La Maison Picassiette, Chartres.

On Saturday morning I awoke with a "sense of possibility" and decided to treat myself with a day trip to Chartres, mainly for the iconic cathedral. I stumbled across this adorable little house in Chartres on Internet, and so ... I'm off on an adventure! Raymond Isidore began to build his house in Chartres in 1930 and systematically (over a period of decades) covered everything with intricate mosaics of broken crockery, painting and sculpture. For this reason,  he earned a nickname as "Picassiette", derived from 'pique' in French (to steal) and 'assiette' (plate). The intimate, idiosyncratic and very personal nature of this man's obsession presents a sharp contrast to the 'majestic' Chartres cathedral.

Gustave Moreau Museum.

Gustave Moreau was a French Symbolist painter whose main emphasis was biblical and mythological figures.  The Gustave Moreau Museum houses more than 1000 paintings by the artist, as well as 7000 drawings. I was extremely surprised by the range of his work as well as the vast collection of the museum! His mythological and spiritual paintings gleam with a jewel - like perfection. Yet, his numerous 'unfinished' works show a Rembrandt - like under drawing facility that is quite expressive! When it comes to painting he was quite the alchemist. His own students include Henry Matisse  and Georges Rouault.  Andre Bretton famously used to "haunt" the museum and regarded Moreau as a precursor of Surrealism.

Musée Gustave Moreau Art Nouveau staircase.

I finally made it to Musée Gustave Moreau today! The symbolist painter is known for his mythological fantasies and jewel - like painting. His 'town house' (don't make them like that any more...) has the most magnificent Art Nouveau staircase I have ever seen! The major surprise to me, however, is the vast collection of more than 1000 oils, watercolours and 7000 drawings in the museum. The house itself is decorated with visual excess and an idiosyncratic sense for the exotic. I will make the effort again to come to this museum on my next visit to Paris!

Pierre et Gilles and tapestries at La Manufacture des Gobelins.

During recent research on contemporary Paris art exhibitions, I stumbled upon a Pierre et Gilles installation at Galerie des Gobelins. Being totally in touch with my kitsch side.., I decided this is certainly worth a visit. Little did I know that the gallery is located at La Manufacture des Gobelins, a tapestry factory since the early 17th century! Originally a dyeing workshop set up in about 1440, Louis XIV took it over in 1662 and gathered the greatest craftsman of the day, including Flemish weavers to create works for his palace at Versailles. Today weavers still continue to work in the traditional way but with modern designs. If you are interested in 17th and 18th century tapestries and want to engage closely with them and visit the fascinating factory space where they were created, this is the place to go! Another hidden gem and what a rich, fantastic history!

Mozart's Requiem in the Notre Dame!

I am a firm believer in the power of speech spoken aloud, and how this impacts on the direction of our mind and the evolution of our life! Less than 6 months ago I mentioned to my Saturday art class that I would love to see Mozart's Requiem performed in a large cathedral one day. It is my favorite by far!  Well well ... that day has arrived! Mozart's Requiem will be performed tonight in the Notre Dame and I have my ticket in my hand! This will surely be a divine and life changing experience. Feeling blessed...

Epic Monet exhibition at Musée Marmottan!

Musée Marmottan is simply a hidden gem! It contains the biggest collection of Monet paintings in the world, yet the museum does not nearly receive the same attention than Musée D'Orsay or L'Orangerie for instance. The exhibition "Impression, Sunrise" celebrates the true story of the masterpiece by Monet. As part of the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Musée Marmottan and of the 140th anniversary since the first exhibition of the work "Impression , Sunrise", the exhibition presents 94  paintings, 29 drawings and other personal objects belonging to Monet. There is also a permanent collection featuring numerous works by Berthe Morisot, Degas and Manet  to name but a few. The area ('Passy' close to La Muette Metro) is also very sophisticated and quiet. Would defenately like to stay here on future visits to Paris to escape the city noise at night!

Oscar Muñoz at Galerie National du Jeu de Paume (part 2).

Galerie National du Jeu de Paume is hosting a retrospective of the work by the Columbian artist Oscar Muñoz. His works blur the boundaries between photography, printmaking, drawing, installation, video and sculpture. Through his innovative processes such as printing charcoal pigment on water and silkscreen(ed) charcoal dust on methacrylate he creates unstable images that oscillate between presence and absence. "Narcissi in process" illustrated above, is a set of self - portraits printed in charcoal pigment on water in shallow vitrines lined with paper. The water slowly evaporates during the course of the exhibition, eventually allowing the pigment to settle onto the paper in a slightly altered version of the original portrait image.