Bonne Année~

I’ve noticed that in Fance well wishes for the new year are the most important of salutations, given even a month late to those you haven’t seen or spoken to, so…Happy New Year! The weather has been grey and cold, very wintery though lacking snow. While the outdoors have seemed uninviting, this season’s visiting exhibits:

Courbet’s encompassing show at the Grand Palais,
http://www.rmn.fr/Gustave-Courbet,4

Soutine’s twisted impressionism at the Pinacotèque,
http://www.pinacotheque.com/expo1.fr.html

and Arcinboldo’s fruit-faced personages at the Musée du Luxembourg
http://www.froggydelight.com/galerie/concert-141-Arcimboldo.html

have kept me contented.

Though my favorite by far has been this…

1920’s Paris Mode : Fashions of les Années Folles
Following the blow of World War I, Paris underwent a period of rebirth. Women celebrated newfound liberty in both the way they carried and costumed themselves. These fashions born from the 20's, now on exhibit at the Musée Galliera, are timeless. Infuse your style with some of their extravagance.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3696.asp

To find out what is happening during your next trip you can snap up a copy of the Pariscope magazine, less than a euro at any Parisian newspaper stand. I get many a tip from the colorful posters plastered to train station walls and of bus fronts.

Take Care,
Melissa Demiguel, French Culture Editor
http://frenchculture.bellaonline.com