Visit to Musee de l'Orangerie

Thursday June 20 started with a thunderstorm, then cleared and became warm.  Alain did his first run in Paris (8.5 km).  After buying a delicious cooked chicken for dinner on Rue Mouffetard, we took the Metro (still only13.30 Euros for a carnet of 10 tickets) to the Palais Royal stop and then walked through the Tuileries Garden to get to our destination of Musee de l'Orangerie.

It is the 400th anniversary of the birth of Andre Le Notre, a landscape architect and head gardener at Les Jardins de Tuileries under Louis XIV.  He followed in the footsteps of his father who was also a head gardener at the Tuileries.  We passed a number of comemmorative signs.

First photo of the Eiffel Tower from the Tuileries Garden

Henry Moore (1898-1986) Reclining Figure 1951

Aristide Maillol  Monument a Cezanne

Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

Pigeon on statue by Henri Vidal (1864-1918) 1896

Eiffel Tower from Place de la Concorde

The temporary exhibit at Musee de l'Orangerie was entitled Les Macchiaioli 1850-1870: Des Impressionistes Italiens? ( The Macchiaioli 1850-1870: Italian Impressionists?)  



The Macchiaioli,  a group of artists, mostly from Tuscany, broke away from traditional Neoclassical and Romantic painting in the mid 19th century.  Many of them hung out at the Caffe Michelangiolo in Florence.  They had become familiar with French painting, particularly the Barbizon school and with artists such as Manet, Degas and Tissot who travelled to Italy at that time.  "Macchia" meaning "stain" or "blot" was a term used by these artists to explain their approach.  The name "Macchiaioli" was originally a term of ridicule given to them by a critic.  In 1862, the term was adopted by the group itself.

Many of their paintings were done in the open air in the Florentine countryside with beautiful use of light and colour.  Other paintings focused on rural life.  The Macchiaioli were also committed to the Unification of Italy and painted battle scenes from 1848 until the 1860s.  They also produced many images of domestic life.  Their use of light and colour and their move to plein air rather than the studio, were similar to the French impressionists, although most of these artists predated the French impressionists by a decade.

Alain and I both learned a lot about this fascinating group of artists.  Many of their pictures of Florence and the Tuscan countryside brought back memories of our trip there last year.  The following are pictures of some of the works shown in the exhibit (some taken from the Internet, as photography was not allowed).

Giovanni Fattori (1828-1908)  The Watch (The White Wall) 1871

Giovanni Fattori (1828-1908)  Lo staffato (Man Caught in a Stirrup)  1880

Cristiano Banti (1824-1904) Portrait d'Alaide Banti du jardin (1870)

Giovanni Fattori  La Rotonda di Palmieri 1866

Telemaco Signorini (1835-1901) Hills of Settignano

While some pictures depicted peasants in an idyllic way, the following portrait showed them toiling in the fields.

Telemaco Signorini L'Alzaia Cascine di Firenze (The Towpath) 1864

Fredrico Zandomeneghi 1841-1917) Portrait of Diego Martelli with Red Beret 1879

After the exhibit, we made a quick trip to Laduree, on Rue Royal.  Alain picked up his favourite treat- pain au chocolat pistache.

Alain at Laduree

Alain with his pain au chocolat pistachio

We walked along Rue St. Honore and stopped at the concept store Colette.  This picture is taken of their washroom walls.  We never buy anything there, but it is fun to look.



We also ducked into one of our favourite passageways- Galerie Vivienne.  There were some new shops and some renovations taking place.

Galerie Vivienne

We then paid a visit to one of our favourite clothing stores- Marithe et Francois Girbaud.  They were having a pre-sale and as a number of the sales people recognized us, we were offered the early 40% discount.  After the retail therapy, we stopped at Cafe Pere et Fils on Rue Montmartre for a coca light (pour Alain) and a mojito, pour moi.  We were just finishing around 8:00 p.m. when the rain started again.  

Alain with the drinks.  Everyone seems to be serving popcorn with drinks this summer.

Lovely buildings across the road from the bar

We walked back to our apartment in a light rain for a late dinner of chicken, green beans and salad.  I started the blog, which I finished during the morning of June 21.  It rained on and off during the night, heavy at times.  The birds are up early in the courtyard and everything is very green.  Today is Fete de la Music, when there is free music at many venues and in the streets all over Paris.