After the passage of a week or more, we theorized, maybe more of the Promenade Plantee's roses would be out...
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| Forerunner of the Pompidou |
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| Well camoflaged sparrow |
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| At a repair shop on the Ile St. Louis; 1.3L |
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| Europeans are reminded often of where fascism and racism lead |
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| Interesting maison; note Bridge of Sighs |
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| Walking past St. Sulpice |
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| In the courtyard of the 6th Arondissment mairie |
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| Ditto |
April 29th we were at the Louvre again. There is a lot of renovation going on, with many room closures, blank walls, paintings not where we remembered them to be. The entire French painting division was closed. We spent our time mainly in the Belgian and Netherlandish precincts, many old friends and a few discoveries.
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| Lingering in the huge hall of giant Rubens paintings glorifying Marie Medici |
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| Three Graces or possibly three Rhinemaidens |
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| Moving right along, Steen's Bad Company |
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| Vermeer's Lacemaker |
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| His Astronomer; why isn't he looking at the stars?! |
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| Among the Louvre's sculpture courts |
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| Vaulting |
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| Gerard Dou, The Dropsical Woman or Doctor Examining the Urine of a Sick Woman, 1663; I know I have posted this before... |
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| What we didn't know was that the above, Dou's Silver Ewer, is actually a hinged cover for the (presumably) more valuable Dropsical Woman; said to be a common practice in 17th century Flemish work, only a few examples have survived |
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| Rembrandt's Bathesheba, 1654 |
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| Willem Drost's Bathsheba, 1654; Drost was Rembrandt's pupil |
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| One of Hals' more formal portraits...Descartes, after 1650; interesting to compare the brushwork on the more formal portraits with that of his tronies |
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| Thus, his Jester with a Lute, 1624 |
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| Another favorite Steen, Merrymaking at an Inn, 1674 |
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| Steen, Festive Family Meal, 1674 |
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| Detail |
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| A late Rubens landscape, Landscape with a Bird Catcher, 1640; anticipating Turner? |
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| Rubens' better known Village Wedding, 1640 |
For whatever reasons, we haven't been eating out very much...Mollard, Relais d'Entrecote, a couple others...the proximity of great markets and especially La Parisienne have kept us eating in, too. Plus some of us enjoy cooking; some are actually good at it. Unfortunately not the same persons. In any case, at the intersection of Raspail and Montparnasse, half a kilometer from our apartment, are four famous restaurants we've been wanting to try: La Rotonde, La Coupole, La Select, and La Dome. On the advice of a nearby shopkeeper ("where the French eat"), we dined April 28th at La Rotonde, at Place Picasso (he had an apartment nearby), a memorable repas for me.
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| Famous Lost Generation hangout, said to be among President Macron's favorites |
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| A proper Ricard |
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| Properly mixed |
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| My assiette de fruits de mer for one, absolutely all I could eat: 9 oysters, 3 shrimp, 3 mussels, 3 clams, sea snails large and small without number |
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| Perhaps the last time Vicki will order plain old steak |
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| Big shrimp |
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| Very small snails |
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| Modigliani reproductions all over |
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| As in all such Paris restaurants, the oysters live outside, on the sidewalk |
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| Rodin's hideous Monument a Balzac just out the door |
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| But a beautiful walk back home |
