Tag Archives: France

New Photography Books: “Paris Chic” (Assouline)

Paris is the city of chic—and as such, its innate style shines throughout the city, even in the simplest spaces. Quaint bistros, picturesque alleyways, artists’ studios and unique characters are elevated to a modern-day genre painting when set in Paris. From skateboarders to antiquarians, this volume is a glimpse into Parisian life, as if peering over the edge of the balcony at your own pied-a-terre.

Collaboratively, author Alexandra Senes and photographer Oliver Pilcher open the doors to some of the most sophisticated homes in Paris, sharing an intimate portrait of various families. The quiet, daily moments of Parisian life are eternalized through Pilcher’s lens. Monuments don’t make a city; the people do.

Authors

Born in Scotland, Oliver Pilcher studied sculpture at the Edinburgh College of Art before embarking on a photographic career that has taken him all around the world and given him the opportunity to shoot for some of the world’s finest brands. Oliver has been a contributing photographer at Condé Nast Traveler for over ten years. He currently divides his time between New York and Costa Rica with his wife, Abigail and their four children, Andalucia, Bianca, Constantina, and Herbie.

Alexandra Senes is a citizen of the world, as she feels at home anywhere; a real asteroid with no jet lag. Senes spent her childhood in her native Senegal after which she moved to New York and then Paris. She worked as a journalist for over 20 years, including 8 years as the founder and editor-in-chief of Jalouse Magazine. In 2015, Senes started her journey with Kilometre, a brand that makes our imaginations go wild, drifting into far-off and unexplored places-shirts and home goods adorned with hand embroidery inspired by up-and-coming travel destinations.

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New Travel & Wine Videos: “Burgundy & Champagne” Vineyards In France (2020)

Filmed and Edited by: Matteo Bertoli

Burgundy is a historical region in east-central France. It’s famous for its Burgundy wines as well as pinot noirs and Chardonnay, Chablis and Beaujolais. The area is crisscrossed by a network of canals and studded with grand châteaux, some now luxury hotels. The capital, Dijon, of mustard fame, is home to the imposing Palace of the Dukes, where the distinguished Musée des Beaux-Arts was established in 1787.

Champagne was a province in the northeast of the Kingdom of France, now best known as the Champagne wine region for the sparkling white wine that bears its name in modern-day France. The County of Champagne, descended from the early medieval kingdom of Austrasia, passed to the French crown in 1314.

French Château Tours: Historic 17th Century In Béarn Region (Video)

Dating to the 1630’s this magnificent, historic property, ennobled by King Louis XIII in 1634, was discovered in 2006, entirely hidden beneath brambles and woodlands, by an intrepid local couple wanting to restore an important building of historical significance to the Béarn region.

New Arts & Culture Books: “La Colombe d’Or – Saint Paul de Vence” (Assouline)

La Colombe d'Or - Assouline“Provence has a treasure; it’s a Colombe d’Or. It has the precious scent of thyme and nostalgia and the golden colour of olive oil and happy days. The Colombe is a part of my life. For me, it’s a place that’s as full of promise as of magnificent memories. The Colombe is indefinable, inimitable. I’m happy that today a book brings back the atmosphere of this place which is like no other in the world.”

La Colombe d’Or hotel and restaurant in the South of France is known all over the world as a privileged place where the Provençal art de vivre goes hand in hand with an astonishing private COLLECTION of modern art.

La Colombe d'Or - Assouline

First opened in 1920 as Chez Robinson, a café-bar with an open-air terrace, it quickly became a very popular meeting place and expanded into a small hotel and restaurant. The friendly atmosphere together with owner Paul Roux’s deep interest in the arts attracted many artists of the day, and the walls were soon covered by paintings, often exchanged for a stay or a few meals. As regular visitors to this beautiful place, Matisse, Braque, Léger, Calder, César, and many other artists have left magnificent works that now form part of the unique setting, including splendid pages in the fascinating guest books—presented to the world for the first time in this volume—in which the greatest artists of our time have drawn and signed moments of happiness. The next generation of the Roux family continues to care for the Colombe d’Or, and the art COLLECTION is still growing today.

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Travel & Architecture: “Mont Saint Michel” In Northwest France (Video)

Mont-saint-michel, Rocky, Cone-shaped Islet in Northwestern France. The Islet, celebrated for Its Benedictine Abbey, has small houses and shops on its lowest level. Above these stand the Monastic Buildings, many of which date from the 13th Century and are considered outstanding examples of Gothic Architecture. The Abbey Church that towers over the island was built in 11th Century in Romanesque Style with a choir in flamboyant Gothic Style, considered as one of Medieval Architecture’s Greatest Achievements.

Le Mont-Saint-Michel is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately one kilometer off the country’s northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares in area.

New Aerial Travel Videos: “Flight In Vercors Massif” – Southeastern France

Filmed and Edited by: ISAIRFILMS

Flight in Vercors Massif in France - Aerial Travel Video by IsairFilms - July 10 2020

The Vercors Massif is a range in France consisting of rugged plateaux and mountains straddling the départements of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Drac and Isère. The cliffs at the massif’s eastern limit face the city of Grenoble.

Art History: How The Impressionists Elevated The “French Riviera”

From Christie’s (July 3, 2020):

Christie's Matisse to NiceIt was the Impressionists, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who first discovered the artistic potential of the south coast, finding an unspoilt landscape that perfectly matched their aims. ‘It is so beautiful,’ Monet wrote, ‘so bright, so luminous. One swims in blue air and it is frightening.’

Vincent van Gogh captured the landscape in and around Arles and Saint-Rémy in the final years of his life, while the Master of Aix, Paul Cézanne, used the rugged landscape of his native Provence to radically reconceive the very nature of art-making.

Long before the South of France became synonymous with glamour and sun-drenched seduction — think of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in the 1955 film To Catch a Thief, or Brigitte Bardot and Alain Delon on the beaches of Saint-Tropez — this corner of Europe attracted a very different kind of tourist.

Christie's LogoSince the turn of the century, the sleepy fishing villages and remote towns of the Provençal hills had lured artists from Paris and beyond — the bright light, dazzling colours and palpable presence of the classical past all serving to inspire and revive jaded spirits.

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Top New Travel Videos: “Chateau De Chambord” In France (Architecture)

The Château De Chambord in Chambord, the Loire Valley, France, is One of the Most Recognisable Châteaux in the World Because of Its Very Distinctive French Renaissance Architecture Which Blends Traditional French Medieval Forms With Classical Renaissance Structures. Commissioned by King François the First and Imagined by the Great Leonardo Da Vinci, the Chateau De Chambord is the Largest and Most Majestic Castle of the Loire. Much More Than a Castle, Chambord Has Captured the Imagination of Visitors and Architecture Lovers Alike for Centuries. It is a Symbol of the French Renaissance and of the Power of a Passionate Ruler Who Revered the Arts.

Art & Design Video: “History Of Cartier Jewelers” (Christie’s)

Meet Pascale Lepeu, Curator of the Cartier Collection, and see the incredible trove of historic Cartier jewellery that is held within. From elegant diamond tiaras of the Belle Époque to remarkable Art Deco tutti frutti bracelets and more, discover the enormous influence that Cartier has had on the world of high jewellery. An extract from the Christie’s Education online course, History of Jewellery Design: 1880–Now.

Travels With A Curator: “Valenciennes”, Northern France (The Frick Videos)

In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” travel with Xavier F. Salomon, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, to Valenciennes, the birthplace of the Rococo painter Jean-Antoine Watteau. Delve into the historical events surrounding Watteau’s “Portal at Valenciennes” (ca. 1710–11), a scene of soldiers at rest near the ramparts of the town. Known for his depictions of garden frolics, Watteau seldom portrayed military life—“The Portal” is one of only three such paintings that survive today.

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Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded.