Paris - Montmartre

While Montparnasse on the left bank in the early 1900 became the central  "heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris. From 1910 to the start of World War II, Paris' artistic circles migrated to Montparnasse, an alternative to the Montmartre district which had been the intellectual breeding ground for the previous generation of artists." was Montmartre the same  "heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris" during the last part of 1800.

Today the fantastic Basilica du Sacre Cæur (here seen from Boulevard des Italiens down town) may be the most attractive goal for tourists at Montmartre

At Place Pigalle this famous entertainment house need no further comments from me.

At Place de Clichy you can recover your makeup in this mirroring apple, but I did not discover any Mac-Shop in the neighborhood.

If you take the western entrance (through the graveyard) to the top, an interesting hill-street can be Rue de Tholoze. At the end (Top) you see all the way to Dome Les Invalides close to the Eiffel Tower.

At the bottom of the street Cafe Nazir has decorated the wall including the songwriter Aristide Bruant which also Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec used as a model.

Just a few meter further up and you meet the artistic Montmartre. I can recommend a coffee break at Le Consulat.

We tried to visit this establishment, but it was too early for lunch and the cleaning process was ongoing when we looked inside. 5 tables so the food must be great.

At the top the famous artist marked gives both possibilities to be drawn and opportunities to get a real Parisian painting for some euros

This painting by Ramon (who I discussed the painting with) could be mine for 350 Euros.

This painting was a decoration (not for sale) in a Cafe up there.

On our way down; yes, we walked up and down again, to our hotel near the Opera, a better photo than the first in this blogpost could be taken. And if you don´t have seen the Opera, here is a photo:

Versailles Petit Trianon - Domain of Marie-Antoinette

The Petit Trianon was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel by the order of Louis XV for his long-term mistress, Madame de Pompadour, and was constructed between 1762 and 1768. But Madame de Pompadour died four years before its completion, and it was subsequently occupied by her successor, Madame du Barry. 

Upon his accession to the throne in 1774, the 20-year-old Louis XVI gave the château and its surrounding park to his 19-year-old Queen Marie Antoinette for her exclusive use and enjoyment, which was undoubtedly one of the best things he could have given her.

The Grand Trianon (seen on the left-side on the map) is located in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles and built at the request of Louis XIV, as a retreat for the King and his long-term female lover and companion of the time, the marquise de Montespan, but also as a place where the King and invited guests could take light meals (collations) away from the strict étiquette of the Court.

I am only 6 feet high, but the door openings at the ground floor had a size so small that I had to be careful when entering the service area of the manor house.

The kitchen was what I would call "cute", but quite similar to what we had at our cottages before the oil age in Norway.

Downstairs and Upstairs make a difference. So also in Petit Trianon. This is the dining room with a nice fireplace and mirror like the one we have at home.

In Marie-Antoinettes salon a grand piano and a harp is "ready" to be used for the amusement of royalties.

The queen´s bed was however nothing for me. Neither in length nor depth. My wife was fully in agreement with me about that.

Versailles - Paintings

I promised to present some of the paintings on walls and ceilings that we caught on photo during our tour through the halls and salons. However, the great crowd of people walking around and the light conditions give no positive effect on my images. In addition the artists is not always clear, so once more you have to go and see yourselves. It´s worth it.

This first painting covers one of the walls in Salon Hercules. It is painted by Paolo Veronese (also known as Paolo Cagliari) called "Feast in the House of Simon" or the Last Supper (454 x 874) from 1573.

The ceiling in the same Salon Hercules is another masterpiece. It is 480 sqm large (this photo is only a part), painted on canvas by Francois Le Moine in 1733 - 1736, finished only one year before the artist committed suicide.

This painting of the king you can find in his apartment where several other horse-portraits (by Jacques-Louise David) are on the walls too. 

I made a photo of this because I found the blue color fantastic and is the "real king-blue" composition.

The ceiling in the king´s bedchamber may be painted by Francois Le Moine (uncertain). He worked with the ceilings in several rooms in the king´s apartment, like the one in Salon Hercules.

The ceiling in the Queen´s bedchamber has more ornamentations, and more "female style" than the one in the king´s bedroom, but the center part is beautiful.
Hermes or Mercury and even Hermes son Pan (God of lust) maybe the one in the midle of the center painting.

In the Coronation Hall (which was a chapel during Louis XIV´s ruling) Emperor Napoleon wanted a painting of his coronation on the walls. The only person allowed to sit, was the pope.

Jacques-Louis David made the painting in 1806 (6.21 x 9.79)

Some sources writes that David also made the other paintings in the Coronation Hall, and this scene from a battle, is really spectacular.

Most famous I believe David is for the painting Death of Marat from 1793. Neoclassicism reached its peak by David.

(Our own Edvard Munch also made 2 versions of Marat´s death in 1907)

The greatest experience related to paintings at Versailles is gathered in the Hall of Battles. The history of France (at least battle victories) is covered on about 25 - 30 huge paintings. 

The painting in the middle of the hall-wall above looks like this if you stand alone in front of it.

This painting shows the battle against the Dutch that took place near the city of Cassel, 30 km south of Dunkirk in present-day France in April 11th 1677.

When I saw this painting I immediately thought about the post revolution France and the Republic.  It is made in another style than the usual paintings, so it must be from late 1800. But I don´t know.

The last painting is made by the most famous female painter in France of the 18 century; Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun (1755 - 1842) and show Marie-Antoinette. Married to Louise XVI and lost her head October 16th 1793:  (At 12:15 pm, two and a half weeks before her thirty-eighth birthday, she was executed at the Place de la Révolution (present-day Place de la Concorde).)

Some photos of her "simple" house at Petit Trianon will come later.

Versailles - Jardins et Parc (The Garden)

From the Hall of Mirrors you can join this Adonis and take a great view of the Garden of Versailles. Adonis is an annually-renewed, ever-youthful vegetation god, a life-death-rebirth deity whose nature is tied to the calendar.

When entering the Garden, you see that the Palace is guarded by many other beautiful sculptures.

and the facade from the "Basin et Parterre de Latone" looks like this

The Hall of Mirrors covers the fifteen central windows in the main western facade of the palace.

From the southernmost corner of the palace (the Salon of Peace) the view of the Garden look like this, and we started on a walking tour towards "Grand Trianon" and "Domaine de Marie-Antoinette" which is behind the forest in the horizon. (a long walk).

The "Green Carpet" and the "Grand Canal" which you see on the photo above are the main westward lines of the park, and from the castle you have to "climb" down several staircases from one level to the other

At the end of "Tapis vert" (green carpet) the Apollo basin and fountain covered in spring green leaves is fantastic.

We decided to walk through the "labyrinth" and must admit that it was a wrong choice. The green "walls" with limited sign showing directions, made me make wrong choices which resulted in a longer stroll than intended. However, we found the Grove of Dauphine with her beauty somewhere in there.

Entering the "Petit Trianon" and Domain de Marie-Antoinette this "Temple de Amour" (Gazebo) was the only object from her garden. The interior of the domain will be covered in a later blogpost.

The alley from the "Grand Trianon" where Napoleon lived (far away) and back to the castle also shows the huge area that the gardener André Le Nôtre designed for Louis XIV. and when looking to the next photo I am happy not having to cut the hedges by hand.

The alley from Grand Trianon ends up in the gate of Neptune and the spectacular sculpture in Neptune´s Basin 

From here it is a short walk back to the castle where we from the northernmost window in the castle (the War Room) you can see that there are other possible ways than walking around the area.

As an end to this garden tour I give you a small taste of the fantastic paintings in the castles that will be presented in my next blogpost. This image has a clear footnote or title:

"Le Roy Gouverne Par Lvi Meme" ( The king governs by himself) He and he alone has the Power.

Palace of Versailles - post 1

I have been in Paris before, but never taken the time to visit the Palace of Versailles, about 30 minutes from the city.
That was on the priority-list this time, and although we were together with hundreds others, the six hours spent was a once in the lifetime experience. Never again queuing at least one hour for entrance and walking on command by guides, but absolute a place to visit as long as you can study the images later.

The main golden gate is spectacular and the yard behind shows the magnificent exterior details of the Palace. Behind my hat (1st floor) you will find the king´s bedchamber.

Entering the palace through gate H on ground floor, and following the tourist "route" will give you some extraordinary experiences when it comes to design, size, furniture and art. I have in this post presented some of these rooms / halls, but only the live experience can give full tribute to the beauty of Versailles.

The first Hall is the Chapel de Versailles with the fantastic ceiling. A masterpiece.
The ceiling of the nave represent God the Father in His Glory Bringing to the World the Promise of Redemption and was painted by Antoine Coypel; the half-dome of the apse is decorated with Charles de la Fosse’s The Resurrection of Christ

On the top of the staircase to 1st floor this huge portrait of Louise XIV is almost impossible to catch with an ordinary camera.
After another sculpture walk we entered the king´s apartment.
 From 1678 to the end of Louis XIV’s reign, the grand appartement du roi served as the venue for the king’s thrice-weekly evening receptions, known as les soirées de l’appartement. For these parties, the rooms assumed specific functions:

• Salon de Vénus: buffet tables were arranged to display food and drink for the king’s guests.
• Salon de Diane: served as a billiard room.
• Salon de Mars: served as a ballroom.
• Salon de Mercure: served as a gaming (cards) room.
• Salon d’Apollon: served as a concert or music room.

In corner you enter the the Salon of War,  turn left and enter the astonishing Hall of Mirrors

After being here, I do not think any other halls may be worth visiting. The ceiling and chandeliers takes the breath away. The light through the windows to the garden and reflections in mirrors are astonishing.

You understand quite easy why the name Hall of Mirrors is used. I saw several female adding on lipgloss by looking into the mirror wall.

Behind the Hall of Mirrors facing the garden, the king´s bedchamber is facing the yard and golden gate.

Both the King´s and the Queen´s beds can create nightmares, and on the top we can see that they were early out with duster kits (no ad for Swiffer)

The wall carpet in their breakfast room must be more than 50 sqm. I have no place for it in my home.

Not surprising I believe, the Battles Gallery became my most memorable hall. The history of France can really be seen here, and the series of historical paintings are dedicated to "all the glories of France". Behind my wife the wall is full of battle victories by Napoleon.

On the other side older battles are presented, but we did not find the battle of Waterloo on the walls.

I end this presentation by showing a statue of Louise XIV found among many other important rulers and philosophers like Dagobert I (603 - 639),  Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650 and Napoleon I (1769 - 1821) .

Tomorrow I will give you some of the images from the garden.