The Innocents Abroad, 21st Century Version

The Innocents Abroad aka The New Pilgrims Progress by Mark Twain was published in 1867, after Twain accompanied a group of Americans to Europe and “the Holy Land.” Coincidentally, this itinerary was quite similar to our 9 month plan, starting in September 2023. I highly recommend reading the chapters on Paris; I was laughing out loud (this book is available as public domain so can be downloaded gratis).

Year one included Paris, Chamonix, India, Israel and San Sebastian and all posts are available.

Now my husband Andy and I are in year two. We are in Mexico City November and December, 2024 and will spend the winter in Saint Martin de Belleville, part of the Trois Vallees in the French Alps.

It continues to be quite a ride!

Musée National Picasso and Sophie Calle

Published by

Joan Taback Frankle

on

Montrer et Dire (Show and Tell)

7 novembre 2023

For me, Paris and art are synonymous. I see art with every walk, every store window and of course, in every museum. Sometimes the art does not agree with me but I am always intrigued, if not inspired by the creativity.

For this reason, I wanted to share my Picasso Museum experience. This collection is available for the public‘s pleasure at the Hôtel Salé; lucky for us, the private collection of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was donated in lieu of estate taxes upon his death in 1973. The building is a work of art in itself and typically hosts temporary installations alongside Picasso’s work. We had a very interesting morning exploring this museum with our friends Lorraine and Kenny.

Hôtel Salé, a very nice home for Picasso’s art; above are some details.

Hôtel Salé, one of the most beautiful homes from 17th century Paris in a style called Mazarin. Such Baroque designs came from Italy and were quite fancy and over-ornamented, in contrast to Reformation-style architecture. When the museum was conceptualized, it was purposely housed in the Hôtel Salé, in contrast to the nearby Musée Centre Pompidou, with its ultra-modern architecture.

The collection of Picasso’s work is extraordinary here and is displayed by Picasso’s “periods” over a career that lasted more than 75 years. I wish my eyes could see the abstract in the reality of Picasso’s work.  

Below are just a sampling of my favorites. I particularly enjoyed looking up photographs of the women Picasso painted.

Jacqueline aux mains croisées 1954
Jacqueline Roque, Picasso’s wife
Portrait de Dora Mara 1937
Dora Maar, photographer, painter, poet
Portrait de Marie-Thérèse 1937
Marie-Thérèse Walter, model
Claude dessinant, Françoise et Paloma 1954
Les Baigneuses 1918
Femme au chapeau bleu 1939
Woman in red armchair 1932 (surrealist period)
Paul en Arlequin 1924 (Picasso’s son, painted during the artist’s neoclassical period)

Special installation at Picasso Museum

Sophie Calle: À toi de faire, ma mignonne; Your Deal, My Lovely

Sophie Calle

And then there is Sophie Calle, France’s most famous conceptual artist. Calle was invited to exhibit her work throughout the museum at the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death. Her exhibit starts out with Picasso in mind, but as one continues along Calle’s installation, the experience is creative and often disturbing. I actually recognized some of Calle’s photographs from a feature in the New York Times Magazine back in 2017 called The Fertile Mind of Sophie Calle (Published 2017)

And

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/sophie-calle-musee-picasso-paris-exhibition-1234681114/amp/

One of Calle’s installations was a 500-item inventory of her apartment in the Hôtel Drouot. This touched on Calle’s obsession with her legacy. To connect her work to with Picasso, Calle stated, “Picasso wished to show what laid behind his paintings….I wanted to tell the stories behind some of my personal belongings.”

Above is the “auction” announcement of Calle’s possessions. Thank you, Google Translate!

Après le Musée

Musée National Picasso was just too close to the Marais to miss out on another meal of falafel, this time at L’As du Fallafel which was followed by an insider tour of the neighborhood with our friend Lisa followed by a lovely happy hour at Place des Vosges. This “place” should be on everyone’s bucket list; it was (pre-Louvre) the Place Royale, built by Henri IV in the early 1600’s and the oldest square in Paris. Only one royal ever resided at Place Royale, Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV.

Place des Vosges (formerly known as Place Royale)

Enjoying Sunday afternoon on Place des Vosges with Kenny, Lorraine and Andy


Please join me for my next post, from Amsterdam.

À bientôt!

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