Today, being a public holiday in Paris, I was happy to discover that museums were still open as well as some bakeries. We strolled to la rive gauche and found le Musée Maillol to check out an ongoing exhibit ‘C’est la vie! De Caravage à Damien Hirst’. The exhibit was on various interpretations of death by artists from antiquity to contemporary times. Photography, sculptures, drawings, paintings, jewelry, and video were displayed from artists such as Basquiat, Damien Hirst and Cindy Sherman to name a few. I enjoyed the exhibit immensely as I find the concept of death fascinating. This kind of symbolism in art has always been present and this show compiled an excellent collection worth seeing. On our way back, we swung by the Musée d’Orsay, one of the many attractions in Paris. I had a look at the pernament collections: the highlight was seeing the originals of the many reproductions I’ve seen of Van Gogh, Manet, or Monet. I discovered a few artists who were known for their pastel drawings, such as Lévy-Dhurmer, and Rippl-Ronai. Some other discoveries included Gustave Moreau, Franz Von Stuck, Felix Valloton, and Karel Masek.There was an ongoing exhibition,’Crime and Punishment’, which covered the period from 1791 to 1981. It suited the theme of death from earlier today. To finish off this entry, I visited the Père Lachaise cemetery which I thought would be a better experience to see at night. Notheless, I enjoyed the walk through the meandering paths of this massive resting place, searching for the well-known who were buried there. Here are a few shots taken on the day.
Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris (2010) Photos by Claudia Phares
