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Larry Muffin At Home

Tag Archives: sculpture

Memories of 1969

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by larrymuffin in art

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

60's, culture, heritage, history, Malraux, Musée d'orsay, paintings, Paris, sculpture

In 1969 my parents and my siblings and I went to Europe for the first time. I was 13 yrs old. My father was an hotel executive and worked for a large hotel chain linked then to United Airlines. The itinerary was Ireland, France and the UK.  My younger siblings were 10 and 7 yrs old. It was very exciting, back then very few people travelled to Europe unless you had the means to do so, the age of mass tourism was yet to come.

I remember Ireland was still an impoverished country, very green and agricultural, lots of sheep everywhere. Apparently to this day there are more sheep 5.6 million in Ireland than people 4.8 million. We flew from Montreal on Aer Lingus to Shannon and then drove to Dublin.

We then flew to Paris and stayed at the Hotel du Palais d’Orsay which in 1969 was part of the old Railway station of the same name, located across from Le Louvre and the Tuileries gardens. The original old Palais was burned by the Communards in 1871 like so many other buildings and Palaces in Paris during this period of revolution to put an end to the Imperial regime of Napoleon III, a vain man who came to power in a coup with lots of populist ideas, it all ended badly for him. He fled to London with his wife Empress Eugénie. The Communards wanted a Republican regime so that the goals of the revolution of 1789 would finally come to pass instead of having one royalist regime after another. This is the period of Les Misérables from the famous book by Victor Hugo.

The Gare d’Orsay was built in 1899 to accommodate the rail line from Orléans to Paris and with it came a grand hotel. The new buildings had to match the grand buildings around them like the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur next door and the Louvre across the Seine river.

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The Musée d’Orsay today formerly the gare and hotel. The hotel portion is on the right of the picture.

My father booked us into the Hotel, he wanted to see it because his company was in negotiation to purchase the site, the railway was being discontinued and the French government wanted to get rid of it, sort of a modernizing craze for Paris. The President then was General De Gaulle who would resign, pushed out by demonstrations. The Minister of Culture was André Malraux (1901-1976) and he was against modernization. Malraux was a novelist, author of La Condition humaine which won him the prestigious Prix Goncourt. He became famous in France for his anti-Fascist and anti-colonialist views  and for being an adventurer.

Le Corbusier was the architect hired to build the new convention centre and hotel. Very different from the whole neighbourhood and I disapproved of this plan, I could not understand why anyone thought this was an improvement but it was the 1960’s.

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My father thought it was a fantastic idea, who needs all this old stuff anyway. He also famously said: Once you see one cathedral you have seen them all.

A few months after our trip to Paris we learned that Malraux idea prevailed and the whole concept was shelved for good. The Gare d’Orsay became this beautiful museum with its important collections and the old hotel transformed into more museum space while preserving all of its architectural details and famous chandeliers.

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The front door with its 1950’s look.

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The entrance Hall lobby with its grand staircase back then, it was impressive.

24346186090_5ac4d7ceb5_b.jpgThe former hotel, Salon des Fêtes with its garland chandeliers.

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These great spaces are used for exhibits and for receptions, keeping intact the beautiful decor.

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the former restaurant of the hotel with modern furniture to serve the public in the museum.

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The great clock in the main hall of the former railway station, now the central exhibition hall of the museum.

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I am glad that André Malraux prevailed I think it would have been a mistake to demolish this beautiful building.

School year tours completed until the Fall

18 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by larrymuffin in Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

art culture, art., baroque, classical studies, museum, painting, Renaissance, sculpture

The Canadian School year is winding down, today I gave my last two guided tours of the Wonders of our National Gallery. There is a wide choice on where to start and what to present. I usually like to start with the Italian Renaissance and early Church paintings dating from 1350 and then move on to the 19th century.

Question that come back all the time, how much is it worth, how much is the whole collection worth, usually meaning in dollars. I am very careful to explain that a work of art is unique, the value is in the eye of the beholder. I also tell them not to be fooled by stories in the newspapers about this or that work fetching an astronomical amount at some auction house. This is a very false value since values can go up and down depending on fashion, buyers taste, an artist being in demand or not. I try to get the kids to understand that art is about imagination, ideas, fantasy and emotions it is not about how much is it worth. I ask them do you like this Monet or this painting by Titian, how about the Rembrandt ? Some will say they don’t like it, ok no problem I say, find one you do like and then look at it carefully.  I want them to have confidence in their own choices.

Questions on the MonaLisa are also common, it is one painting that has been over presented in the media and unfortunately I do not find it that interesting. It appears to be the measure by which to judge all other art. I have to explain it is only one painting in a specific period of time and does not represent much really.

SchoolGroup3

Another question I got recently was why are there so many nudes in painting. Paintings from various artists on classical themes often show naked figures of gods, heroes, putti, in a bucolic decor. Coming from a young audience, you have to think carefully how to present your answer. With the late Renaissance and the Baroque, Bacchus or Apollo, Paris, Diana, Venus etc. make constant appearances. Their nudity is not sexual but that of immortals, other wordily. I also refer to the themes of Antiquity, how figures tell a story based on ancient Myth which has nothing to do with our world but a reference to Classical studies.

Asking children today to imagine a world long gone is somewhat difficult, they seem unaware of anything outside their own frame of reference in their surrounding immediate world. Often looking at the paintings as something weird. It is not always the response I get but it comes often enough to make me wonder if imagination still plays a part in our modern technological world.

The best experience is when I get boys who are far more interested in sports and see art as a girl thing. Boys even if they are only 7 or 13 have these specific likes and dislikes, where does it come from? Maybe their family or society at large who dictates taste and what is in or not. Yesterday I had this little jock hockey type who told me I made it really interesting for him and he really enjoyed looking at pictures. The teacher was so happy, she told me afterwards that this was great given he never showed interest before.

If the group ask a lot of questions and make lots of observations even if it is not spot on it really does not matter, the point is to encourage them to speak up and give something. I always give strong positive reinforcement which I think is helpful to them.

On the other hand I do get groups who are less than interested, and simply refuse to participate, I always wonder what is going on here. I discover often that the teacher got the kids to agree to the museum visit by promising a shopping trip or a swim in the pool at the hotel or fast food. That has got to be the worst form of bribe, the kids just want to get the visit done quickly and get the hell out. It is very discouraging for me because you cannot get through to them.  I also know that it is very unlikely for mom or dad to bring them to the museum, so this is the one chance.

danseuse canova

Danseuse by Canova

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