Friday October 6 was a bright, sunny day and a bit cooler with a high of 16C. We decided to stay on the Left Bank today and check out some stores in the Saint-Germain area of the 6th arrondissement before going to the Rubens exhibit at the Musée du Luxembourg in the early evening.
Our route from our apartment in the 5th to Rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6th took us to the Luxembourg Gardens. There was a wonderful exhibit presented by the Senate which owns and operates the Luxembourg Gardens. It featured a series of wonderful watercolours done by Noelle Herrenschmidt (b. 1940), entitled
La Loi, entre vous et nous, displayed on the wall of the Gardens. The exhibit featured watercolours depicting the executive arm of government, the legislative and judicial processes. Ms. Herrenschmidt is a very accomplished "reporter -watercolorist" who has worked for various newspapers.
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| L'hotel de Matignon est la résidence du Premier ministre |
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Dans un décor a la fois baroque et symbolique, l'assemblée générale plénière
est la formation la plus solennelle du Conseil d'État. |
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| La Palais de justice de Paris, une séance de l'ordre des avocats |
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| La Palais de justice de Paris, la plaidoirie de l'avocat |
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| La Palais de justice de Paris, 1993, le box de l'accusé |
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| L'Assemblée nationale, la bibliothèque |
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Le Palais du Luxembourg, construit en 1615 a la demande de Marie de Médicis, abrite le Sénat, la chambre haute du Parlement. Il est installé au coeur d'un jardin de 23 hectares ouvert au public.
We wandered into a corner of the Gardens where flowers are still blooming even as the leaves change.
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| The light on the pool was gorgeous |
We noticed for the first time, a sculpture dedicated to students who died in the Resistance.
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| Monument aux Étudiants Résistants- Gaston Watkin- 1956 |
We continued our walk to Rue du Cherche-Midi, a wonderful shopping street in the 6th arrondissement. One of my favourite stores is Noriem, which features wonderful Japanese clothes.
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| Window of Noriem |
Following a dose of retail therapy (Grace bought a pair of shoes), we stopped at Comptoir
Poilâne for lunch. Alain and I had eaten there when it had a different name, though it still featured bread from
Poilâne, the wonderful bakery two doors down. We had a prix fixe lunch of soup or salad, a tartine of choice, a glass of wine or sparkling water and a coffee with a
Poilâne cookie. Everything was delicious. After lunch we had the famous apple tarts from the bakery.
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| Alain and I had tartine Australienne (with avocado of course) and Grace had ham and cheese |
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| Outside of Comptoir Poilâne |
We then proceeded to look for a childrens' store that Grace's daughter Jessie wanted us to visit, called Smallable (wonderful name). It was also on Rue du Cherche-Midi, but on the other side of Rue Raspail.
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| Sign outiside store |
Avery large "concept" store, it reminded me of another concept store Merci, also in Paris. This store though, is mainly for kids, although there were a few items for adults.
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| Inside of store |
My favourite part was a section outside the main store with strollers and the sign "Pimp my Stroller."
Too cool for cats.
The light was beautiful as we passed the Église Saint Sulplice heading to the Musée du Luxembourg at about 7:00 p.m.
The museum is open to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays - very convenient for us. The Rubens Portraits Princiers exhibit had just opened on October 4. Luckily, there was no lineup and it was not crowded for the show.
The exhibit was excellent. It featured a series of portraits that Rubens did for kings and queens, princes and princesses. There were also portraits by other well-known painters of the era. The exhibit focussed on Marie de' Medici (1573-1642), widow of Henry IV(assassinated in 1610) and mother of Louis XIII, a key figure in the political and diplomatic history of the early 17th century and Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the most famous painter of his time. They both had a huge influence throughout Europe. Marie de' Medici was connected to a number of ruling dynasties through her family origins and her children-- including ruling dynasties in France, Austria, and Savoy.
Rubens also worked in every major centre of art, at times mixing his painting commissions with diplomacy. It was wonderful to see the exhibit at the Musée du Luxembourg, as the Luxembourg Palace had been built for Marie de' Medici in 1615, and where she had commissioned Rubens to create a series of monumental paintings for its walls to illustrate her life. The connection between them was long lasting and important. Marie de' Medici played an important role in Ruben's career, and he was instrumental in shaping her image.
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| This is a picture of Rubens in front of a painting |
In late 1608, Rubens returned to Antwerp, his hometown, where he received an offer from the Flanders royals to become their official painter. The Hapsburg's Archduke Albert, and Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia ruled the southern Netherlands. Rubens was very close to the Archduchess, who after being widowed in 1621, adopted a nun's habit. The Archduchess employed him as a peacekeeping diplomat.
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| Portrait d l'archduke Albert- about 1615 |
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| Portrait de l'archduchess Isabelle Claire Eugénie (1566-1633) |
The following portrait of L'infante Isabelle Claire Eugénie was done by both Rubens and Jan Brueghel l'Ancien, Rubens did the portrait and Brueghel, the landscape. It was common to place a portrait of a famous person with a favourite estate in the background to demonstrate power.
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| Rubens et Jan Brueghel l'Ancien- L'Infante Isabelle Claire Eugénie - vers 1615 |
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| Rubens- Portait de l'archiduchesse Isabelle Claire Eugénie , régente espagnole des Pays-Bas, en nonne 1625 |
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| Atelier de Rubens- Portrait de l'infante Isabelle Claire Eugénie 1616 |
Rubens painted a very unique portrait of Louis XIII. It was only his face up close.
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| Portrait de Louis XIII, roi de France1622 |
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| Rubens- Anne d'Autriche, épouse de Louis XIII, roi de France 1625-1626 |
Throughout her reign and after, Marie de' Medici used artists to shape a certain image of herself that legitimized her political position. The portraits by Rubens and others portrayed her as a strong and powerful leader.
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Frans II Pourbus, dit le Jeune-
Marie de Médici, reine de France |
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| Antoon Van Dyck- Portrait de Marie de Médici 1631 |
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| Rubens- Marie de Médicis, reine mere de France 1622 |
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Antoon Van Dyck- Portrait de Marie de' Médici 1631 ( this portrait had her crown beside here. represents the fact that she was ousted from power by her son Louis XVIII in 1630).
In 1631 she left France to live in Antwerp, before spending her final years in Cologne. |
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France (Paris?), vers 1599-1610
Marie de' Médici sous les traits de Junon? |
Rubens often portrayed Marie de' Médici with indicia of power- the picture below with mythical references.
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| Rubens- Marie de Médici en Bellone 1622 |
The last portrait in the exhibit was a self-portrait done by Rubens. He sent the portrait to a courtier who wanted to give the future Charles I of England a painting by Rubens as a gift. The fact that he sent a self-portrait reflected the pride and reputation of Rubens. He also portrayed himself in this portrait as a gentlemen rather than as a painter.
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| Rubens- Autoportrait 1623-- on loan from Queen Elizabeth II |
The exhibit had an excellent audioguide. One came away with both an appreciation of the power and skill of Marie de' Médici and the accomplishments of Rubens as both one of Europe's greatest painters as well as a diplomat.
We walked back to the apartment for a very late dinner of chicken, potatoes, beans with a glass of wine, some cheese and a dessert.
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