Architecture · Art · Heritage · Paris
Let us stroll to the recently restored Fontaine de Grenelle of 1745, from which the water has already been switched off. For all the monumentality of its architecture, the fountain's decoration is rather modest, but what interests us are the allegories of the seasons concealed in the bas-
Archive · Books · Paris
It is easy to ignore the rain when you have a raincoat. Truman Capote Photograph by André Kertész, Place Gambetta, Paris, 1929.
Cinema · Paris · Pop Culture · Society Pages
Julia Roberts Receives Honorary César at the 50th Awards Ceremony. The beautiful Julia Roberts, the heroine who has won the hearts of millions in Stepmom, Pretty Woman, Notting Hill and Erin Brockovich, has been honoured for creating cult characters in the treasury of world cinema, with roles in films that
NB! · Observations · Society · Paris · Humour
The discreet charm of Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris: delightful heaps of rubbish two steps from the Gucci boutique on Avenue Montaigne. Not everything in Europe is as it is made out to be, but something invariably lives up to the most unpleasant expectations
Observations · Heritage · Paris · Pop Culture
A Balenciaga show at Les Invalides. No comment. Fortunately, the show is being held in a specially built pavilion beside Les Invalides rather than in the monument itself. I hope not a single tomb of Napoleon has suffered. For days now the erection of the structure has barred my access
NB! · Faith · Art · Paris
Observations · Society · Paris · Nature · Humour
On the fence of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, as at other historic monuments, there are posters with the plea "Stop the rats!" and an explanation: waste left on the ground attracts rodents. On the whole, it is just like private life: the more waste you leave behind, the
NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Faith · Paris
The oldest church in Paris, the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which gave its name to the Faubourg Saint-Germain. Parts of the church preserve elements of the building of the 11th and 12th centuries. To the left of the altar stands a statue of the Madonna of the
NB! · Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Paris
Art · Museums · Science · Paris · People
As Louis Pasteur said, a Sunday spent in the laboratory: could a Sunday be better spent? In this portrait of the laboratory by the Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt (1885), from the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Louis Pasteur holds a flask containing the spinal cord of a rabbit
Coming Up · Art · Museums · Paris · People
She is best known as Picasso's muse and lover, which, alas, often leaves her own work overlooked. Yet what Maar did as a photographer and as a Surrealist artist occupies a place entirely apart. Indeed, once you have seen her works, you will always recognise her hand in
NB! · Monarchies · Moscow · Museums · Paris
Napoleon's sword and coronation necklace, together with the bicorne he wore at the Battle of Marengo, are in the Army Museum in Paris. I would remind you that in Moscow, the State Historical Museum displays Napoleon's sabre