Inondation!

So what do you do when the Seine floods and the museum you were going to (Musee d'Orsay) is closed?

You go to another museum!  In this case friend Jeanne suggested the Grand Palais and a show of portraits by Seydou Keita.  Of course we had no clue, but why not.

Why not, indeed.

Turns out that Keita was a self-taught photographer in Mali.  Starting in the late 1940s he made portraits of local people.  Eventually he became the official photographer of the country, but this exhibit was of some of his thousands of portraits.  Always 3/4 poses, only one pose per person, and only two exposures.  The photos were astounding.  Because they were under glass and reflecting light, I did not try to photograph more than a few.

The exhibit included three videos, including one of Keita making portraits with a more modern camera, and in color, so we got to see him at work.  Marvelous!

After a lovely lunch, Anne and I continued to the Orangerie for the exhibit based on Apollinaire, a writer who was a friend and booster of the Impresisonists.  On the way, we got to see some evidence of the flood level of the Seine.  

 The golden knob is the top the walkway handrail. 

 The white tents are where people would gather to wait to get onto a boat. 

 Notice the floating dog house. 

 Areas of trees next to or even near the river are cordoned off, with notices that they could fall. 

 These boats normally would be able to travel under the bridges. 

Umm,  not gonna happen. 

 

Workers building a barrier to keep people and perhaps cars from entering the quai. 

But enough of that.  Onto the Orangerie.  The Apollinaire exhibit did not permit photos, but I got a few of Monet's Waterlilies before the museum closed early.  We were only a little concerned by the workers hauling sand bags in as we walked through the galleries.

 You can't get any real idea of the power of these paintings from these photos, but perhaps a suggestion of the space, the lighting and the tranquility of these two huge oval rooms, which were especially designed for them. 

Then it was out into the world, and home again.