It was a cold, rainy, windy day when Claudine came to visit. We had a very short walk to the Musee Montmartre, which has been expanded and renovated since our last visit.
On the way we spied a tiny Charlie Chaplin and a hanging bird's nest painting. We have no idea of the significance, if any, or either.
The Musee houses its permanent collection in the older building that we have seen before. It is much the same.
This visit started with an excellent video featuring Suzanne Valladon, the mother of the painter Utrillo. She was a model for many famous artists of the day -- Degas, Picasso, and others. And, she was a recognized artist in her own right. The building in the right of this photo is the house where she lived and worked.
There was an excellent temporary exhibit of Valladon's work, with appropriate complementary works by Utrillo, and Utter.
Utrillo apparently was an alcoholic by the time he was 12, and an incendiary character. This is his bedroom, with bars to keep him from throwing things at passersby.
Valladon's studio had magnificent light, fabulous views, and was about 15 degrees colder than the rest of the building.
I doubt she had a tea shop downstairs, though.
In the permanent collection, this painting of the Moulin de la Galette, right down the corner from our apartment building, caught my eye.
There were also representatives of the shadow performances in the main museum. On one visit we had seen how they move and are changed by light, a forerunner of modern movies.
I had never taken a moment to examine this object before. It is a "coco" machine. It was carried on the back of the coco seller, with cups for people to take a drink from the tank of coco. "Coco" was lemonade mixed with licorice water.
Then home before the rain really hit in earnest.
No comments:
Post a Comment