Sunday, September 6, 2009

Matisse/Marquet Correspondences


This exhibit was the only one in which we were charged upon entry. The other museums were all free of charge. I don't know if that is due to the fact that we were tourists or if it's free foreveryone. Regardless I was anxious to take my time and soak it all in. Now Matisse has never been one of my favs but I do admire Marquet's work. I wished so badly I could read French as their correspondence with each other would have been interesting to follow. I didn't know beforehand that they were close friends and that Marquet had painted Matisse's wife. Matisse's letters also included his signature sketches of himself in the sidebar.


Matisse's work



Matisse Self Portrait


Trees in Billancourt

Albert Marquet


We ended up spending the better part of the morning just strolling through the exhibit. Pictures were allowed but "no flash" as I soon found out when I accidently forgot to turn it off. Sorry....


On our way to the Museum of Contemporary Art we stopped at a cafe and had a wonderful pizza and of a course a beer........no Kronenbourg so a Leffe would have to do.



We headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art by way of the Garonne River. Warning: pics of me ahead.

So we arrive and I am so excited because I absolutely adore contemporary art and can't wait to spend the rest of the day taking it all in. John was such a good sport.

Major Disappointment ahead......


First off, the building was beyond anything I had ever seen before. Anyone who loves architecture would weep. The stonework, the archways and the stairs were breathtaking. The building, as far as I was concerned, was the art.


Because of the language barrier I wasn't really sure if paintings were housed within these stone walls or whether they ever would be. There were two small video installations upstairs, one by Christopher Hutins and the other artist I don't remember. As we were wandering around we came upon this quaint rooftop cafe and decided to sit awhile and order a cappucino........this place was dream like.


Here are a few of the installations that were shown at the Museum.........no paintings. Art is and will always be subjective.........I am the first person to say it because it is so, but this wasn't my cup of tea. Perhaps if I knew the language and could read the cards beside the work, I would have a better understanding of what the artist was offering but................wasn't going to happen.











Next post: More food, more wine, more chocolate .........wandering around Bordeaux.















































































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