Thursday September 26 was a very rainy day. High of 17C. We decided to go to the Saint-Germain neighbourhood on the left bank and pick up some favourite things.
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| My favourite dark chocolate marshmallows at Pierre Marcolini |
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| Orange and ginger chocolate bars at À la Mère de Famille |
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| Apple tart at Poilâne on Rue du Cherche-Midi |
We stopped for a lovely bowl of lentil soup at Kaplan, also on Rue du Cherche-Midi. Mediterranean menu with great service. I forgot to take a food photo.
We headed in the pouring rain to Le Bon Marché, the iconic department store. They always have a theme and then sell products related to the theme. The store is also decorated in accordance with the theme. Due to the Olympics, the theme for the summer and early fall is Paris, Paris!
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Sales person with the Paris Paris branding
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| Lots of clouds and Eiffel Towers |
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| Another view |
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On the main floor a GIANT croissant--- way too big for consumption
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We had been planning to head to the Musée d'Orsay, but it was raining very hard and we were both exhausted and still a bit jet-lagged. I also seemed to be developing a cold as it was very damp out. So we ended up taking the Métro to our apartment and having an omelet with a salad, some wine and cheese. It was then early to bed.
Friday September 27 was a day with sporadic rain showers--some short and very intense and others spread out in time. We definitely think we have experienced enough rain for this trip.
We first went to check out the local farmers' market near us, which operates on Fridays. It was a bit disappointing, but we did pick up another cantaloupe which are excellent this time of year.
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| Local market-- lots of nice fruit and veg, but only one fish vendor with not the finest fish |
It was then time to head to Musée d'Orsay. Our apartment is very close to a Métro stop with two lines. We took the 12th to the Museum. I love the old subway signs with "direction Montparnasse" and "direction Montmartre".
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| Inside the entrance to the Musée D'Orsay |
We primarily came to see the Harriet Backer (1845-1932) La Musique des Couleurs exhibit which had just started. Although little known outside her own country, Harriet Backer was the most famous female painter in Norway at the end of the 19th century. She did both interior scenes and plein-air painting, drawing her inspiration from both the realist movement and the innovations of impressionism. She trained in both Munich and Paris (where she lived for 10 years) and then returned to Norway in the early 1890s. She opened a school of painting for both men and women, which became one of the most important in Norway before the creation of the Academy of Fine Arts. Backer was also a member of the board of directors and the acquisitions committee of the National Gallery of Norway for 20 years.
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| Poster for the exhibit |
All paintings are by Harriet Backer unless otherwise identified.
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| Kitty Kielland, Harriet Backer in her Studio, Paris, 1883 |
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| Bertha Wegmann (1874-1926), The Artist, Jeanna Bauck, 1881 |
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| Andante, 1881. This painting was in the Salon in Paris-- it is set in a room in the Musée de Cluny. |
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| Fourre-tour, Interior at Rochefort-en-Terre, Brittany, 1882-- The daily work of the Breton farmers was the inspiration for this scene. Backer stayed in Brittany in the summer of 1881 with Kitty Kielland and Germain Pelouse. |
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| Blue Interior, 1883. Her use of light was superb. |
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| The Composer Johan Backer Lunde, 1896. John Backer Lunde (1874-1958) was Harriet Backer's nephew. He was a pianist and composer. |
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| The Artist Kitty Kielland, 1883. Both Backer and Kielland were an inseparable part of the Norwegian cultural landscape. |
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| Lavender, 1914. Backer used painting to evoke senses other than sight. |
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| Music, Interior in Paris, 1887 |
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| At home, 1887. In Backer and Kielland's apartment in Paris, the writer Asta Lie plays the piano. This painting was exhibited at the 1889 Universal Exhibition where it won a silver medal. |
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| Interior of Uvdal Stave Church, 1909. During the summers of 1904 and 1909, Backer worked at length in Uvdal stave church, a medieval building constructed entirely of wood, a characteristic feature in Norway, with painted decoration, in this case, from the 17th century. |
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| Still Life with Mask, 1916 |
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| View from my Window, 1912 |
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| Jonasberget Farms, 1892-- her only depiction of a garden |
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| The Bleaching Field, 1886-1887 |
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| Woman Sewing, 1890 |
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| Woman Sewing by Lamplight, 1890 |
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| Interior at Rochefort-en-Terre, Brittany (Afternoon), 1882 |
We really enjoyed the exhibit, especially as we had just visited Oslo last fall. Backer's use of light and colour was spectacular. She created a great mix of realism and impressionism in her paintings.
There was another exhibit that we briefly checked out entitled:
Céline Laguarde, Photographer. Laguarde (1873-1961) made a name for herself in the early twentieth century. The exhibit was made possible by the gradual coming to light of the artist's private collection. It was reassembled by the Museum between 2017 and 2024. It revealed s body of work of unexpected quality, variety and longevity. The exhibit was the first to be dedicated to a female French artist photographer working before 1914. During her lifetime, she was considered one of the leading photographers of her age.
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| Delicious looking éclairs |
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| Yum-- éclair in the rain |
We walked for a bit and then went for a late lunch/coffee at Saint Pearl. We shared a vegan avocado toast with a smoked salmon side.
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| Good coffee and vegan avocado toast--- with sweet potato/cauliflower and tomatoes |
We then decided to pay a quick visit to an old favourite- Shakespeare and Company. The rain was pelting down at this point. We had just seen a delightful rom-com at TIFF called
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. Part of it was filmed at Shakespeare and Co (they had to film during the night).
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| Outside the book store |
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| Inside the adjoining café-- lots of quotes from Alice in Wonderland |
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"Open Door, Open Books, Open Mind, Open Heart"
The bookstore is right across from Notre Dame Cathedral. Progress is definitely being made on the rebuild, but it is still not open yet.
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| Notre Dame- still under construction |
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| The Seine was looking very murky due to all the rain--- no swimming this week! |
We decided to have dinner at the Le Saint Regis bistro on Ile St. Louis. We both had the duck with potatoes and salad and a nice glass of Brouilly.
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| Dinner at St. Regis bistro |
We took the Métro back to the apartment. It had stopped raining by then. We have been very lucky with the Métro. We were able to load a Navigo Transit card in Toronto and then were able to buy our tickets from CDG Airport to town and then purchase a pack (a carnet) of 10 tickets. The card and tickets are in our Apple Wallets and one just swipes the wallet on the entrance way. Very handy.
It is now Saturday September 28, Alain's birthday! Finally a day without rain. We are going to do some wandering in the Marais and then going out for dinner not too far from our apartment.
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