Image via NYC Department of Records
An Untapped reader submitted a question to our mailbag this week about the Metropolitan Museum of Art, asking when the exterior staircase to the building (on Fifth Avenue) first looked as it does today. “From what I can ascertain,” she wrote, “the date appears to be 1902, and just wondering if you can kindly confirm that for me?” (more…)
One of the iconic paintings of the Impressionist movement, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte in Paris by Georges Seurat, is often shown as the quintessential example of the “Pointillism” style, which is compromised of using small painted dots.
We recently went to check out the scene of Seurat’s painting, and discovered that L’île de la Jatte, an island in the Seine between Neuilly-sur-Seine and Courbevoie, was a source of inspiration for more than Seurat. Monet, Van Gogh, Sisley, Nozal and Gleizes all have paintings from vantage points on the island. (more…)
When we first posted the painting of the “Happy Negro (Au Nègre Joyeux)” above #12 Rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter, we were (admittedly) less well-versed in French history than we are now, and there were some wonderful comments on the article from readers situating the historical artifact properly. There was also a fun comment that the very building was mentioned in The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway: “Music came out of the Negre Joyeux. Through the window of the Café Aux Amateurs I saw the long zinc bar.” The same café is mentioned in A Moveable Feast as well. (more…)
We forgot to mention in our photo slideshow of last night’s 2013 Dîner en Blanc at Trocadero and Eiffel Tower that it was filmed using a drone by Gregoire Tiberghien and the company Locadrone. Enjoy this video of the 2013 Dîner en Blanc, showing the event from an all new perspective and check out our still shots of the festivities here. The footage was filmed with a mounted Objectif Sunex Gopro HD DSL377.
On our way to meet the blogger behind this awesome website Messy Nessy Chic, we came across this man, “levitating” at Saint Michel next to Notre Dame in Paris to the wonderment of the crowd in front of him. Just in case you’re in doubt, we walked all the way around to double check. We think the trick is that the stick he carries continues into his arm (which he doesn’t move), and down his back where a seat is attached. According to a reader with knowledge of these type of tricks: (more…)
Someone told me on my first Dîner en Blanc at the Louvre and Tuileries (a location what was repeated tonight for some guests), that it never rains for the event, and this year was no exception. At 5pm, as we prepared for our fourth year at the Paris Dîner en Blanc, the sun peeked out of the sky. Rain and clouds threatened all day, replaced by sunshine, seemingly just for the event.
It’s a special year, marking the the 25th Anniversary of this pop-up dinner phenomenon that began humbly as a reunion when François Pasquier returned to France after living abroad. Now in 18 cities, the magic has spread worldwide, as far as Rwanda, Haiti, Australia and many cities in the United States, including New York City. Tonight, the Paris Dîner en Blanc took place in two locations: at Trocadero, with a majestic view of the Eiffel Tower and at the Louvre. (more…)
