
PLEASURES OF THE TEXT
Erika Balsom on Ruth Beckermann’s MUTZENBACHER
GROUP THINK
MAKE HISTORY
Tim Griffin on the art of Virginia Overton
Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean between Sicily and the North African coast. It’s a nation known for historic sites related to a succession of rulers including the Romans, Moors, Knights of Saint John, French and British. It has numerous fortresses, megalithic temples and the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a subterranean complex of halls and burial chambers dating to circa 4000 B.C.
Film by Robert Kovacs

For the Cannes Film Festival, held this year from May 17-28, we take you to the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a legendary palace on the Mediterranean brimming with Hollywood glamor, and we bring you the story of Alice Guy, cinema’s forgotten pioneer: She was the world’s first female filmmaker and spent her life between Paris and New Jersey. Also in this issue, meet the French-Belgian chef at the helm of Fanny’s, the restaurant at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, visit the Galignani bookstore – a mecca for Anglophone readers in Paris – and discover how a business-savvy Frenchman claimed the rights to the smiley 50 years ago.
This cinematic travel film features mountain hikes in Glencoe and Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve.
Chapters: 0:00:00 – Intro 1:01:00 – Ascent 6:08:13 – Plateau 7:11:00 – Descent
Glencoe is a village in western Scotland. It lies in steep-sided Glencoe valley, in the Scottish Highlands. The area is known for waterfalls and trails that climb peaks such as Buachaille Etive Mor and Bidean nam Bian. In the village, Glencoe Folk Museum occupies 18th-century thatched cottages, with displays on local heritage and the Glencoe massacre of 1692. Wildlife in the area includes red deer and golden eagles.
Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé and panellists Christof Münger and Eemeli Isoaho on the weekend’s biggest talking points. Plus: we check in with our friends and contributors in London, Vienna and Tokyo.
Iceland, a Nordic island nation, is defined by its dramatic landscape with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. Massive glaciers are protected in Vatnajökull and Snæfellsjökull national parks. Most of the population lives in the capital, Reykjavik, which runs on geothermal power and is home to the National and Saga museums, tracing Iceland’s Viking history.

This exhibition celebrates the addition of nine masterpieces to the French national collections – six paintings, two sculptures and a sketchbook – via the country’s gifts-in-lieu scheme, which was introduced on 31 December 1968, allowing inheritance tax to be paid in kind. This unique acquisition mode is key to the very identity of Musée Picasso, which was founded in 1979 specifically to house the donation made by Pablo Picasso under this system.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France.
Downton Abbey has become THE British cult series. The story about the fate of a noble family and their servants at the beginning of the 20th century in Yorkshire, England, is even set in a real palace: Highclere Castle. There aren’t servants anymore, but it still has a countess. The lady of the house takes us on an exclusive tour of the castle where Downton Abbey has been shot. Some of the locations may look familiar, especially since the second film is now being released after six successful seasons on TV.
Highclere Castle is a Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The 5,000-acre estate is in Highclere in Hampshire, England, about 5 miles south of Newbury, Berkshire, and 9.5 miles north of Andover, Hampshire.