Muguet de Paris

For years I referred to Paris as the crossroads of two of my deepest passions. The first is a lifelong interest and involvement in the arts,  the second a fervent appreciation of all things French. Then, for several years, I was privileged to call it home. It was a defining experience.

The tradition of excellence in French decorative arts rests on the tendency of artisans and designers to draw from the past while moving forward into the future, taking advantage of innovations in materials and technology to produce something new and original, while honoring the past. 

While the primary focus of the blog is decorative arts, I may digress from time to time, with your indulgence, and consider something that may seem not to fall under that rubric. Yet one would be hard pressed to write about any aspect of French life without touching upon the decorative arts, so tightly woven is the esthetic sense into the fabric of French culture. And, of course, there has always been, in France, that overlap between the fine and the decorative arts.

Antonin Carême, the 19^th Century culinary superstar, saw no reason to distinguish between architecture and pastry, as he observed, “The fine arts are five in number, to wit: painting, sculpture, poetry, music and architecture, which has for its main branch pastry.” This seems to me a reasonable approach, but to those arts cited I would add a sixth, l’art de vivre, that particularly French approach to daily life. 

I hope you will be entertained and informed, and that you will occasionally discover something of interest that otherwise may have escaped your notice. Above all, I look forward to your feedback, so that we may learn from one another. 

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Jane del Monte is a writer and specialist in French decorative arts and the director of ARTS in PARIS – Personalized Luxury Tours. She holds a postgraduate diploma (with mention, “Bien) in French Fine Arts and Decorative Arts from the Renaissance to the 20th Century from Christie’s Education, Paris (in collaboration with the University of Cambridge). While living in Paris, she continued her studies at Drouot Formation, Université Paris-Sorbonne and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. In addition to ARTS in PARIS Tours, Jane offers art advisory and curatorial services to private and corporate collectors and design professionals. She divides her time between Paris and Atlanta.

For information about ARTS in PARIS Tours,go to www.parisartstravel.com.