I was away in the countryside over the weekend but the weather was nice in Paris too - much sunnier than in these pictures taken two weeks ago at the parc Monceau.
There was an air of the 1860s afoot. Found in a flash - the idea of the promenade spectacle dear to our ancestors comes to life in the right setting! A living tableau...with some anachronisms.
The next time I'm there, I guess I'll see Seward Johnson's bronzes inspired by Manet and Renoir that were just installed. It is a nostalgic kind of place.
Time for play , time for reverie.
Less self-conscious moments benefit from a nice setting, too.
More about ruins and faux ruins, passing by parc Monceau, here.
I saw this painting recently in Troyes. It is it's unfinished state that catches the eye. The fantomatic figure is thought to be a young Count of Lastours at age 18. Well, so, everything cannot be completed and the abandoned work-in-progress has its own appeal, a little mal-léché has its place in a world too pristine.
source: Christie's
watercolor by Serebriakoff 1946
The description of the Degas painting led me chez Christian Bérnard and Alexander Kochno at 36 rue Casimir Delavigne. While not quite pristine, it is a more peaceful space than I imagine in the dayly life the exhuberant artist couple. Everything fits - even if there are stocks of art works and books that have climbed aboard the very top of the bookcase -there is order in this detailed image. Work your way into the corner of this St Germain des Près apartment
to find the unfinished painting on the easel. Le détail qui tue.
(Whether the air of calm comes from Serebriakoff's style or the inhabitants' is another story. I'd always heard that Bébé Bérard, master of elegant illustration and wizard of enchanting decors, was rather unkempt!)
And, as one thing will lead to another, it so happens that this particular interior by Serebriakoff will go to auction as part of the ample and amazing Jean-Louis Remilleux collection of art and antiques at Christie's Paris at the end of the month. The television producer-historian-collector is quoted by AD as saying and some of us can't but agree, "antiques are not dead things. They have a lot to teach us about how we once lived and thought."
Life is about choices though and Remilleux is now ready to let circulate some 1000 art objects and furnishings collected over a period of 30 years in order to go to the essential - the care of his
château Digoine in Burgundy.
"For more than 30 years, Jean-Louis Remilleux, both an art lover and passionate historian, selected the most beautiful pieces in France and Europe with great care. From Old Master paintings, drawings and sculpture to furniture, ceramics, bronzes and fine silver, more than 1,000 lots will be offered in a remarkable auction on 28 and 29 September. These lots boast the most prestigious European provenances, with pieces from the collections of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Charles de Besteigui to name a few.
This impressive collection was built around several themes, such as important historical figures, from Louis XIV to Napoléon, and the greatest art patrons, notably Charles de Beistegui and Madeleine Castaing. Last, but not least, the outstanding collection of equestrian paintings put together with passion includes pieces by Carle Vernet, Dreux, Delacroix and Herring."
