On my way to le Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris!

On the Métro and omg a woman just boarded with a leopard tank, flowy leopard shorts, and a leopard tote.

*Sorry for earlier typos, my keyboard was set to French.

I just saw two wonderful expositions: Gabriele Münter and Matisse et Marguerite at le Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris.

I will have a lot to post tonight considering yesterday’s post about my trip to Orsay yesterday that was lost, and I have two art events today. oh-la-la!

But first…

Not to worry, I had food, too, but when Veuve Clicquot Rosé is standard, I’m there. If you know me, you know this.

I would be journaling right now but a certain cat is on me and I cannot move. He owns me.

Using my phone…

I’ve looked at my suitcase situation and it seems good. I didn’t overdo things this summer. (Probably because I’ve only been here two weeks as opposed to 2-3 months. But I did pack light and I’m proud of myself.

I know… there are still some 36 hours to go! I could blow it! lol!

I’ve also pre-ordered my cab for Saturday morning using G7, which is an app you should use for taxis if you’re in Paris.

Of all the museums I have visited in Paris (and there have been many!!!), this was my first trip to the Modern Art museum. Two Métro rides of about 7 stops each, and a short walk and I was there. Easy!

I am a new fan of Münter for sure! I really liked her work and wow did it change over time. Thick and a tad muddy at the start – to bold shapes and colors with thick black outlines. She actually began with photography – street photography! And her drawings were excellent and clean.

You can see who has influenced her, right?

She liked black frames – and they worked well with her style of heavy black lines – so I thought the last painting stood out for its frame.

This whole blog is turning into an art tour, but I can’t control myself. Actually, I really am, because there are more photos and information on each painting on my phone. My new phone that WAS completely void of photos until now. Oops.

Tomorrow is the fashion exhibit at the Louvre – but it’s in the evening. I think I’ll pack my bags in the daytime, and organize the house and Luigi’s needs, too. Laundry, etc.

I’ve lost count of the mosquito bites on my body, and I can’t remember ever having this happen before. One very STILL day, and that was it. They devoured me.

OK, now Matisse. The show was all about his paintings of his daughter, Marguerite. A little obsessive. Yes, she was a sickly child, but omg, you would think she was his only child. She wasn’t. He had two sons. She’d had a tracheotomy/surgery, and wore a ribbon around her neck for years. Many surgeries and years later, and the opening was closed more and more and eventually, the ribbon disappeared. He painted and drew her for decades. There were more the 110 works – including drawings, a plate, and a small sculpture or two.

Marguerite married an art critic, historian, and writer. They had three children, and their Claude was responsible for preserving and promoting the legacy of his grandfather, Henri Matisse. There were some photos in the exhibit, as well.

Unbelievably, Marguerite was part of the French resistance. She was arrested in 1944 by the Gestapo and nearly deported to a concentration camp for helping hide Jews and carry messages. She was tortured and imprisoned.

Her father, sick and weakened, was oblivious to her clandestine activities till much later!

All three of Matisse’s children painted. Jean, Pierre, and Marguerite, with Pierre eventually becoming an art dealer in the United States, and Marguerite dabbling in fashion.

This painting was said to have attested to Matisse’s interest in Cubist methods. (Still, the black ribbon around her neck!) His dealers did not manage to sell this “difficult” canvas. They returned it to the painter who would keep it until his death.

Let’s break it up a little here. I had a nice club sandwich and frites for lunch, along with my champagne. This was in my neighborhood AFTER both the Münter and Matisse expositions.

I made my way all the way over the the 5ème to visit a little shop only to arrive and find they are closed for two weeks. <sigh> I had to cross île de la cité and Notre Dame which was SWARMING with police. Esther some dignitaire is visiting the Cathédrale, or they were on high alert for some reason. It was wild. And it was HOT! I made my way all the way back home, one last trip <sob> to the grocery store, and I’m cudding with Luigi and fighting mosquitoes!