French Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David was born on August 30, 1748. In both his art and his life, David displayed a tempestuous nature, possibly inherited from his father, who was killed in a duel in 1757. He trained under Vien, … Continue reading
Upon returning from France, I was pleased to turn to Monty Don’s French Gardens on Netflix to revisit my favorite country while recovering from jet lag. There are three hour-long episodes: Gardens of Power and Passion; The Gourmet Garden; and … Continue reading
If you’ll be in Paris prior to November 17, 2019, I highly recommend that you visit the exhibit Backside / Dos à la mode at the musée Bourdelle. Located near the hulking and hideous Tour Montparnasse (oops, my bias is … Continue reading
In a recent blog post, I told you about the first half of a full day excursion to Moustiers and the lavender fields of Valensole. As much as I enjoyed the morning, the afternoon was even more spectacular. Just outside … Continue reading
After the success of our small-group excursions to Cassis and the hill towns, I signed up for a full day trip to see lavender in Valensole and to visit some additional provençal villages. The advantage of this particular trip was … Continue reading
As I mentioned in a recent post, we went on an excursion to Cassis when we were in Aix-en-Provence. On our way back, I asked the van driver for more information about their trip to the Luberon villages. He offered … Continue reading
French Romantic painter and sculptor Paul Delaroche was born on July 17, 1797. He specialized in historical scenes after having trained initially as a landscape painter. He turned to figure painting in 1817 after failing to win the Prix de … Continue reading
