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PARIS
A curated list of what not to miss. This is The City of Lights, not just because of its nighttime glow, but because of the illumination it brings to one’s heart and mind.
If there’s one tip I can confidently impart to those visiting (or residing in) Paris it is the Musée Rodin at sundown, just before they close for the day. Sunlight pours like Viognier through the tall windows, glazing the walls with diagonal stripes, while draping the bare musculature of Rodin’s subjects in form-fitting couture light.
The storied residence of sculptor Auguste Rodin is veiled in a lace of shadows as late sunlight sketches fleeting patterns across the room. Faces that the artist suspended in time a hundred years ago look away as the sun finds a place to rest in the garden until tomorrow.
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Parc de la Villette
Architect Bernard Tschumi designed the Parc de la Villette, with the intention of creating “a space that exists in a vacuum”, something without historical precedent, to allow for the existence of a “non-place” based on “culture” rather than “nature.” The design of the park is a groundbreaking example of architectural deconstructivism. “By allowing visitors to experience the architecture of the park within this constructed vacuum, the time and activities that take place in that space begin to acquire a more vivid and authentic nature.” In simpler terms, it’s big, open and not at all structured like the Parisian parks of old. La Géode in the Sciences Center is an otherworldly mirrored dome housing an Omnimax theatre.
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Paris Philharmonic
Designed by Jean Nouvel, the new home of the Paris Philharmonic is renowned for its near perfect acoustics. The convulsing metallic exterior with interlocking MC Escher-esque patterns looks alive in the changing daylight and luminous at night. It is one of several civic music facilities located within Parc de la Villette.
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Crepes as Art
In the right hands, crepes become “origami”. Gently flipped and folded, a paper-thin circle of buckwheat becomes sculptural rapture, be it savory or sweet. This artwork also serves as sustenance for those seeking rest and replenishment midway up the steep hillside climb to Sacré Coeur. I recommend one such haven from those unforgiving stairs, where works of creperie art are rendered daily: Rozell Café & Creperie, Montmartre.
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Pinault Collection
Presented in the rotunda of the reimagined Bourse de Commerce, a group of monumental sculptures composed of wax, each with candles inside are lit on the first day of the exhibition. As the candles melt, the sculptures gradually disintegrate, sending faces, arms and other appendices crashing to the gallery floor, which, in turn become part of the exhibit. The renovated space is itself a work of art by Japanese architect Tadao Ando that is nothing short of spectacular. Multiple galleries now ring the 1800’s building in modern art, forming the latest must-see art venue in Paris.
Untitled (2011) by Swiss artist Urs Fischer
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Le Louvre
If the sky were not dark you’d swear it was daylight. Such is the ambiance of an evening in the twin courtyards of Le Louvre. A glow that takes your breath away when stepping through the arched gateways into this sanctum of light. Cellos and flutes resonate in the open corridors, played by lone musicians hoping that a passerby’s euros will alight upon their performance.
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Morning Light in St. Germain
Saint Germain des Prés is a neighborhood that connotes masterpiece scenes of the Left Bank. The obsession of every self guided art tour of Paris. Where poets, artists and philosophers famously conversed at Café Flore over the roar of possibilities. Yet, here inside the church, a centuries old stillness is anointed in the colors of stained glass. A reverence so hushed one can almost hear the candles fluttering, or the prayers for which they burn.
The brilliant author and musician, Patti Smith was recently in Paris on tour with her reunited band and posted a brief description of her morning walk:
“I lit candles in the St Germain church for the children of the world, and then went to say hello to Picasso’s tribute to his friend, the poet Apollinaire, that beautiful head of Dora Maar (in the rear garden of the church) near Café de Flore.”
Ah, a morning inspired by Patti Smith here where Sartre and Camus once philosophized over coffee in the fabled Left Bank of Paris.
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Le Musée d’Orsay
France has a love of art, and walks the walk to support it. In 1975, it was determined that a new museum was needed to represent the arts from the second half of the 19th century. At the same time, a retired Beaux-Arts train station was about to be demolished when visionary preservationists spoke up. Et voilà, the proposed museum and the rescued “gare” became one. Today, Le Musée d’Orsay is one of the world’s most inspired art spaces, housing artworks so famous and fabulous it weakens the knees.
But its crescendo is the great clock window on the fifth floor. As cinematic and startling as a Hitchcock storyboard, this watch-work window provides the ultimate photo location and a sweeping view from the Seine to Sacré Coeur.
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Le Centre Pompidou
In making one’s way through the Marais neighborhood in Paris, the narrow stone streets suddenly widen like gates opening onto a fanciful world of color and form as Le Centre Pompidou comes into view. Renzo Piano’s early and revolutionary work literally turned architecture inside out by placing the traditionally hidden mechanical parts of a structure on the outside, forming what appears to be a wild bionic beast crouching in the middle of a 17th century village. A friendly beast though, with wonderful qualities. A generous art aficionado with room in his heart to share inspiration with architecture lovers on their pilgrimage to one of the great cultural venues of our time.
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Le Jardin du Luxembourg
With one’s first step into this grandest of all Paris gardens, Le Jardin du Luxembourg, the clammer of the 6th arrondissement quickly fades. The world itself, seems subdued into silence, except for the lapping of fountains. Ancient sculptures stand frozen in their moment, concealing centuries they’ve seen go by. Today, flowers overflow their urns while dreamers contort into green metal chairs, watching the daylight move across the formal garden like a lazy sundial.
Images : The Medici Fountain was built in 1630 by Marie de’ Medici.
"L'effort" bronze sculpture by Pierre Roche (1855-1922).
Toy sailboats navigate the Central Fountain. 5 euros for 30 minutes of sailing.
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INSPIRATION: A touch of France for your world at home.
The French Boulle Desk
My office is anchored in 19th century splendor from Napoleon III’s France, (but I acquired it in this century from Nickey/Kehoe). This over-the-top desk is described in design parlance as “clean and classical, standing on fluted legs and decorated with brass inlays in motifs of the Louis XVI style.” Despite its “let them eat cake” appearance, the desk is actually quite utilitarian. Hidden within its deceivingly compact size, it boasts a massive single drawer that slips away unnoticed amid the frufru.
Tucked into the tight quarters of a Paris hotel in St. Germain, a helpful concierge plans out one’s day in the 6th arrondissement, executed in exquisite detail on a petit, black lacquer Boulle desk with added privacy panel. Back at home, a Boulle desk functions as a sort of personal concierge, providing an inspired place for charting life between travels.
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