Paris

Image: Les Cartons

Darkened Cities

"Paris 48° 51’ 03’’ N 2012-07-19 lst 19:46" Thierry Cohen

One of the downsides of living in a major city is the lack of stars—not the movie kind but the ones in the sky. The amount of light and pollution produced by cities virtually blots out any chance of seeing the stars above us. Look up in New York for example and the blinking lights you see are probably from a passing plane.

"New York 40° 44’ 39’’ N 2010-10-13 lst 0:04" Thierry Cohen

In his series “Darkened Cities,” French photographer Thierry Cohen imagines what the evening sky in these cities would look like if we could see the stars. He manages this feat by first shooting the cities during the day when no lights are on and then shooting the skies over less-populated areas that share the same latitude. For example, the stars shining over Paris in his photo are from Montana. The results are stunning and beautiful.

"Rio de Janeiro 22° 56’ 42’’ S 2011-06-04 lst 12:34" Thierry Cohen

To see more images from the series, visit here.

Brassaï at Night

"Morris column in the fog, Avenue de l''Observatoire" Brassaï (1934)

Today is the birthday of Gyula Halasz, better known as the photographer Brassaï. Born on September 9, 1899 in Brasso, Romania (then part of Hungary), he spent a year in Paris as a child when his father, a professor of French literature, taught at the Sorbonne. Moving back to the city that would become his permanent home in 1924, he worked as a journalist, spending his spare time painting and drawing. His first foray into photography came when he began working for Minotaure, an art magazine, and was asked to photograph artist studios. He was disinterested in the medium at first but had his mind changed by a fellow Hungarian, photographer André Kertész.

"Nocturnal view from Notre Dame overlooking Paris and the Tour Saint-Jacques" Brassaï  (1933)

Now going by the name Brassaï (taken from his hometown), he became a popular photographer, often hired by major magazines. Yet regardless of his assignments, his fascination was with his adopted city at night. Walking the streets alone, Brassaï managed to capture the after-hour life of the City of Lights like no one else. In his images we see an empty bridge, a car's headlight cutting a beam across the street, an iconic Morris column covered with notices. And we witness the creatures of the night: the gamblers and prostitutes, late night revellers and lovers. As Brassaï once wrote, “Night in a large city brings out of its den an entire population that lives its entire life completely under the cover of darkness.”

"Pair of lovers, Place d'Italie" Brassaï (1930)

In 1933 he published many of these images in Paris de Nuit, a book that is still in print today. Flipping through its pages or another of his books, The Secret Paris of the 30’s, one is immediately swept back into the past, his photographs so real that you can almost smell the dirty streets. So on this occasion of the anniversary of his birth, let’s remember Brassaï by taking a look at a few more of his images of Paris at night.

"Prostitutes at a bar, Boulevard Rochechouart, Montmartre" Brassaï (1932). One of my favourites. 

And I love how he photographed the same woman more than once (see below).

"A prostitute playing Russian billiards, Boulevard Rochechouart" Brassaï (1932)

"Lovers in a Small Cafe, Near the Place d'Italie" Brassaï (1932)

"Le Pont Neuf" Brassaï  (1932)

"Fog, avenue de l"Observatoire" Brassaï (1934)

To see more of Brassaï's photos, I recommend getting a copy of The Secret Paris of the 30's. It's been a favourite since college and is still in print. 

The Liberation of Paris

"Crowds celebrating the liberation of the city" Robert Capa (August 25, 1944)

Today marks the seventieth anniversary of the Liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944, an event which had begun a week earlier with an uprising by the French Resistance. The arrival of the Free French Army of Liberation and Patton’s Third Army on the 25th saw the capture of the military governor of Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz, and subsequent surrender of the Germans. After four years of occupation, the City of Lights was free. Covering the momentous event for Life Magazine was famed war photographer Robert Capa.

"French soldiers fighting against the Germans during the liberation of the city" Robert Capa (August 25, 1944)Capa, who had already taken some of the most famous photographs of the war, was determined to be among the first to enter the city that he had once called home. After some frustrating attempts to follow the US Army, Capa went in with General Leclerc’s French 2nd Armoured Division. Travelling in a jeep with Time correspondent Charles Wertenbaker and their driver, Pvt Hubert Strickland, Capa entered Paris shortly after Leclerc’s tank at 9:40 am.

"Soldiers of the French 2nd Armoured Division being welcomed as they travel down Les Champs-Elysées" Robert Capa (August 26, 1944)

"German troops started shooting against the parade celebrating the liberation of the city" Robert Capa (August 26, 1944)

There was much rejoicing as troops drove into the city. Parisians flocked into the streets, greeting liberators with hugs and kisses, and shouts of “merci.” Many broke into song, many cried. Sniper attacks throughout the day brought temporary halts to the celebrating but nothing could stop the jubilant feeling in the air. Capa took photos of it all, revellers and collaborators, Resistance fighters and German soldiers. The next day he rode in General Charles de Gaulle’s parade down the Champs-Elysées. When sniper bullets rang out, he stood taking photos while people ducked for cover.

Having already set up a temporary Time Inc. office at the Hotel Scribe, Capa and Wertenbaker were soon joined by fellow photographers and correspondents who continued to arrive daily. Ernest Hemingway, who had already liberated the bar at the Ritz, stopped by as well. Capa would stay on in Paris for two months before leaving on another assignment.

"Capa on the back of a jeep. pointing his camera at the photographer. George Rodger is to his right." Ralph Morse (August 1944)

Capa would go on to cover the rest of the war. But he would never forget August 25, 1944, later referring to it as “the most unforgettable day in the world.”

To see more images of the Liberation of Paris, visit here.

I Love Paris

Every time I look down on this timeless town

Whether blue or gray be her skies.

Whether loud be her cheers or soft be her tears,

More and more do I realize:

I love Paris in the springtime.

I love Paris in the fall.

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles,

I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles.

I love Paris every moment,

Every moment of the year.

I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris?

Because my love is near.—Cole Porter

Lately I've been dreaming of Paris. Perhaps it's due to the fact that most of my reading and viewing material of late has been set in the City of Lights or because New York has got me down at the moment or maybe it's just that I love Paris in the springtime.  Whatever the reason, Paris, I hope to see you soon.

Photo from here.

The Photographer of Paris

"Passage Saint-Benoît (sixth arrondissement)" Charles Marville (1864-67)

“Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris,” an exhibit currently on display at the Met, allows visitors a glimpse of a forgotten Paris, one before planning and grand design turned it into the City of Lights that we know today, and a chance to discover the work of the photographer who captured it all.

In 1862, Charles Marville was made the official photographer of Paris, tasked by Napoleon III’s urban planner, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, to document the enormous renovation plans for the city of Paris. Marville made roughly 425 images of areas of the city that were slated for demolition as well as of the new construction taking place. Some of these images, collectively known as the Album du Vieux Paris, are included in the exhibit along with other works from Marville's career. 

Born Charles Bossu in 1813, he changed his unfortunate last name (which means hunchback in French) to the more pleasant Marville as a young man and went to work as an illustrator. Around 1850, he took up the fairly new medium of photography and travelled throughout France, Germany, and Italy photographing natural settings and architecture. Earning a reputation as a photographer of architecture, he was made photographer to the Louvre before being asked to document the newly created Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement, one of the earliest projects in the renovation plans for Paris.

"Haut de la rue Champlain (vue prise à droit) (twentieth arrondissement)" Charles Marville (1877-78)

"La rue Soufflot et le Panthéon" Charles Marville (1876-77)

Napoleon III had a vision of a grander, more modern Paris that would ease some of the burdens of the crowded city. To fulfill his plans, people and businesses were evicted and whole streets were torn down and replaced with wide boulevards and newer buildings of a similar size and design. The Gare de Lyon and the Gare du Nord were built at this time as was the magnificent Paris Opera; four major parks were created and existing ones were renovated; and water and sanitation systems were revamped, giving the citizens of Paris better living conditions. 

"Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (from the Rue de la Huchette)" Charles Marville (ca. 1868)

"Colonne-affiches pour les Théâtres, menuiserie, fonte et zinc (Cie Morris)" Charles Marville (1876)

In the exhibit, you see the massive new opera house rising, Les Halles with its shiny glass ceiling, and the items that were to help the citizens and modernize the city—20,000 gas lights, public urinals, and those iconic Morris columns covered with advertisements. 

Unlike Brassaï, who famously roamed the streets of Paris at night with his camera, Marville worked mainly in the early morning (probably due to the exposure time needed for his images) so most of the photographs are void of people. We see deserted streets, a lone gaslight, empty parks. Occasionally a person will make an appearance, usually  looking away from the camera in a pose that was probably dictated by the photographer. 

The photos that are the most interesting in the exhibit are the before shots, the images of the places that ended up on the chopping block. These show a dirtier Paris, a medieval Paris that at times resembles a small village more than a European capital. Among these are images of various passageways that hint of mystery, beckoning the viewer to walk down them and see what's on the other side (you get the feeling that Marville was drawn to these as well). The one that I chose as my favourite was because of its name: the Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (the fishing cat street), the narrowest street in the city, which luckily survived destruction.

"Cloud Study over Paris" Charles Marville (1850s)

Not all of the images in the exhibit are of the renovations. Though he rarely made portraits, there are some unusual ones of his assistant, Charles Delahaye, looking dark and brooding and even a few self-portraits of the photographer himself. There is also a series of images of the rooftops of Notre Dame including the various animals that decorate the top of the cathedral (it's not just gargoyles up there).

And then there are his pioneering cloud studies. In the early days of photography, clouds were difficult to capture and photographers often took to erasing them from the images all together. In 1855, Marville successfully made a series of cloud images from the roof of his studio using the new collodion negative process. In addition to being quite striking, they serve as a document of a skyline that would soon be altered. Marville, it seems, was already the photographer of Paris.

"Charles Marville" Photographer of Paris" is at the Met through May 4, 2014. For information, visit here.

Bronia

Bronia and Tylia Perlmutter (1922)

On my shelves are a fair amount of books about the Lost Generation and one that I return to again and again is Billy Klüver and Julie Martin’s Kiki’s Paris. It’s filled with loads of stories and wonderful images that I can spend hours poring over.

This photo of Bronia and Tylia Perlmutter is one of my favourites in the book. Bronia, the younger sister, demurely averts her eyes while elder sister Tylia stares almost insolently at the camera, holding a boudoir doll in her hand. It is the seemingly shy Bronia who draws our attention. What thoughts are going on behind those downcast eyes?

There is not a lot of information about Bronia but I discovered that the sisters were Polish Jews raised in the Netherlands who came to Paris in 1922 when Tylia was 18 and Bronia 16. They both found work modelling for various artists in Montparnasse. Bronia was particularly popular with Nils Dardel, Foujita, and Moïse Kisling (she would often act as hostess for Kisling at luncheons he hosted). She also modelled clothes for designers Paul Poiret and Nicole Grolt that she would wear out at night.

"Young Girl Depicting Bronia Perlmutter" Nils Dardel (1925)

Bronia and Tylia made appearances in the works of Lost Generation writers as well. Djuna Barnes and Robert McAlmon wrote about them, as did Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast where they are referred to simply as the two models. Hemingway describes Bronia as “beautifully built with a falsely fragile depravity.”

It's not surprising that artists wanted to capture her beauty. Bronia was lovely in an ethereal way with dark hair and large, blue-grey eyes. She liked to dance and one evening in 1923 at Le Boeuf sur le Toit she met the young writer Raymond Radiguet who danced with her and soon declared that he planned to marry her. A jealous Jean Cocteau became angry and, according to Bronia, threatened to have Bronia and her sister deported. The young couple hid out at the Hôtel Foyot to avoid Cocteau. But Radiguet became ill and died from typhoid fever that year at the age of 20.

In addition to modelling, Bronia also did a little acting. For Galerie des Monstres (1924) director Jacque Catelain gathered Montparnasse locals to star in the film; Bronia appears as a dancing doll and Tylia as a juggler. The film also has appearances by Kiki and a young Lois Moran.

Bronia Perlmutter. Photo: Berenice Abbott.

In December of 1924 Bronia and Tylia were invited by Francis Picabia to attend a performance of the Dadaist ballet Relâche, which included a screening of a short film, Entr'acte, at intermission. Bronia was introduced to the film’s director, René Clair, after the show. Later that same month Picabia asked Bronia to participate in a production, Ciné Sketch, that he and Clair were putting on after the ballet on New Year’s Eve. Bronia agreed, and she and Marcel Duchamp appeared nude—Duchamp did have a strategically placed fig leaf—in a living tabloid of Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve, which Man Ray photographed. 

A bit part in Clair’s film Le Voyage Imaginaire (1926) followed. The two fell in love and were married in 1926. They had one son, Jean-François, who was born in 1927. Bronia gave up modelling to devote herself to Clair, and they would remain married until Clair’s death in 1981.

I wondered what had become of Bronia. Then one day I was watching the Criterion Collection release of Clair’s À Nous la Liberté (1931) and there on the DVD extras was an interview from 1998 with an elderly Bronia who spoke about her early life and her husband. She was now a grand old Parisian lady but when she turned her head a certain way or flashed those mysterious eyes you could see the young girl in the photo from all those years ago.

Documents Pour Artistes

"Cour de Rouen" Eugène Atget (1915). See the cats?

A few days after I got home from my vacation, I revisited Paris by seeing the Eugène Atget exhibit, "Documents Pour Artistes," at MoMA.

Atget was a great documentarian of Paris. Day after day, he would set up his view camera on a tripod and capture the city's buildings, streets, and people; no detail was overlooked from a stairwell to a statue in an abandoned garden. Largely ignored during his lifetime, Atget once said about his work, "I have done little justice to the Great City of Paris." Yet his more than 10,000 photographs remain one of the greatest documents of a city, giving us an incredible insiders view of Paris at the turn of the century.

"Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève" Eugène Atget (1925)

Lucky for us, some other photographers did recognize his gift. Admired by the Surrealists, Man Ray bought 42 images from Atget before his death (they were neighbours). Berenice Abbott published the first overview on Atget— Atget, Photographe de Paris—in 1930 and with the help of Julien Levy, bought more than 8,500 of his photographs, which were later donated to MoMA.

The title of the exhibit, “Documents Pour Artistes,” comes from a sign that hung outside Atget's studio; he hoped his photographs could serve as source material for other artists. In the exhibit, more than 100 of these photographs were broken into six sections—People of Paris, Courtyards, Parc du Sceaux, Jardin de Luxembourg, Fifth Arrondissement, and Surrogates and the Surreal—a representation of Atget’s areas of interest.

"Romanichels, groupe
" Eugène Atget (1912)

In the exhibit, there were no images of the Eiffel Tower or other standard Parisian symbols. Instead there were Romanies outside their caravan, starring at the camera except for one barefoot young man who probably got bored, which I found mesmerising. Photos of courtyards reminded you of the surprises that can be found inside (look, there's a cat over in the corner) while images of the Fifth Arrondissement like "Balcon, 17 rue du Petit-Pont" with its ropes of shoes show how common items can become works of art. The Jardin de Luxembourg is my favourite Parisian park and so naturally I loved the photos of its hollyhocks and other flowers. And the shop windows filled with bizarre mannequins explain why the Surrealists embraced Atget early on.

"Parc de Sceaux, mars, 8 h. matin
" Eugène Atget (1925)

Yet perhaps the images of Parc du Sceaux were the most moving. A deserted park on the outskirts of Paris, Atget rushed to capture its decrepit beauty between March and June 1925 before its scheduled clean-up and reopening as a public park. He made 66 photographs, both haunting and beautiful, which ilustrate what Atget worked so hard to capture—the pure essence of a place, including all its cracks and imperfections. 

The exhibit is over but MoMA has published a lovely book that can be purchased here. As for visiting MoMA, a word of advice. There never seems to be a good time to visit. It's almost always packed to the gills, overheated, and everyone forgets their manners, especially on the weekends. I That said, it has some amazing works of art on permanent display so maybe going first thing in the morning during the week is best. Anyone else have some good tips on how to avoid the madness?

European Vacation: Paris

Paris—one of my favourite cities in the world. During my recent vacation, we left Belgium and drove to Paris where we spent a couple of days exploring the City of Lights.

We stayed in the Marais at the Hôtel Jeanne d’Arc (website here), which is perfectly situated for a base camp. Except for one Metro ride we walked everywhere, and the Marais was in the middle of everything. The neighbourhood is also filled with loads of good shops and food, and we took advantage of both. 

Best falafel ever.

We had what must be the best falafel I’ve ever eaten at L’As du Fallafel, which is located on rue des Rosiers, the main thoroughfare of the historic Jewish quarter.

Repetto!

As for shopping, we went into all types of stores including the tiny Au Petit Bonheur la Chance, filled with everything vintage from latte bowls to metal letters, À Chacun son Image, where you can purchase wonderful old black and white photographs of anonymous Parisians (I could have stayed there for hours), and Repetto whose rainbow circle of ballets had my heart skipping a beat but I somehow resisted making a purchase (the reminder of how many pairs of ballets I already own helped).

Notre Dame

Leaving the Marais, we walked over to Île Saint-Louis (or Ice Cream Island as we dubbed it; everyone seemed to have a cone in their hand) and followed along the Seine with Notre Dame looming in the distance. Heading over to the 5th arrondissement we stopped by Shakespeare and Company where I once slept upstairs many, many years ago on my first visit to Paris. The place had been on my mind recently with the passing in December of its owner, George Whitman, at the age of 98. He was a truly unique individual who had been kind to me when I stayed there (he made me dinner one night and let me feed his cat).

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

In grad school my field of study was the Lost Generation and so I cannot help but see Paris through 1920s eyes. For that reason, we headed over to the rue de l'Odéon to see the site of the original Shakespeare and Company run by Sylvia Beach who was the first to publish James Joyce’s Ulysses in 1922 and had dinner at Les Deux Magots where I purchased a small cendrier (ashtray) to take home before walking up the hill to the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, the church featured in Midnight in Paris (alas no car stopped to pick us up and take us to a party with Hemingway).

Montmartre Cemetery

Sacré-Cœur Basilica

The next day we walked to Montmartre, stopping on the way to have breakfast at Rose Bakery before tackling the walk up to Sacré-Cœur. We visited Montmartre Cemetery and wandered along the streets, picking out apartment buildings where we would like to live (a girl can dream) and peaked into some small gardens. Everything was so charming. Until you got up to the church and then it was tourist chaos but still, Sacré-Cœur is beautiful and the view is amazing even on a smoggy day.

We ended our visit with a boat ride on the Seine (boats seemed to be a theme of this trip), which I had never done before. It was a nice way to relax after walking all day and to see the city from a different angle.

No matter how many times I visit Paris, I always find it fascinating. I guess it's the details—rooftops, flowers in a bucket, bookstands on the quay, a bright red car, a partial face that looks like Charlie Chaplin peeping out from a wall. All these small parts that together make Paris the city it is.

Two days later I was on a plane back to New York. I can't wait to return.

Photos by Michele.

Josephine

Today in 1886 the Folies Bergères opened its first revue. Based around beautiful women, extravagant costumes, and elaborate sets, the revues at the Folies would launch the careers of many French performers and one very important American.

Josephine Baker made her Folies debut in 1926 in La Folie du Jour. Clad solely in a skirt made from fake bananas she danced the “Danse Sauvage” and brought the house down. She would become an immensely popular performer in Paris, staring in other stage shows and a series of films; on stage she would sometimes be joined by her pet Cheetah, Chiquita, who could often be seen accompanying Josephine through the streets of Paris.

Looking at these photos, it's not hard to understand why Josephine was  the toast of the town. 

A film clip of her performing the dance she made famous at the Folies Begere can be seen here.

Midnight in Paris

Strolling the streets of 1920s Paris in Midnight in Paris.

Confession. I waited a long time to see Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris because I was apprehensive about the depiction of the artists of the Lost Generation. Since I was a teenager, I’ve been enamored with the 1920s and the Lost Generation. So much so that I went to graduate school to study the literature (I wrote about Hemingway). And while I’m a fan of Woody Allen’s and knew he was fond of the Lost Generation I was still a bit wary. But after seeing the film I’m happy to report that Allen did not disappoint.

Midnight in Paris is the story of Gil (Owen Wilson), a Hollywood screenwriter who is visiting Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents. While the others don’t seem to particularly care that they're in Paris, Gil is simply enchanted. Trying to write a novel that will hopefully get him out of the screenwriting game, he looks for inspiration in the city where his favourite writers once lived. One night he wanders off alone, slightly drunk, and gets lost. At midnight, a vintage Peugeot pulls up with a group of revelers dressed in 1920s clothing who invite Gil to come with them to a party. He accepts and is whisked off to a house where a familiar looking man is at the piano singing a Cole Porter song. Gil is then introduced to a couple named Scott and Zelda. Wait a minute. What?

 Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald in the film.

Turns out Gil’s nostalgia for the past has somehow brought him back in time to his favourite era where he meets and has discussions with the writers he admires. Later he and Adriana (Marion Cotillard), the beautiful mistress of Picasso who Gil falls for, travel even further back in time to her favourite era—the Belle Époque. Allen’s message seems to be that everyone always thinks that the golden age is in the past and never the present.

Allen also asks you to suspend your disbelief. Gil appears to time travel and doesn't question it, and Allen asks the audience to do the same. Explanations on how it all physically happens are not forthcoming and it doesn’t really matter because it’s all so much damn fun. Oh to be able to visit Paris in the 1920s.

Hemingway gives some advice.

As for the writers and artists of the Lost Generation? For the most part, the film does a bang up job. There were a couple of moments when Hemingway (Corey Stoll) threatened to cross over into parody (the actor by the way looked perfect) and Zelda Fitzgerald (Alison Pill) looked too young but F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston who also looked perfect), Dali (a brilliant cameo by Adrian Brody), and Gertrude Stein (who I’ve always disliked but Kathy Bates did a fine job nonetheless) were great. I also love how Allen included real places like Chez Bricktop and references that were like inside jokes for fans of the Lost Generation (Gil to T.S. Eliot: “Where I come from, we measure out our lives in Coke spoons”).

Gil and Inez visit Givenry.

As for the others, Wilson was better than I thought he would be as the wide-eyed Gil, Rachel McAdams was fine as the materialistic Inez given that there wasn’t a whole lot to work with, and Michael Sheen as Inez’s college friend played the pompous ass to perfection. And then there’s Marion Cotillard who is lovely and sad and just so good. I think she’s turning out to be a favourite actress of mine. And don't forget the costumes. Sigh. If only we could all dress that way. 

Marion Cotillard as Adriana.

But, of course the real star of the film is Paris itself, the greatest inspiration of all, which always seems wonderful no matter what the time period.

Photos by Roger Arpajou/Sony Pictures Classics.