicated to performances of subjectivity, including landscape design, cultural geography and the origination of landscape aesthetics in France.

Learn more about my book or purchase a copy here.

/0 Comments/by

The History and Garden Inspirations of the Parisian Macaron

Almost twenty-five years ago, baker, critic, and author Dorie Greenspan reported that when the French chef Pierre Hermé puts out new flavors for his macarons, “the news is announced in all the glossies and the lines outside his boutiques are so long you can finish a chunk of War and Peace before you reach the door. ” This is still true today, especially now that the French equivalent of a cookie—the macaron—has become so popular that it is found at even McDonald’s! For gourmet lovers, a macaron is a delight at any season, but this winter, Pierre Hermé launched a collection called Jardin Secret, something that garden lovers will also appreciate. Before introducing the 2023 vintages, let’s delve into the history of this exquisite treat.

Read more

/0 Comments/by

Nature Into Art: La Galerie Christian Dior

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Galerie Christian Dior Paris

Since the the opening  of the spectacular Galerie Christian Dior  in 2022, the museum has become one of the most visited cultural venues in the city. Located at 30 Avenue Montaigne, the very place where Christian Dior (1905-1958) founded his couture brand in 1947, the galley-museum celebrates the life and career of the legendary couturier.  The installations trace the gifted designer’s career, offering visitors the opportunity to see how nature influenced his designs, which we explore in this latest edition of our Nature into Art series.

Read more

/0 Comments/by

A Marie-Antoinette Inspired Holiday Gift Guide

,

For this holiday season, in celebration of the publication of my book, Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy, we’ve put together a list of fabulous gift ideas honoring France’s most famous queen. Marie-Antoinette was one of the first celebrities: her taste in gardens, porcelains, fashions, and decorative arts continues to inspire fashion designers, film makers and decorators.

 

My New Book: Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy

Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy, The Politics of French Garden Patronage and Picturesque Design, 1775-1867, is the ideal gift idea for those looking for a modern perspective on Marie-Antoinette. My book examines how Marie-Antoinette’s trendsetting garden design at the Petit Trianon, Versailles significantly changed French garden history. Despite the queen’s regicide during the French Revolution, her gardens survived. Inspired by the queen’s legacy, three empresses, Joséphine, Marie-Louise and Eugénie, forged their own garden projects at Versailles and Malmaison. Learn more about the book and acquire a copy here.

Gift Certificate: Exclusive Marie-Antoinette Tours

What’s better than reading about gardens? Visiting them! If someone you know is planning a trip to Paris in the coming year, then there is no better gift than one of my tours. One of my tours is entirely dedicated to the queen at Versailles, where we visit the Petit Trianon and the surrounding gardens.  At the Petit Trianon and Hameau, you will learn how the the gardens became one of most enchanting and misunderstood sites in French history.  Reach out to us here to purchase a gift certificate or arrange a custom tour.

coffret-pistoles-de-marie-antoinette-copyright-eric-lamy-nyc_8817c-1000x684

The Queen’s Chocolates – Debauve & Gallais

Established by the chocolatier and pharmacist of the Queen, this confectionery shop is one of the oldest in Paris. Among their selection of high-quality chocolates are Marie-Antoinette pistoles; thin, round chocolate tablets created by Sulpice Debauve for the Queen. The assortment box comes with pistoles of dark chocolate as well as ones of different flavors such as vanilla, ginger or earl gray. You can purchase them in their various boutiques in Paris or online here.

Marie-Antoinette plate

Versailles Replica Dessert Plate

For anyone who loves French pastries in addition to la Reine, consider purchasing one of these “mise en abyme” porcelain plates. The beautifully-crafted plates reproduce designs from the royal table art collections and are made in the prestigious French porcelain mecca of Limoges. This dessert plate represents les Animal Fabuleux, and is the perfect service dish for a refined Marie-Antoinette tea party. These plates are available on the Musées de France online boutique.

La Savonnerie Royale

For excellent French soaps and candles with a royal twist, peruse the offerings of La Savonnerie Royale. The Official Museum Supplier of le Chateau, this renowned company based in Provence, draws its inspiration from the Palace of Versailles, its history and gardens. Their Pétales d’Eglantine line, made of delicate rose fragrance with musk and woody notes, was created in honor of Marie-Antoinette, who adored roses.

Marie-Antoinette tea

Nina’s Marie Antoinette Tea

Originally specialized in distilling natural essential oils, Nina’s Paris has roots dating back to 1672. Nicknamed the “Magician of Fragrances,” its founder Pierre Diaz began supplying his fragrances to  the Royal Court of Versailles, including Marie-Antoinette favorite, rose. Today the company’s focus is on tea, including le Thé de Marie-Antoinette, the only tea in the world flavored with rose petals and fresh apples from the Royal Gardens of Versailles. To produce this, Nina’s Paris is the exclusive partner of Le Potager du Roi. If you can’t purchase via their website for international delivery, there are some options on Amazon.

Marie-Antoinette Tapestry Pouch

Your giftee can have Marie-Antoinette always with her thanks to this stylish pouch. Inspired by a detail from Marie-Antoinette’s head-board, the design features roses and lilies, tied with a garland of cornflowers. In 1786, when Marie-Antoinette decided to refresh the textiles of the summer furnishing of her royal bedroom and this beautiful design, created by Lyonnais embroiderer Jean-François Bony, was the result. The pattern is the only original element of this refurbishment which survived the Revolution. Purchase it through the Chateau de Versailles at this link.

Happy Holidays and we look forward to seeing you in 2023!

/0 Comments/by

Best Small Museums with Cafés and Gardens

One of the best ways to enjoy the Parisian art scene is to visit the more intimate collections housed in smaller museums in the city. Often located in historic buildings, until recently, the gardens surrounding these museums were neglected. In our post covid-world, museums have now recognized that their gardens are assets to them and to the public. Some more famous venues, like the Musée Carnavalet, the Palais Galleria and the Petit Palais, have added either ephemeral or permanent cafés where visitors can enjoy the gardens over an alfresco lunch, yet the real benefit of the renaissance for museum gardens is enjoying the flowers. Paris’s gardeners dedicate considerable time and significant expense to maintain the cities’ gardens, often cultivating plants that enchant the eye and scintillate the nose. Enliven all your senses by stopping in at our favorite café-gardens in the city.

Musée Delacroix, DRAC Ile-de-France

Musée Delacroix

Bordering the church at Saint-Germain-des-Prés and set on the historic Square Furstemberg, the apartment and studio where Eugène Delacroix lived between 1857 until 1863 is an ideal place to enjoy the calm on the Left Bank. Nestled within the buildings and facing the the Romantic artist’s studio, this secret address in Paris is where the most dedicated art lovers take the time to enjoy this sublime hidden garden dotted with blooming fruit trees, tulips and benches.

6, rue de Furstemberg, 75006 Paris

Musée de la Vie Romantique

Musée de la Vie Romantique / Facebook

Musée de la Vie Romantique

Down a shady path leading to the former Scheffer-Renan home, now housing the Musée de la Vie Romantique, a lush garden awaits the visitor. Rosebushes, lilacs, and a sea of violet bellflowers both enchant and hint at the importance of flowers in 19th century life. The former garden grotto, designed by Émilie Bonaventure, is home to a café run by the renowned Rose Bakery, and excellent example of reconverting a historic space into a temple of healthy treats.

 16, rue Chaptal, 75009 Paris 

Musée de Montmartre

Perched on the crest of the hill, just a stone’s throw from Place du Tertre, the Musée de Montmartre and its three gardens charm visitors to this historic site. The gardens are dedicated to the memory of Auguste Renoir, who had a studio in the complex in the 1870s. Boasting heritage roses and fruit trees, the gardens feature an abundance of other flowers, notably iris and peonies, inspired by Renoir’s paintings. One the three gardens includes a soaring view over the Clos Montmartre, the largest vineyard in Paris with over 1,700 vines. Since 1934, these have been celebrated every October during la Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre. Overlooking the main garden is the Café Renoir, where you can savor sweet and savory dishes before visiting the studio of the other artists who lived on this site: Suzanne Valadon and her son Maurice Utrillo. The Museum is included in our Montmartre tour, learn more about it at this link.

12-14, rue Cortot, 75018 Paris

Maison de Balzac

Maison de Balzac

Maison de Balzac

Hidden from view on the Passy hill in western Paris, Honoré de Balzac’s former home and gardens are an emerald anomaly. The writer lived there between 1840 and 1847 to escape the debt collectors and write part of the Comédie Humaine. His personal belongings are on display beside works annotated by the author.  Peppered with linden and fruit trees, the graceful garden spans almost 7,000 square-feet. It also hosts a Rose Bakery café, where you can pick up a teatime treat to be enjoyed in the garden along with splendid views of the Eiffel Tower.

47, rue Raynouard, 75016 Paris 

Musée Zadkine

Musée Zadkine / Facebook

Musée Zadkine

A quiet street off of rue d’Assas hides a little-known Zadkine Museum, the former house and studio where one of the masters of cubism lived between 1928 and 1967. Bathed in light, the gallery spaces and glass front overlooks a pastoral garden. The small garden, where several of the artist’s work are nestled amidst the greenery, is an oasis of calm and little visited gem.

100, bis Rue d’Assas, 75006 Paris,

Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac / Facebook

The Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac

Wondering where to go after a visit to the Eiffel Tower? Located on the banks of the Seine, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac exhibits 3,500 works of art from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania. Its original and imposing architecture was designed by famed French architect Jean Nouvel and includes a green wall by botanist Patrick Blanc. The garden, created by the ecologist-landscape architect Gilles Clement, who also designed the nearby Parc André Citroên, promotes an ecological naturalism. Clément uses no chemicals, no supplemental watering and no noisy, energy-wasting machinery. To complement the museum’s collections, his design is dominated by grasses. Extend your visit with a snack at Café Jacques, found within the garden, or a more sophisticated meal at Les Ombres, the museum’s rooftop restaurant which has panoramic views of la Tour Eiffel.

Interested in combining art and gardens on your next trip to Paris? We have a range of tours designed to achieve this. Read more about them here or contact us to plan the perfect tour to suit your interests.

/0 Comments/by

The Hidden Gardens of Paris

Two hundred years ago, when Emperor Napoleon III transformed Paris into a modern metropolis, he singularly championed public parks. He gifted two former hunting grounds—the Bois de Boulogne at the western edge of the city and the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern periphery—to expand the city limits. Linking these parks to the historic Tuileries and Luxembourg gardens, he provided Parisians and tourists alike with places to stroll, rest and play throughout the year. Less well known, is the fact the Napoleon III tucked small squares and gardens into each of the twenty arrondissements, so that every Parisian has his or her own favorite local paradise. Nestled into corners, off beaten paths, these lesser known gardens of Paris are not necessarily secret, but hidden.  They each offer unexpected treats, a place to watch birds, discover heritage roses, or a quiet place to read while waiting for a train. The trick is to find them. Here’s a guide to our favorite spots so that you can enjoy the hidden gardens of Paris. Read more

/0 Comments/by

Our Favorite Gardens to Visit in Ile-de-France

Château de Rambouillet. Benoit Brummer / CC

Although the gardens of Versailles might be the most famous in the greater Parisian region, there are dozens of other magnificent gardens encircling Paris. These vary in style from formal jardins à la française to historic kitchen gardens, while others are designed in the more relaxed English or picturesque style!  We’ve organized them geographically in order to provide you with itinerary ideas for exploring these best gardens in Ile-de-France.

Read more

/0 Comments/by