If I was in Paris... February 1, 2013

Virtual Tour of Paris -- Free!

Get thee to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, because they have several exhibitions (you know they're one of my favorite places to see beautiful and fascinating things!):

Van Cleef & Arpels: L'art de la haute joiallerie is an exhibition featuring over 500 pieces from the company's 107-year history. Fab-u-lous, n'est-ce pas? And here's the store's website -- even prettier! A slideshow of pieces connected to the history of the house.

This is the pieces I want. Gold, diamonds, turquoise. Wow.

This show runs only until next Sunday, so go now.

There is also a fashion exhibition, two centuries of fashion from 1700-1915, which focuses on European design/fashion in terms of the fabrics and tailoring of men's and women's clothing (aristocratic women's clothing, bien sur!) during this time because of the acquisition of two major private collections by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Hands across the pond, so to speak.

Here's a slideshow of the event, with representative costumes.

At the BnF-Richelieu, there is an exhibition on the influence of the Rothschild family during the 19th century. James Rothschild arrives in France in 1811 at the age of 19. He rapidly became one of the most influential leaders in the word of banking -- and we all know banking runs the world! Quickly amassing a fortune, he and his children, his rivals, their incursions into philanthropy and art, their influence on the urbanization and modernisation of Paris, left a profound influence on the city, nation and globe. The exhibition includes paintings, portraits, books, photographs, documents, and objets d'arts from the archives and collections of the family, left to the state. Also free.

On the other end of the influential spectrum, the Pompidou center is holding an amazing exhibition focusing on Salvador Dali. Buy tickets online, and this exhibition runs through March, but go see it. We all know about the dripping clocks, but Dali was influential on art, performance and philosophy. He touched others working in Surrealism, he made a movie with Hitchcock, he illustrated the Bible. GO!

If you're a lover of ballet, go see Kaguyahime, the new ballet from Jiri Kylian. Looks amazing! It opens tonight at teh Opera Garnier.