On this day, le 31 décembre:Painter Henri Matisse was born, 1869

Henri Matisse, 1933 Henri Matisse, born on le décembre 1869 was the leading French artist of the XX ème siecle. Particularly noted for his striking use of color, Matisse is one of the very few indisputable giants of modern painting, alongside Picasso and Kandinsky. Born Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse in Le Chateau-Cambrésis, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, he grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois. In 1887 he went to Paris to study law. After gaining his qualification he worked as a court administrator in Le Cateau-Cambrésis. Following an attack of appendicitis he took up painting during his convalescence. After his recovery, he returned to Paris in 1891 to study art at the Académie Julian and became a student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Gustave Moreau. Influenced by the works of Paul Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and Paul Signac, and also by traditional Japanese art, he started to see color as a crucial element of composition. The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908 Matisse became a leader in the school of art known as Fauvism. Fauvism, a name derived from les fauves, wild beasts, a short-lived and loose grouping of early Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities, and the use of deep color over the representational values retained by Impressionism. Fauvists simplified lines, made the subject of the painting easy to read, exaggerated perspectives and used brilliant but arbitrary colors. They also emphasised freshness and spontaneity over finish. Icarus, 1944 One of the fundamentals of the Fauves was expressed in 1888 by Paul Gauguin to Paul Sérusier, "How do you see these trees? They are yellow. So, put in yellow; this shadow, rather blue, paint it with pure ultramarine; these red leaves? Put in vermilion." The name "wild beasts"was given (humourously) to the group by art critic Louis Vauxelles. The painter Gustave Moreau was the movement's inspirational teacher, and a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris who pushed his students to think outside of the lines of formality and to follow their visions. The art of Matisse is based in a method that (according to himself) consists in boarding separately each element of his work – drawing, color, composition – and joining them in a synthesis. He was the only fauvist to develop his work to a balance between color and line, in flat compositions, without depth. He was one of the first painters in fauvism to be interested in “primitive” art. Matisse abandoned the palette of the Impressionists and established his characteristic style, with its flat, brilliant color and fluid line. His subjects were primarily women, interiors, and still lifes. Blue Nude II, 1952 His first exhibition was in 1901 and his first solo exhibition in 1904. His fondess for bright and expressive color became more pronounced after he moved southwards in 1905 to work with André Derain and spent time on the French Riviera, his paintings marked by having the colors keyed up into a blaze of intense shades and characterized by flat shapes and controlled lines, with expression dominant over detail. The decline of the Fauvist movement after 1906 did nothing to affect the rise of Matisse; he had moved beyond them and many of his finest works were created between 1906 and 1917 when he was an active part of the great gathering of artistic talent in the Montparnasse area of Paris. He was a friend as well as rival of the younger Pablo Picasso, and the two artists are often compared with each other. Matisse lived in Cimiez on the French Riviera, now a suburb of the city of Nice, from 1917 until his death in 1954. In 1941 he was diagnosed with cancer and, following surgery, he soon needed a wheelchair; this did not stop his work however, but as increased weakness made an easel impossible he created cut paper collages called gouaches découpés, often of some size, which demonstrated his ability to transpose his eye for colour and geometry into a new medium of utter simplicity but with playful and delightful power. Working in a number of modes, but principally as a painter, Matisse achieved widespread fame during his lifetime. Today, a Matisse painting can sell for as much as $17,000,000. In 2002, a Matisse sculpture, "Reclining Nude I (Dawn)," sold for $9,200,000, a record for a sculpture by the artist. Cancer claimed Matisse on le 3 novembre 1954. More Reading: Click through to Barnes & Noble from The Frog Blog; take advantage of the B & N After Holiday Sale! Save up to 80%!
Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse, the Conquest of Colour, 1909-1954

The Unknown Matisse

Henri Matisse

Les sites de Paris: Place de la Concorde, Obélisque de Luxor

The Place de la Concorde is the largest public square in Paris. Situated along la Seine in the 8th arrondissement, it separates the Tuileries Gardens from the beginning of the boulevard-des-Champs-Élysées. Initiated by Louis XV's mistress, Mme de Pompadour and originally named Place Louis XV, the square was designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel, Louis XV's architect, for the purpose of showcasing an equestrian statue of the King — which had been commissioned in 1748 by the city of Paris and sculpted by Edmé Bouchardon. Construction of the square began in 1754 and was completed in 1763. It is actually in the shape of an octagon, and was once bordered by large moats which no longer exist. The square marks an intersection of two axes: The major axis is that of the Voie Triomphale (Triumphal Way) which extends east-to-west in a perfectly straight line from the former royal palace (now le musée du Louvre ), past the Arc du Carrousel and through the Tuileries Gardens, up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, and beyond — now culminating at the Grande Arche de la Défense in the Paris suburb of La Défense just across the northwest boundry of the city. The second (minor) axis is formed by the line between Place de la Madeleine, down rue Royale through the square and across the Pont de la Concorde, culminating at the Palais Bourbon. Several decades after its construction, this square was to serve as a focal point for the bloodiest political upheaval in the history of France: the French Revolution. When the hordes of revolutionaries seized power, they renamed the square Place de la Révolution, tore down the statue of Louis XV and replaced it with a guillotine. Between 1793 and 1795, more than 1300 people were beheaded in public executions, including Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Robespierre. It is said that the scent of blood was so strong here that a herd of cattle once refused to cross the grounds. Following the Revolution, the square underwent a series of transformations and several changes of name: place de la Concorde, place Louis XV (again), place Louis XVI, place de la Chartre, and once again place de la Concorde — symbolizing the end of a troubled era and the hope for a better future. Today, the open-air square still looks quite similar to the way it did in the 1700s, save the actual ground — which now consists of tarmac and cement. Supplanting the guillotine is the powerful Obelisk of Luxor, a pink granite monolith that was given to the French in 1829 by the viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali. The edifice, which once marked the entrance to the Amon temple at Luxor, is more than 3,300 years old and is decorated with hieroglyphics portraying the reigns of the pharaohs Ramses II and Ramses III. Gilded images on the pedestal portray the monumental task of transporting the monolith to Paris and erecting it at the square. Installed in 1833, the Obelisk — weighing 230 tons and standing 22.83 meters (75 ft) high in the center of the Place — is flanked on both sides by two fountains constructed during the same period. Having survived more than 33 centuries, the Obelisk has suffered the greatest damage during the past half-century by air pollution from industry and motor vehicles. At each corner of the octagon are statues created by Jacob Ignaz Hittorf representing the French cities of Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Brest and Rouen. French sculptor Guillaume Coustou's monumental statues of the Horses of Marly — located at the beginning of the Champs-Élysées — are copies of the originals which are now exhibited at la Louvre. At the south end of the square, the Pont de la Concorde, built by Jean-Rodolphe Perronnet between 1787-1790 and widened between 1930-1932, crosses the Seine, leading to the Palais Bourbon — home of the French National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale). Other places of interest which border the Place are the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume (originally Napoléon III's indoor tennis court) and Musée de l'Orangerie, both in the Tuileries Gardens, and the Embassy of the United States. Monet's "Water Lillies" are on display at le Musée de l'Orangerie. Le Musée de l'Orangerie originally was a hot house for growning oranges for the royal court. More Reading: Click through to Barnes & Noble from The Frog Blog - Their Year-end Sale is now going on! Save up to 80%!
Blood in the City: Violence and Revelation in Paris, 1789-1945

Seven Ages of Paris

Recette: La Galette des Rois pour la Fête de la Épiphanie

La Galette des Rois pour la Fête de la Épiphanie Celebrating the visit of the Magi to the Infant Christ, la Fête de la Épiphanie was set as le 6 janvier, the Twelfth (and last) Day of Christmas, by Pope Julius II. This is the day when the three kings are traditionally added next to the crèche. This celebration is another example of the church co-opting a pagan festival in order to make the church more acceptable to the unconverted. In this case, the pagan festival was the Roman Saturnalia. From the Middle Ages, la Épiphanie has been celebrated in France with a special Twelfth Night cake: la galette des rois, literally the King's cake. The galette differed from region to region: for example, it is made of puff pastry in Paris, but made of brioche and shaped as a crown in Provence. Under Louis XIV, the Church considered this festival too pagan a celebration, often being treated as an excuse for over-indulgence, and it was consequently banned. To get around this ban, it became known in some areas as la fête du bon voisinage (literally, 'good neighbours feast'). The culinary tradition survived the French Revolution when it became known as the Gâteau de l’Égalité (Equality cake), since Kings were not very popular in that period! The cake contains a charm, une fève. Whoever found the fève in their slice of cake became King or Queen for the day, and was given a crown to wear. The fève traditionally has been made of china, though today it is common to find them made of plastic, which doesn't have the same charm as the china. The fève can take any shape or form and can either be very plain or more sophisticated (glazed or hand painted). In times less secular than today, the fève represented a religious figure such as the baby Jesus, but now it can be virtually anything. Little horseshoe shapes are popular as they are thought to bring luck. The old-fashioned china fèves are still used and they have become collectable items - you can even find them on E-Bay! The Galette des Rois common in l' Île-de-France, the Paris basin, is made of puff pastry and is filled with frangipane, an almond-flavoured paste. It is sold in all French bakeries and eating the galette at the beginning of January is still a very popular tradition and an opportunity for families and friends to gather around the table. The youngest person in the room (usually a child) hides under the table and shouts out in which order the guests should be given each slice of cake, to avoid favoritism on the part of the server. (The child, then, becomes the arbiter of favors!) The person who finds the fève in their slice of galette becomes the King or Queen for the night, chooses a consort and is given a paper crown. Traditional china fèves of religious figures and Provence trades people Louis la Vache will now give you a recipe for Galette des Rois. Louis warns you that making the puff pastry can be tricky. The dough must be kept very cool as it is being made up or it won't puff properly. Louis will not be offended if you use frozen puff pastry dough! PUFF PASTRY Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup cold water 8 oz. unsalted butter, softened, but NOT room temperature. Preparing the Pastry Place the butter between two sheets of plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, pound the butter flat to a thickness of approximately 1/ 4". Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of cold water, stir, then knead quickly with your fingertips until a firm dough is formed. Shape into a ball, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap, and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Flatten the dough with a fist then roll it out to form a square of 8 in x 8 inches. Place the butter in the center of the dough. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter, like an envelope. Roll out the dough on the lightly floured work surface to incorporate the butter and form a rectangle. The dough should not be too firm. Fold the dough in half, making a square again. Seal the edges with a rolling pin. This is called "the first turn of the pastry." Wrap the dough in waxed paper or plastic wrap, place it in the refrigerator and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this step until "six turns" have been completed. Seal the edges between turns. Allow to rest in refrigerator at each "turn". After the sixth turn the puff pastry is ready to use. The secret to getting the pastry to puff is to keep the dough and the butter cool while making the "turns." FILLING Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup finely ground, blanched almonds une fève (If you cannot locate china or plastic fèves, a dry bean will work. Fève means "dry bean.") 1 egg, lightly beaten Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in the first two eggs, one at a time. Then blend in the ground almonds. Assembly and finishing: Preheat oven to 400º. Place chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough in two and roll each half out to a 12" round. Leave one round out, place the other back in the refrigerator for the time being. Place one of the pastry rounds on a baking sheet that has been covered with lightly greased parchment paper. Spread the almond mixture over the pastry round and place the fève in the mixture. Beat the remaining egg and brush some of it over the edges of the pastry, reserving some of the egg. Place the other pastry round on top and seal well. The egg helps seal the edges. Use a sharp knife to make patterns in the pastry. Brush the rest of the beaten egg on the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Decorate the cake with a golden paper crown and serve warm. Whoever finds the fève, wears the crown as "king or queen for the day". China fèves of Mary and Jesus More Recipes: Click through from The Frog Blog to Barnes & Noble and take advantage of their Winter Sale! Up to 80% off!
Christmas in France

Christmas (Williams-Sonoma Collection Series)

French (Williams-Sonoma Collection)

French Food at Home

Basilique-Saint-Denis: The Genesis of Gothic Architecture

It was at basilique-Saint-Denis that flying buttresses were first tried. This architectural innovation allowed the huge windows of stained glass that became the hallmark of the great gothic cathédrales. In his series about the great gothic cathédrales of France, Louis la Vache has written that the invention of the flying buttress is what allowed the design of these magnificent edifices to succeed, and that the flying buttress was first tried at basilique-Saint-Denis. Louis realizes that peut être he should have begun the series with a post about Saint-Denis, even though Saint-Denis is not a cathédrale, a cathédrale being a church that is the seat of a bishop. The series began with Chartres. Nôtre-Dame-de-Paris was next, followed by Nôtre-Dame-d'Amiens. Louis will now have us take a step back and look at l'église that made it all possible, Basilique-Saint-Denis. The basilica is located in the eponymous suburb just north east of Paris. The church is an architectural landmark. It was the first major structure built in the Gothic style. Basilique-Saint-Denis is historically significant for more than architectural reasons as we shall learn below. Louis begins with a brief introduction to the saint for whom the basilica is named. Saint Denis (or as it is sometimes spelled, Denys) was the first bishop of Paris and is now the patron saint of France. In the Western church, his feast day is le 9 octobre; in the Eastern church, his feast day is le 3 octobre. Little is known of his life. He probably died in 258. Probably born in Rome, he was, according to the VI ème siecle historian and bishop Gregory of Tours, one of seven bishops sent to convert the people of Gaul during the reign of Decius. Denis is believed to have been martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Valerian. A IX ème siecle legend says that he was beheaded on Montmartre, "martyr's mountain," on the north east side of Paris in what today is the 18 ème arrondissement, and that his decapitated body carried his head to the area northeast of Paris where the Benedictine abbey of St. Denis was founded. Thus on church statuaries, Saint-Denis is traditionally shown holding his head. Saint-Denis, holding his head, greets visitors entering la cathédrale Nôtre-Dame-de-Paris. In the V ème siecle, Saint-Geneviéve had a shrine built on the site of the tomb of Saint-Denis. It was at this site where Dagobert I, king of the Franks, who reigned from 628 to 637, founded the Abbey of Saint Denis, attached to a Benedictine monastery. During the Merovingian era (486-751) of the Frankish kingdom, Basilique-Saint-Denis became the royal abbey church. Around 750 a new sanctuary was begun by Pepin the Short and finished by Charlemagne. The third Basilique Saint-Denis was built in 775 during the Carolingian era. Joan of Arc blessed her weapons at the abbey, and it was there that Abelard became a monk. The abbey's banner, the oriflamme, was the royal standard of France from the reign of Louis VI (early XII ème siecle) to that of Charles VI (early XV ème siecle). L'oriflamme In 1137 Abbot Suger (1081-1151) began to reconstruct the by now badly dilapidated church. The west facade and narthex were completed in 1140 and the choir was completed in 1144. Suger continued to reconstruct the nave but he died in 1151 before the nave was finished. In his rebuilding of the choir of the basilica, Suger created a true hymn to light, as a manifesto of new gothic art. The double deambulatory and his surrounding chapels create an uninterrupted diaphanous crown of light thanks specially to the split of the bays in each chapel. Nicknamed because of its brightness, the "Lucerna", the lantern, the XIII ème siecle basilica is a novelty notably because (in addition to the huge windows of stained glass) of its use for the first time of a new style of pillars, fasciculated pillars (pillars made of bundles of small columns), by the openwork triforium and the immensity of the rose windows illuminating a transept of exceptional width. Here (and below) the windows of the choir at Saint-Denis Suger’s vision was that light was a metaphor for God, and that the architecture of churches should help worshipers transcend the temporal and ascend to the spiritual. Thus the soaring walls of glass, the light, symbolizing God, heaven, and Jesus as the Light of the World, from the upper windows flooding the worship space, replacing the temporal, darker, earthly spaces below. The glass transmutes the light creating a very otherworldly effect - inviting contemplation and allowing the soul to come into union with the presence of God. Suger’s vision swept France in a great wave of cathedral building. If one could sum up the French national soul in those years, it would have to be called "the gothic cathedral". The people of France put their heart and soul into its inauguration. As a nation, they contributed one third of their gross national resources to this effort. Not only did Suger contribute to the cathedrals' inceptions in an organizational manner, but he actually helped to formulate the form and shape that they were to take. As a disciple of the theological works of an earlier Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis the Greek, who affirmed "God is Light", Suger once again declared, "Let there be Light", and the gothic cathedral was born, not as an architecture but as a theological idea. Even the gothic cathedrals which came soon after Saint-Denis (Chartres, Sens, Noyon, Paris) did not achieve the volume of light and lightness in architecture of the choir at Saint-Denis. The wheel window over the west porch is thought to be the first one to be filled with stained glass. If this is true, it must be considered as the mother-seed of the rose windows. Suger’s Saint-Denis was ahead of its time, even as an initiator. The rebuilding of basilique-Saint-Denis under Suger has political as well as architectural significance. We will see the reasons for this further below. For Suger, of course, the primary significance of his church was neither political nor architectural but religious, insofar as he could separate the three. His main goal was to honor God and Saint-Denis. The latter deserves some attention at this point. According to legend, Saint-Denis entered Gaul as a missionary in A.D. 250 and was executed in Paris eight years later. It was not all that easy. The Romans unsuccessfully tried roasting him on a gridiron, throwing him to the beasts, and baking him in an oven before they hit upon the idea of beheading him. That worked, but not immediately, for the decapitated saint picked up his head and walked two miles to the future site of the abbey before giving up the ghost. However amazing his legend may seem, medieval historians made it even better by confusing him with two other figures of the same name. "Denis" is the French version of the Latin "Dionysius," the name Suger actually used. We encounter another Dionysius in Acts 17:34, converted during Paul's brief missionary visit to Athens. Five centuries later, in the late fifth or early sixth century, an anonymous Syrian theologian fascinated by the religious symbolism of light wrote a series of treatises which were attributed to the Dionysius of Acts 17:34. Eventually all the elements were combined and, according the legend, Dionysius was converted by Paul, became bishop of Athens, wrote the treatises, and eventually missionized France where he was martyred. The identification is more important than one might at first imagine. The figure of Saint-Denis united the various aspects of the church in a peculiar way. As patron saint of France, his interests were tied to those of France in a twofold sense. His glorification was hers in a very direct way because he symbolized France. It was also hers more indirectly because, like other saints, Denis would not neglect to reward a favor, and thus one could expect him to intervene for king and country more enthusiastically if his church was generously endowed. Denis also united the religious and architectural aspects of the new church. It is hardly a coincidence that both the pseudo-Dionysian treatises and nascent Gothic architecture are interested in light. As written above, Suger himself was fascinated by the religious implications of light and built accordingly. Suger's ideal is expressed that:

The church would have "the most radiant windows" to "illuminate men's minds so that they may travel through apprehension of God's light.

Suger was quite explicit that artistic and architectural elegance didn't distract Suger from God, it led him to God. He said we could come to understand absolute beauty, which is God, only through the effect of beautiful things on our senses. He said, "The dull mind rises to truth through that which is material." Thus for Suger this new architecture was a theological statement. Geometrical harmony, he said, is the source of all beauty because it exemplifies the laws by which Divine reason made the universe itself. To Abbot Suger, drawing on the description in the Book of Revelation, the church came to represent the New Jerusalem, and the windows were the bejeweled walls of the heavenly city. A window would show a large figure of a saint in heavenly glory, with scenes from his or her life or legend arranged below like beads on a rosary. The larger rose windows had more complex themes, with prophets, apostles, saints and angels arranged in dazzling symphonies of light. Stained glass freed the Bible from its pages, allowing its stories to become visual tapestries, comprehensible to illiterate and scholar alike. Colors themselves took on symbolic meanings. The west rose at Saint-Denis Suger fit no mold. He was not in the least modest, but neither was he particularly arrogant. He may never actually have designed anything himself. But he was a magnificent arbiter of design. And we need only walk through one of those remarkable Gothic cathedrals to believe, with him, that material beauty really is a glimpse of the face of God. Suger, was not only the abbot of Saint-Denis but was also prime minister to both Louis VI and Louis VII. The Abbot Suger, early humanist, tireless traveler, kings counselor and fine politician, is considered by many historians to be the father of modern France. As minister to Louis VI and Louis VII, Suger saw that France became more unified and he helped establish Paris as the center of power. Suger was born in 1081 of a very minor knightly family He was dedicated to the abbey of Saint-Denis at the age of nine or ten and came to see himself as its adopted child. Appointed abbot in 1122, he held that position until his death in 1155. His office was a highly prestigious one. As seen above, the abbey had been founded in the seventh century by the Frankish king Dagobert. By Suger's time it had long been the royal abbey of France. Kings were educated and buried there. In Suger's time, the French monarchy was slowly but surely on the way up. The king was gradually gaining power over his unruly nobles and would eventually use that power to win a major role in European affairs. Most of that development was still in the future, but by 1137 the pendulum was already beginning to swing. As royal abbey, Saint-Denis was a symbol of royal power, and what was done to it redounded to the glory of both the monarch and France Thus the renovation of the basilica was a political as well as an architectural and religious event. Suger was in a position to recognize this fact. His status as abbot made him one of the most powerful men in France. He was actively engaged in French political life and virtually ran the kingdom while King Louis VII was away on crusade. A fervent patriot, Suger never hesitated to identify the best interests of king, France, Church, abbey and God. The influence of the abbey church on French architecture was undoubtedly furthered by its role as political symbol. When the new choir was consecrated in 1144, five French archbishops and thirteen bishops took part in the ceremony, an impressive tribute to Suger and his king. It was the French archbishops and bishops who would assume initiative in the future development of Gothic architecture. As early as the V ème siecle, France’s aristocrats were buried in the basilica. In 639 Dagobert was the first sovereign to be buried there. Over the centuries the Saint-Denis basilica became the "King's Cemetery" or is often referred to as being “The royal necropolis of France.” In the XIII ème siecle the necropolis character of Saint-Denis was reinforced by the introduction of sculpted tombs. Their magnificent style was to evolve over the centuries. All but three of the monarchs of France from the Xème siecle until 1789 have their remains here. Today, 43 kings, 32 queens and 10 great servants of the kingdom of France repose in the basilica. Although almost all the kings of France were buried in the Basilica, unlike Westminster Abbey in England, it was not used for coronations; the cathedral at Reims assumed this honor. The abbey church contains some fine examples of cadaver tombs. The effigies of many of the kings and queens are on their tombs, but during the French Revolution, these tombs were opened by workers under orders from revolutionary officials. The bodies were removed and dumped in two large pits nearby. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir saved many of the monuments from the same revolutionary officials by claiming them as artworks for his Museum of French Monuments. Napoléon Bonaparte reopened the church in 1806, but the royal remains were left in their mass-graves. Following Napoléon's first exile to Elba, the Bourbons briefly returned to power. They ordered a search for the corpses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, which were found on le 21 janvier 1815 and brought to Saint-Denis and buried in the crypt. In 1817, the mass-graves containing all the other remains were opened but it was impossible to distinguish any one from the collection of bones. As such, the remains were placed in an ossuary in Saint-Denis's crypt, behind two marble plates with the name of each monarch duly recorded. King Louis XVIII, on his death in 1824, was buried in the center of the crypt, near the graves of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Under the direction of architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, famous for his XIX ème siecle restoration of Nôtre-Dame-de-Paris, the monuments that were taken to the Museum of French Monuments were returned to the church. The corpse of King Louis VII, who had been buried at the Abbey at Saint-Pont and whose tomb had not been touched by the revolutionaries, was brought to St. Denis and buried in the crypt. The abbey is now a school for daughters of members of the Legion of Honor. The outrage of the revolution didn't affect the evocative power of memory in this original landmark of the French nation, which remains as a jewel case for light. Why did the human mind conceive of and build these massive structures? Some historians think that they are "sermons in stone and glass." They are designed to instruct the people in moral and religious values, to convey the Bible stories to an illiterate population by the stained glass windows, to impress upon the populace the glory and majesty of God. We can thank the creative genius of Suger for conceiving of these “sermons in stone and glass.” - • -

”For bright is that which is brightly coupled with the bright, And bright is the noble edifice which is pervaded by the new light, Which stands enlarged in our time, I, who was Suger, being the leader while it was being accomplished.”

Suger, De Administratione, XXIX

- • - More Reading: Even if the selections below don't interest you, click through from The Frog Blog. Barnes & Noble is have a year-end sale with discounts of up to 80% off. Your Barnes & Noble purchases through The Frog Blog will help send Ariel to college! Louis la Vache thanks you!
Cathedrals

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

One Thousand Buildings of Paris

On this day, le 29 décembre:Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David died, 1825

Jacques-Louis David, self-portrait, painted while imprisoned in the reaction against the excesses of Robespierre. Jacques-Louis David (le 30 août 1748 – le 29 décembre 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style. In the 1780s his cerebral brand of History painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity favored by Mme de Pompadour, Mistress of Louis XV, towards a classical austerity and severity, chiming with the moral climate of the final years of the ancien régime. His work represents a turning point in the history of painting. He was an incomparable technical master. David was nothing if not politically adroit. He managed shifts from being in favor of the court of Louis XVI, to the favor of the Revolutionaries, including the most dangerous of them, Robespierre, to becoming Napoléon's favorite painter. In his shift away from the monarchy, David became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien de Robespierre, and David was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, that of Napoléon I. It was at this time that he developed his 'Empire style', notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. David had a huge number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the 19th century, especially academic Salon painting. With the re-establishment of the monarchy after the fall of Napoléon I, David was unable to shift politics yet again back to the favor of the Bourbon court. The Bourbons remembered that David had voted for the execution of Louis XVI and forced him to leave France. After his death in Belgium on le 29 décembre 1825, his body was not allowed back into France and was buried in Brussels, but his heart is buried at cimitière Père Lachaise in Paris. Paintings by David Paris and Helen (1788) Death of Marat (1794) Napoléon Crossing the Alps (1801) Coronation of Napoléon (1806) More Reading:
Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile

Jacques-Louis David's 'Marat'

Jacques-Louis David and Neoclassicism