APRIL IN PARIS

        "April in Paris" is a song composed in the 1930's, later recorded and made famous by Louis Armstrong and Count Basie.  This song is about love and the charm of spring in Paris.  If you are lucky enough to visit Paris this April, or simply want to daydream about visiting there, today's blog may serve as inspiration for your French design ideas.

     April is generally a cool, rainy month, but in between rain showers, there are decorative art events and gardens to visit.

     Trompe-l'oeil--Imitations, pastiches, et autres illusions.

 

     At the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, 107 Rue de Rivoli, 1st Arrondissment.  This exhibition features items from the museum's storerooms which have never or rarely before been shown.  The trompe-l'oeil technique is meant to trick the eye, and dates back to ancient Greece.

     This decorative technique took many forms, illustrating materials through painting including wood, lacquer, tiles, velvet, and framed pictures.  Many of these works were done primarily for economic reasons, and later included artisans marbling ceramics to imitate jasper, painting to simulate linoleum floorboards, and paste to simulate diamonds.                                                         

  

    From Musee des Arts Decoratifs

                                           Plaque mural of birdcage, 1780

     If you can't make it to Paris this month, it will be open through January, 2014.

Chateau de Malmaison

     Avenue du Chateau de Malmaison, 92500 Rueil-Malmaison.

     Located in a northern suburb of Paris, this spectacular Chateau  is filled with beautifully decorated rooms and gardens.  This country home was purchased in 1797 by Josephine de Beauharnais, wife of Napoleon
Bonaparte and the future king of France.  Then a run-down estate, Josephine spent lavishly on the property with the goal of transforming it into "the most beautiful and curious garden in Europe...".

     She bought the rarest of plants, and had exotic animals roaming the property, including black swans, kangaroos, emus, zebras, ostriches, antelopes and llamas.  The garden is well known for its rose garden with 250 varieties.  The famous Belgian artist Redoute drew and recorded her roses; his prints are still popular today.

     Josephine received sole ownership of Malmaison after her divorce from Napoleon.  She lived there until her death in 1814.

     The interior of the house also are a fabulous source of French design inspiration.  It is filled with beautiful period antiques, decorative painting techniques, and of course Josephine's luxurious canopy bed.

Salle a Manger (Dining Room), Wikipedia

                                                                        

Empress Josephine's Bed, Pinterest

      You can buy a momento of Malmaison here in the United States.  Josephine's namesake rose, 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', can be purchased by mail order.  I bought mine at www.antiqueroseemporium.com.  It is a light pink rose, with a lovely strong tea fragrance.                                                       
                                 
                                                                           

                                                             

                              

The French Farmhouse photo--Souvenir de la Malmaison

  

     Autour du Chat Noir:  Arts and Pleasures in Montmartre, 1880-1910

     At the Musee de Montmartre, 12/14 Rue Cortot, 18th Arrondissement.  This exhibition evokes the atmosphere of the Black Cat, a Montmartre cabaret founded in 1881 by Rodolphe Salis.  This was the first literary, artistic and musical avant-garde in Paris.  Guests enjoyed improvisation of songs and music, with shadow theater as the main attraction.

     Over 200 works of artists d'Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec, Edouard Vuillard, Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Adolphe Willete, and the Nabis and the Symbolists are on display.  The art works are accompanied by a reconstruction of the theater shadows and music.

     The exhibition strives to invoke irony, satire, and humor, and sounds like a very unique artistic experience.  It runs through June 2, 2013.

                                                                    

Chat Noir Exposition Poster

                                             

     Other places of note

      If you are going to Paris and time permits,  the following are favorites of mine.

     The Jardin du Luxembourg, 6th Arrondissment. This is considered one of the finest gardens in Paris, and spring flowers should be in bloom.  Look for the tulips!

    Musee du Louvre, 4 Place du Louvre.  This most famous museum is always magnificent and inspirational for its vast collections of art and decorative objects.  But visitors beware!  The museum was shut down April 10th after guards went on strike to protest the pickpockets (apparently growing with frequency and sometimes violent) that are preying upon both visitors and the guards!  They have since re-opened, but mind your purses and wallets!

     Giverny , Musee Monet,Haute-Normandie 27620.   Monet's classic French farmhouse just re-opened for the season --see my 'Monet Inspirations' blog for more details.

     You can also order "April in Paris' sweet peas from www.reneesgarden.com.  There is still time to plant them this month for bloom this year, unless you are in a mild climate.  I planted mine this fall and they are blooming now.  This sweet pea has a soft cream center with dark lilac edges.  It has the most intense fragrance of sweet pea I have ever grown.


                                                                       

Renee's Garden Sweet Peas

       Happy traveling or planting!                             

    
  
                                                        

FRENCH FAIENCE

     Most French farmhouses have a piece or even a collection of faience.  Faience is the name for a tin-glazed pottery on a pale buff earthenware body.

     Faience originated  in the Middle East, and  may date back as far as 4000 BC.  The process was brought to Spain by the Moors, was exported to Italy, and later, northern Europe.  Faience gained popularity in Europe as an affordable alternative to the much more costly Chinese porcelain.

     France started manfacturing faience  in the early eighteen century.  This movement was led by Quimper in Brittany in 1690.  The village of Quimper today has a museum devoted to faience.

     Most Quimper pottery has scenes of Breton men and women in traditional dress.  The colors used are predominantly blue, white, and yellow.

Photo Wikipedia

"Petit Breton" Plate, Henriot, circa 1925

    

A newer Quimper Pitcher

     Other notable factories later opened in Rouens, Strasbourg, and Luneville.  The Rouens factory actually opened  prior to the one at Quimper.  The Rouen factory produced the first soft-paste porcelain in France as early as 1673.  The process was invented by the potter Louis Poterat, who used blue designs to mimic that of Chinese hard-paste porcelain.  His invention was in response to the popularity of the influx of Chinese wares generated by the 1664 creation of the French East India Company. 

Rouen Soft-paste Mustard Cup, late 1600's

        Rouen porcelain can be distinguished by its intense blue glaze, as well as the lightness of  the porcelain. This paste was lighter than any other French type except for Sevres. However, it failed to become commercially viable, and the factory subsequently closed in 1696.                                                     

                                              

     But Rouen ceramics were widely copied, and the Rouen potters moved to Sinceny and opened their own business.  They produced the pitcher below.

Rouen Ewer, circa 1720 Wikipedia

     Strasbourg faience (located near the German border) was the first factory to develop the "petit feu" method, which uses crimson, gold, and pink decorations.  The factory was run by the Hannong family until its closure at end of the eighteenth century.

     Below is an example of the work produced by this factory.

Strasbourg Faience, circa 1760 Joseph Hannong

     The faience factory in Luneville was established by Jacques Chambrette in 1730.  Early pieces were unmarked, but the factory is well known for its faience dogs and lions as well as for its fine biscuit figurines.  It was later bought by Keller and Guerin.  It is still in existence.

Luneville Faience Photo Wikipedia

         More recent faience pieces sometimes can be found.  They can be as beautiful as some of the older pieces.

     Here is a nineteenth century French faience piece that I was lucky enough to find.  It has the most vibrant blues and yellows imaginable.

                                                                            

19th Century, France
The French Farmhouse photo

     Happy hunting!