The Musée Condé at the Château de Chantilly outside Paris happens to own one of the best-known medieval manuscripts, ’Les très riches heures de duc de Berry’. As this well-known marvel needs to be rebound, there has been an exhibition around the famous illuminations depicting the months. The château itself is mostly a reconstruction fromContinue reading “Books in Chantilly”
Tag Archives: France
Neuf-Brisach – A Perfectly Formed Town
Neuf-Brisach might not be very big, but at least it is perfectly symmetrical. The reason, naturally, is that it was designed and built at one go – no natural growth here (see the plan below). The town was built around 1700 by Louis XIV’s famous fortification guru, Vauban (before ennobling called Sébastien Le Prestre). HeContinue reading “Neuf-Brisach – A Perfectly Formed Town”
Art Nouveau – The Ecole de Nancy
It is perhaps less well known for a hub of Art Nouveau, but Nancy had a burgeoning scene before the First World War. The focus was on furniture (below right a desk and chair by Eugène Vallin), but the city is also known for its Art Nouveau architecture (below left is the Chambre of Commerce).Continue reading “Art Nouveau – The Ecole de Nancy”
Scipione Borghese’s art
If you are an art lover, it helps to get a collection going if your uncle is the pope and nepotism is the order of the day. Becoming a cardinal, getting the necessary income and influence happen just like that – and before you notice, you have a huge collection, a large villa and aContinue reading “Scipione Borghese’s art”
Paquebots in Nantes
The ’Normandie’ was the pride of French naval construction, so it is no wonder that it is the star of an exhibition on ocean liners at the Nantes Art Museum. In the 1930s, ocean liners were the epitome of luxury travel and were outfitted in the decorative styles of their time. The Normandie reflected lateContinue reading “Paquebots in Nantes”
Clermont-Ferrand – Between Vercingetorix and Michelin
If you want to know more about pneumatic tyres than you ever wanted to, visit the L’Aventure Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand, which tells the story of the local firm from tyres to restaurant and travel guides. Bibendum, the Michelin Man, is omnipresent, including a fountain (below left) that used to grace a swimming pool. However, theContinue reading “Clermont-Ferrand – Between Vercingetorix and Michelin”
Monastery leftovers
In the Middle Ages, Europe was full of monasteries, one mightier than the other. Since then, reformation, revolutions and modernity have put an end to most of these, leaving at times behind impressive ruins. The charterhouse in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon was once the largest in France, with three cloisters (the main one is below left), a papalContinue reading “Monastery leftovers”
Aigues Mortes, dead waters
Aigues Mortes has preserved its medieval character because it was important back then, but not afterwards. It was the only Mediterranean port of the Kingdom of France in mid-13th century, and king Louis IX and his knights left for their crusades from here. The name of the town is Occitan and comes from the marshyContinue reading “Aigues Mortes, dead waters”
The Gothic Troyes
Troyes is a small town in northeastern France that has an excessive number of Gothic churches and plenty of half-timbered houses that together create a positively medieval feeling. Some of the smaller churches have preserved almost unique medieval detailing, like the ‘gallery’ of Ste Madelaine (below left) or the statuary of St Pantaléon (below right).Continue reading “The Gothic Troyes”
Gutenberg in Paris
No, the guy himself never visited, but his spirit is at the excellent Bibliothèque national (BnF) exhibition ‘Imprimer! L’Europe de Gutenberg’ at their F. Mitterrand site (below right). Of course, both of the Gutenberg bibles that the BnF owns are displayed (title picture). To emphasise the status of Gutenberg, a 1831 painting depicts him asContinue reading “Gutenberg in Paris”
Rails, wines, worlds 