Sunday, July 15, 2018

Paris & the middle age




 

Newsletter

15 juillet 2018
Édition 2018, Numéro 17


Welcome on our newsletter,

We are happy to suggest you a
Private walking tour of THE LATIN QUARTER with a special view to the
ARENAS OF LUTECIA


latin quarter Paris travel blog



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If you want to do an excursion outside Paris, you can go to the
MONT SAINT MICHEL: a treasure of the middle age architecture situated in NORMANDY


The Mont Saint Michel is a "WONDER of the WEST" and the visit of this building will make you travel in the middle age. 
Don't hesitate to order a private guided tour from Paris with our driver/guide in a nice & confortable minivan ; you will have the opportunity to admire this beautiful region of Normandy.




Phone :  06 73 14 69 06
Fax : 01 42 11 07 51


MAGICAL UNICORNS


14 July 2018 - 25 February 2019




The mysterious, ambivalent unicorn has throughout history engendered myriad myths and fantasies. In the 1500’s as well as in the contemporary period, it has been the subject of a veritable infatuation. From 14 July 2018 to 25 February 2019, the “Magical Unicorns” exhibition at the Musée de Cluny –National Museum of the Middle Ages illustrates the manner in which artists have represented this legendary creature via illuminated manuscripts and engraved works, sculptures and tapestries, as well as photographs and videos. The museum’s most famous masterpiece, the set of six tapestries entitled The Lady and the Unicorn, constitutes the exhibition’s point of departure. Woven around 1500, during the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, these works testify to the importance of the unicorn during the medieval period. A “magical” animal with a horn that could detect poisons and purify liquids, it also symbolized chastity and innocence. Indeed, several illuminated manuscripts evoke the traditional belief that unicorns could only be approached by virgin maidens. Yet other works represent the unicorn as powerful, aggressive or even malevolent, influenced notably by tales of travellers who claimed to have glimpsed it in the Orient. In the late Middle Ages, towns, powerful lords and printers placed the unicorn within their coats of arms, emblems or brands, undoubtedly to testify to their magnificence. In 1882, when the Musée de Cluny acquired The Lady and the Unicorn, this tapestry became an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The work’s beautiful feminine figures, the mystery surrounding its creation and the persistent presence of vegetation and familiar, wild or fantastical animals all captured its admirers’ attention. Diverse artists, such as Gustave Moreau and Le Corbusier, borrowed from this medieval hanging that also inspired a ballet by Jean Cocteau, whose costumes are here displayed. In the most contemporary works, unicorn references are occasionally humoristic – notably in the poster design by Tomi Ungerer – or melancholic, as in the video by Maïder Fortuné. The exhibition is capped off by a final tribute to The Lady and the Unicorn in the form of five tapestries by Claude Rutault. 

The “Magical Unicorns” exhibition is curated by Béatrice de Chancel-Bardelot, General Curator at the Musée de Cluny. Further complementing The Lady and the Unicorn, which has returned to its Parisian home after being loaned to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the exhibition presents other medieval and contemporary works shared by such prestigious institutions as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie – Aubusson, the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain and the Mobilier national. 
http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/


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In the east of Paris, it is possible to make an original private visit to the castle of VINCENNES as well as have a stop to discover the tomb of the general LAFAYETTE situated in the cemetery of PICPUS.

 




Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Orsay museum exhibition and private guided tour in Montmartre,Chantilly or excursion to discover WW1 in France





 

Newsletter

12 juin 2018
Édition 2018, Numéro 16

Welcome on our newsletter,

We are happy to suggest you a

Private walking tour of MONTMARTRE

http://sandytours.com/en/our-tours/paris/classic-walking-tours/montmartre-and-the-sacre-coeur-basilica-walking-tour




In the north of Paris, it is possible to make an original private excursion to the castle of Chantilly where a beautiful collection of Renaissance art is presented




If you are ready to do a longest excursion related with WW1, it is possible to choose this private tour with a driver/guide who will make you feel the events of this war period.

Don’t hesitate to contact us in order to adapt and choose the most important site you want to visit.http://sandytours.com/en/our-tours/france-long-distance/minivan-full-day-tours/ww1-battlefields-private-tour






Phone :  06 73 14 69 06
Fax : 01 42 11 07 51

In Colour: Polychrome Sculpture in France 1850-1910

12 June - 9 September 2018





Relatively unknown, 19th century polychrome sculpture is one of the key facets of the history of the discipline. Until the beginning of this century, the only colours permitted in statuary were the white of marble and the monochrome patina of bronzes. But the discovery of the use of polychromy in ancient architecture and sculpture changed people’s perspective, as well as generating heated debate.

The question of applying colour to contemporary sculpture superseded archaeological debates, and pioneering sculptors like Charles Cordier began to specialize in this technique from the 1850s. Once the controversy had died down, colour began to establish its legitimacy of the Second Empire thanks to its decorative character, prevailing under the influence of Symbolism and Art Nouveau as of the 1880s.

The diversity of materials used testifies to the often sophisticated experimentation carried out, which sometimes produced surprising aesthetic results. Painted waxes and marbles, assembled colored marbles, gold and silver bronzes, pâte de verre and enameled stoneware became the new language of a new style of French sculpture, illustrating artists’ flair for experimentation at the end of the century. The major challenge in applying colour to sculpture lay in the illusionism of the representation, as demonstrated by the scandal caused by Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Coloured sculpture would became the preferred medium of Henry Cross, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Louis-Ernest Barrias, Jean-Désiré Ringel d'Illzach, Jean Carriès and Paul Gauguin.

The exhibition presents a selective overview of this very particular aspect of 19th century art through an ensemble of around fifty works from the collections of the Musée d'Orsay.
Edouard Papet, general curator, Musée d'Orsay

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Paris private guided tour & Quai Branly exhibition


                                      

 
Newsletter

2 mai 2018
Édition 2018, NumÉro 15

Welcome on our newsletter,

We are happy to suggest you aPrivate minivan tour of PARIS with a cruise on the river SEINE



It is possible to choose also a private walking tour in a quarter of Paris or a museum private guided visit




In the north of Paris, it is possible to make an original private excursion where you will discover the city of Compiegne, the castle of Pierrefonds and the historical Rethondes car-museum.




Phone :  06 73 14 69 06
Fax : 01 42 11 07 51
                                                     

EXHIBITION

10 Apr 2018 => 15 Jul 2018

GHOSTS AND HELLS

The underworld in Asian art




The exhibition focuses its attention on Asian ghost stories, delving into the world of spirits, terror and fantastic creatures as it takes visitors on a journey to the edges of reality, through religious art, theatre, cinema, contemporary design and manga.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
From Buddhist to J-Horror, from Hokusai prints to Pac-Man, from the Thai spirit culture to horror manga, the figure of the ghost has haunted the Asian imagination for centuries. In China, Thailand and Japan - the lands that the exhibition focuses on - the popular infatuation with terror is very real, and one that permeates a wide variety of cultural productions. From spirits that wander the forest, vengeful cat-women and hungry spirits that return from the dead ("the walking dead") to jumping vampires and yokaïs (supernatural creatures in Japanese folklore), these can appear in multiple guises and play on artistic periods and media.
Ghosts and Hells - the underworld in Asian art explores their omnipresence not only in objects and documents but also in the performing arts, cinema and comics in an attempt to better understand how they work. After all, whilst Buddhism has played its part in the formation of this imagination – implying that souls are in waiting between two reincarnations –, it is indeed on the fringes of religion, in popular and secular art, that the representation of ghosts has truly come into its own


Sunday, April 8, 2018

DISCOVER Paris, Fontainebleau & Normandy in a private guided tours with SANDY









Newsletter

3 avril 2018
Édition 2018, Numéro 14

Welcome on our newsletter,

We are happy to suggest you a Private walking tour of the Jacquemart-André museum and the park Monceau



Jacquemart-André museum 



When you like to visit Paris with a writer, don’t hesitate to make a walking tour of the Latin quarter in Paris and admire most of the streets described by Ernest Hemingway that are looking the same.





Paris en fête / Ernest Hemingway


It is possible to choose a private walking tour of the Saint Germain des Près or a Notre-Dame and Cluny museum private tour


Saint-Germain des Près church


Notre-Dame cathedral









Phone :
06 73 14 69 06
Fax :
01 42 11 07 51

E-mail

Website :
                                                     


EXHIBITION

Mary Cassatt

An American Impressionist in ParisFrom 9 March to 23 July 2018



“In the spring of 2018, Culturespaces and the Musée Jacquemart-André will be holding a major retrospective devoted to Mary Cassatt (1844–1926). Considered during her lifetime as the greatest American artist, Cassatt lived in France for more than sixty years. She was the only American painter to have exhibited her work with the Impressionists in Paris.
The female representative of impressionism
The exhibition focuses on the only American female artist in the Impressionist movement; she was spotted by Degas in the 1874 Salon, and subsequently exhibited her works alongside those of the group. This monographic exhibition will enable visitors to rediscover Mary Cassatt through fifty major works, comprising oils, pastels, drawings, and engravings, which, complemented by various documentary sources, will convey her modernist approach — that of an American woman in Paris.
A franco-american approach of painting
Born into a wealthy family of American bankers with French origins, Mary Cassatt spent a few years in France during her childhood, continuing her studies at the Pennsylvania Fine Arts Academy, and eventually settled in Paris. Therefore, she lived on both continents. This cultural duality is evident in the distinctive style of the artist, who succeeded in making her mark in the male world of French art and reconciling these two worlds.
The originality of her vision
Just like Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt excelled in the art of portraiture, to which she adopted an experimental approach. Influenced by the Impressionist movement and its painters who liked to depict daily life, Mary Cassatt’s favourite theme was portraying the members of her family, whom she represented in their intimate environment. Her unique vision and modernist interpretation of a traditional theme such as the mother and child earned her international recognition. Through this subject, the general public will discover many familiar aspects of French Impressionism and Postimpressionism, along with new elements that underscore Mary Cassatt’s decidedly American identity.
A prestigious selection
The exhibition will bring together a selection of exceptional works loaned from major American museums, such as Washington’s National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Terra Foundation in Chicago; works will also be loaned by prestigious institutions in France — the Musée d’Orsay, the Petit Palais, INHA, and the BnF (French National Library) — and in Europe, such as the Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, and the Bührle Foundation in Zurich. There will also be many works from private collections. Rarely exhibited, these masterpieces will be brought together in the exhibition for the first time.


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Fontainebleau forest
    
We are at your disposal for many private tours in Paris, around Paris and on long distance excursion in France.
Fontainebleau castle and Barbizon village are situated in the south of Paris after 1 hour driving.
You can discover a very nice architecture dating from the middle-age with a great collection of the Renaissance school of Fontainebleau directed by Italian artist with the protection and order of the king of France François the 1st.

Fontainebleau castle

It was also in the 19th century the official residence of the emperor Napoléon the 1st: you can visit over there many furniture of his apartments.
It is also possible to go in the forest of the Fontainebleau and enjoy the village of Barbizon where are many painters in the 19th century such as the famous artist Jean-François Millet.

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In Normandy, we suggest you to make the D-Day landing beaches private excursion where you will discover the WWII battle and events with the allies and the liberation of France.



Américan cemetery

http://sandytours.com/en/our-tours/france-long-distance/minivan-full-day-tours/normandy-d-day-beaches-1944-private-guided-tour