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Last Updated: 03. Mai 2000
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France
Paris and Ile de France
Paris
Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame
Louvre
Museé d'Orsay
Our Neighbors from Pacific Northwest
Introducing Art to Children
Versailles
Gardens of Versailles
Paris and Ile de France
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We finally made it to Paris - the city of light! And what a beautiful city it is! If I could choose a place to live - it would be either Paris or the Provence region of France. The color, light, and atmosphere encourage the artistic spirit- it is not the logical, analytical, or regimented style of the German society. Also, there are so many museums - especially art museums. I could easily spend a year just studying art at the Louvre or the d'Orsay.
The first night in Paris we enjoyed a good French dinner in a restaurant with a view of the Eiffel Tower. The food was good and not too expensive. The Eiffel Tower is interesting both at night and during the day but I prefer the night view the best. What a treat - to dine near the most frequently visited tourist sight in France. Dingeman, a Dutch friend who works in Paris a few days each week, recommended this restaurant to us.
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Eiffel Tower
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A few days later, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower by elevator. It was very windy but also reasonably clear, so we enjoyed excellent views of Paris. Of course, Erika thinks that our Space Needle is Seattle's version of the Eiffel Tower - or rather the Eiffel Tower is Paris's version of the Space Needle. Needless to say, it was pure tourist fun to see the tower and discover how far away we are to various American cities. It is approximately 9,400 kilometers from Paris to the West Coast of the United States - actually to Los Angeles - to be exact.
Of course, we saw many other attractions or distractions as the French call them such as the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Louvre, Museé d'Orsay and Versailles. Because of the Madeline stories by Ludwig Bemelmans, Erika was convinced that Madeline's house was in the neighborhood of the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe. So, when we visited both these places, we searched for a house that looked like Madeline's house.
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Notre Dame
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Another tourist attraction that Erika wanted to see was Notre Dame. Of course, the Disney movie, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", was a big influence. Erika really wanted to climb the bell tower, see the bells and the gargoyles but unfortunately, the bell tower was closed for repairs. At a museum about French life in Arles, we did see a close view of gargoyles, so Erika had fun pretending to be a gargoyle.
After seeing the Arc de Triomphe, we walked down the Champs Elysees through the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre. We bypassed the long entrance lines by buying museum passes at the tourist office on the Champs Elysees.
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Louvre
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Of course, because of my influence, we spent an entire day at the Louvre and another day at the Museé d'Orsay. It was barely enough time to scratch the surface of these museums. The Louvre is so large, that we could spend an entire month in the Louvre and still not see everything. Of course, we saw the Mona Lisa but the paintings, "Virgin, Child, and St. Anne" and "Madonna of the Rock" provided more viewing enjoyment. We were able to see Leonardo's style more closely without the crowds. The statue of Venus de Milo was also delightful. It always surprises me when a statue that receives so much critical review is actually very interesting. It's just my cynical nature...
In the Louvre, the David paintings were excellent and a treat. Since most people do not study 18th century art and therefore David is a painter who does not have high popular appeal, these rooms were not too crowded. We could enjoy the paintings while sitting in the cushioned benches. The size dimensions of the paintings are a major factor in how a painting is viewed. It is impossible to get an accurate view of a painting or sculpture in an art history class with only slides. The Coronation of Napoleon and The Oath of Horatio are masterpiece scale paintings, whereas, the portrait of Madame Recamier is a more personal scale. David's work is neo-classical with Greek subjects, French patriotic sentiment, and simple and elegant lines.
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Museé d'Orsay
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The Museé d'Orsay was another delight to the senses. Museé d'Orsay is located in a renovated 19th century train station. The interior architects did a great job with re-purposing this building. The French have an enormous collection of 19th century art and since 1986, it is housed in the Museé d'Orsay. Of course, the collection covers the period between 1848 through 1914. We saw more Ingres, Delacroix, and, of course, the early realists. We laughed at Daumier's caricature busts, greatly enjoyed the Millet's painting, "The Gleaners" and Courbet's painting, "The Painter's Studio". "The Gleaners" is a painting that was frequently studied in Catholic elementary schools. So both Chris and I have early memories of this painting. The painting is much better than our memories of it - especially in those small art history textbooks.
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The Museé d'Orsay is most famous for the Impressionist paintings by Manet, Degas, Monet, and Renoir and the Post-Impressionist paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gaughin, and Seurat. The Degas pastels are beautiful and the statue of the ballerina is very special. Erika tried to imitate the pose. It reminded her of her friend, Michele, who is taking ballet lessons. Monet's paintings of the Cathedral of Rouon - it's a series of 5 paintings - are great, especially since we visited the Rouon Cathedral. My favorite Post-Impressionists are Van Gogh's Room at Arles and Seurat's Circus. Seurat's painting really does shimmer as a distance with a mosaic of colors.
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Our Neighbors from Pacific Northwest
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Another unique experience in Paris was the occasional bumping into our neighbors. Maggie and her daughter were visiting Paris in February as well as Tiffani, our former babysitter. We saw Maggie at the Louvre and the d'Orsay. The typical friendly harassment was the tone of our conversation. It was great to have dinner with them. We also enjoyed dinner with Dingeman, our Dutch friend.
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Introducing Art to Children
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At the Museé d'Orsay and the Louvre, my constant companion is Erika. She has learned that by following me, I will explain something about the paintings or painter or the technique. Therefore the museum experience will be slightly less boring. Sculpture tends to be more interesting to Erika than paintings. Erika will walk around each piece of sculpture, viewing it from all sides. She will then try to imitate the stance of the sculpture. It is fascinating to watch her as she tries to internalize the experience of viewing sculpture. At the Museé d'Orsay, Erika was searching for Monet's paintings, especially for the paintings of the Japanese bridge in his garden. Unfortunately, Monet's Gardens do not open until April, so we will have to see his gardens on another trip.
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Versailles
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Versailles was fascinating and overwhelming. The powerful court of King Louis XIV at Versailles set the standard of culture for all of Europe. Every king wanted a palace like Versailles. Everyone learned French. Cultural dominance of the French has continued and that is probably why there is French writing in our American passports. Versailles was built to glorify man, in particular, one man - King Louis XIV. At Versailles, King Louis XIV is raised to about godlike status. Versailles is the last great flowering of Renaissance humanism.
The Hall of Mirrors is perhaps one of the most famous rooms at Versailles. It is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I. It is also where the grandest festivals were held during the 18th century. Mirrors were still a great luxury at that time and the number and size of these mirrors was astounding.
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Gardens of Versailles
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Finally, the gardens of Versailles are spectacular and spacious. At least, they will be spectacular in spring through the fall. Versailles began as an escape from the pressures of kingship but in short time the palace was as busy as Paris. So, King Louis XIV's successors began to build smaller palaces farther into the gardens. Marie Antoinette even built a fantasy world of simple country pleasures. The Hamlet is a working village containing 12 small buildings with a dairy, a water-wheel mill and domestic animals. Often, Marie Antoinette would pretend by dressing in a plain muslin dress with a straw hat to supervise the farm work. Then, the harvest would be served at Marie's table.
All in all, we were impressed with the politeness and helpfulness of the French people. Although we did not have an understanding of French, we were able to muddle through arrangements for campgrounds and requesting drinking water to fill our water tank, arrangements for hotels and dinner. Our experience was delightful, the atmosphere is inspiring, and the colors are thrilling and most pleasant. If no language barrier existed, it would be my desire to make the country of France a home away from home. It is much more inspiring to me than Germany.
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Die Fotogalerie von der Frankreich
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See you all later.
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