Paris - new art, nature and design

I wasn't going to take any chances today so I made my reservation for the special exhibition at the Petit Palais ahead of time. The day started out a bit overcast after a rainy night but it made for good photos.

The Grand Palais (which is across the street from the Petit Palais):

The architecture in Paris is truly grand, as if each building is trying to outdo the last.

The Petit Palais:

One of the featured exhibitions was "Bruno Liljefors: Wild Sweden". I'm an animal lover, so this exhibition seemed right up my street. It's maybe not sophisticated enough for some, but my Bourgeoisie roots allow me to enjoy it. Bruno Liljefors was a Swedish artist best known for his nature and animal motifs. He was the most important and probably most influential Swedish wildlife painter of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In his day he was known as "the prince of animal artists." This exhibition concentrates on the works of the first half of his career. His paintings feature animals in the context of their natural behaviors. This one, "A family of Foxes" represents the time when the young foxes are starting to eat solid food.

The painting shows the growth of spring flowers and wonderful details of the foxes play fighting.

A number of the works are multi-image displays.

And many feature his favorite cat, Jeppe.

This wonderful painting, "Mountain Hare" is one of his best-known works and has such a peaceful feeling.

It was lovely and calm, especially when compared to the other special exhibition, "We Are Here" which featured art of the moment.

Zoom in to read what is essentially a manifesto:

This sculpture reminded me of photos from the anti-war movement in the 1960s when protestors would put daisies into the barrels of guns the police carried.

To me, the coolest part of this exhibition was that the new pieces were scattered amongst the permanent collection.

And then sometimes there's a blend of the two.

This looked like a display of butterflies

until I looked closer and saw that the bodies were either nozzles from paint cans

or skulls

Down with the King by Connor Harrington, 2024:

There are pieces throughout the museum, then the exhibition opens up into a giant room lined with paintings.

It was a mashup of styles and media; a tad overwhelming, but quite a feast for the eyes.

I went back to look at the permanent collection which is good but which really doesn't photograph well due to the lighting conditions. A pity because there are some wonderful pieces on display.

From the Petit Palais I walked through the Tuilleries again, but this time on the upper level, closer to the river. The way the French prune the trees is so odd, but in context it works quite well.

I had thought about going to the Picasso Museum, but then found myself in front of the Museum of Decorative Arts and thought it must be a sign. The museum is huge and on one end is a pavilion of 9 floors that holds the modern and contemporary collections. I had hoped to see their fashion and costume collection but it was closed temporarily so I decided to go up to the historical collections on the fourth floor. There are endless displays of over-the-top decorative items from the 17th and 18th century,

but my favorite items were those of the art nouveau and art deco periods.

This suite of furniture is by Louis Majorelle.

The fabulous wrought-iron stair rail completes the room.

There was an extraordinary display of Jeanne Lanvin's apartment. In order to preserve it, the lights are very low and it's impossible to photograph. They do have wonderful displays showing more clearly what's inside. This was her bedroom, my favorite of all the rooms that were on display. The curtains and wall coverings are all silk.

I made my way to the pavilion and up to the ninth floor working my way down to the 5th floor. The pavilion contains an eclectic mix of furniture, clothing, decorative articles and jewelry, as well as things beyond category.

I was experiencing serious sensory overload so I left the jewelry gallery and other floors for another time. Quite a day!