Musée Montmartre and the Captivating Cats of Théophile Steinlen

Apotheosis of cats

Tucked away in a corner of the 18th arrondissement, just steps from Sacré-Cœur and la Place du Tertre, lies one of Paris’ lesser-known gems, the Musée de Montmartre. This picturesque museum, built in the 17th century, is surrounded by gardens that begin charming visitors before they ever step indoors. Such…

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Escape to the French Seashore, Art of Sandrine Torredemer

Playa, Sandrine Torredemer

Last week, I wrote about the importance of art during times of oppression, focusing on how art has the power to expose society’s flaws and portray a better world. However, art is also a source of pleasure-laden escape. I recently discovered a French textile artist, Sandrine Torredemer, whose work provides…

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Art’s Importance in Times of Oppression, A Revolutionary’s Take

Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera

Until reading Barbara Kingsolver’s fictional novel La Lacuna, I would never have envisioned Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, French surrealist author André Breton, and Mexican muralist and painter Diego Rivera as part of the same squad. Their commitment to Marxism drew these three extraordinary men together and, for a brief period,…

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Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer and the Artifice of Virtue

Bronze copies of Degas' wax dancers

I clearly remember my first exposure to Edgar Degas’ wax sculptures of ballerinas. As a high school graduation gift, my parents sent me on a student trip to France. At 18, I’d heard of the word Impressionism and, being an avid student of dance, I’d seen some of Degas’ behind-the-scenes…

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‘Tis the Season for Daumier’s Caricatures of 19th-Century Merrymaking

Les Comédiens de Société, série par Daumier

December being a month for merrymaking, I thought it was a good time to introduce the great printmaker and caricaturist, Honoré Daumier, to my blog. I look at his work as an early precursor to comic strips like The Lighter Side of…, by Dave Berg of Mad Magazine. As you’ll…

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A World of Endless Diversion and Victor Hugo’s Art

Arbre couché par le vent

While reading Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast last year, I began to seriously ponder the amount of time the Internet sucks from my life. Learning about this great American author’s early days as a starving artist in Paris, I was struck by the simplicity of his existence. With a bare minimum…

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