Macarons, cafe, vins

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
     Today we returned to the Musee d'Orsay and were privileged to revisit the Manet exhibit, which was wonderful as I absolutely love his artwork. I also really enjoyed checking out more Degas - definitely two of my favorite artists. I'm very drawn to Degas' ballerina paintings, so I found it very interesting when Dr. Maxim explained how the ballerinas were considered working women, such as the laundress, the bathing women, or the gleaners in the field. It made me appreciate it that much more especially as Degas portrays them as beautiful, elegant, and graceful, yet they are still some of the hardest workers out there, especially as women were just being welcomed into the performance profession as dancers. 
     Today, I was fortunate enough to thoroughly observe the Monet exhibit. I was really intrigued by the following pieces:

Monet's Les Glacons

     This online image of Les Glacons does no justice for Monet's actual piece, which is quite massive and detailed. The numerous colors and ballerina pink sparkles observable from different angles really bring the painting to life. The noticeable texture from the brushstrokes really gives the painting that one of a kind texture, where you know it can't be replicated without painting another, which would be difficult to replicate the genius art work of Claude Monet!

Monet's Londres Le Parlement

     I really really like the above painting because of its simplicity. I can recognize the Parliament building even though it's only a silhouette. The sunset is reflected of the Thames River. I like how I can infer so much from the painting even though the brushstokes seem so blurred and unfinished.

     Last night, when my friend and I went to a bar, we observed a few Parisian girls that appeared drunk, which was really something we had not seen too often here so it really stands out when I do notice it. I've found that it's nearly unheard of for people to take shots of hard alcohol here, whereas in the states, that's your typical college party that leads to so many irresponsible decisions, alcohol poisoning incidents, and even deaths, at some universities. Here, it seems like the Parisians pace out their drinking a lot more. They don't simply drink to get "drunk," but they just drink a glass or two with their meals consistently every night to savor all of their meals with good company. It's more of a custom here. At happy hour, the tables are full at every cafe we stroll by with tons of businessmen and women relaxing with friends and tapas after a long day at the office. It's interesting how the customs of coffee and alcohol are essentially reversed here. In America, we throw back shots of alcohol, but in Europe, they throw back shots of espresso. They cannot fathom the idea of a cup of drip coffee, or even the infamous Americano while we are shocked by the fact that wine is far cheaper than water, and soda, in Paris at a restaurant, or even in a discounted grocery store.
      This observation is also kind of similar to the transportation differences between the different cultures. In America, there's no wrapping our heads around the idea of such intricate, complex transportation routes underground the city, but in Europe, that's the common mode of transportation for anyone, from the homeless, to the rising businessman, to any Parision that cannot stand nor afford the weekly commute of driving into Paris for two long journies every day, to the tourist who is buried in his large fold up map, just to name a few.
     The equal playing field conveyed through the metro reminded me of Emilie Zola's novel The Belly of Paris, as its primarily focused on the middle class. I feel like the majority of the art we've studied thus far, before the impressionist movement at least, has been primarily commissioned by the wealthy and focused on the wealthy, royal, religious, and prominent historic events. It was interesting to learn all about Haussmann and the effect of his reformations of Paris, specifically the massive grand boulevards in the 1850s. I like how I can relate to Zola's experience in his arrival into Paris struggling to live the bourgeois lifestyle, as we're struggling with the different customs and language barrier to live the Parisian lifestyle.