The first is Dreaming in French: The Paris Years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag and Angela Davis, by Alice Kaplan. What these very different women have in common is a year abroad in France as young women.

The second book, Atget, first came out in 2000. MoMA  has republished this beautifully written volume by John Szarkowski, rich with photographs, to complement the current exhibition, Eugene Atget: Documents pour Artistes,” which continues through April 9.

Bonne lecture!

Jane del Monte, bridging the distance

© 2012 Jane del Monte

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FRANCE Magazine

Lovers of France, that is. If you’re reading this, I think it’s safe to assume you figure among them? And I surmise, since many of you are fellow-bloggers, that you probably like to write. I thought this was good enough to share.

FRANCE Magazine is offering American readers the chance to write about their recent trips to France, with the oppotunity to win a $100 gift voucher.

To enter, email their editorial page at editorial@francemag.com. What do you have to lose?

Jan del Monte, bridging the difference

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Eugène Atget, Rue Lepic

Eugène Atget devoted 30 years to producing a photographic record of the architecture and daily life of Old Paris, more than 10,000 images that capture the capital as it was as it was then.

While doing some research for another project, I stumbled upon this  online feature from the National Gallery of Art (www.nga.gov) showcasing 32 works from the gallery’s collections, along with maps and information about the artist.

Check it out at http://www.nga.gov/feature/atget/. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Jane del Monte, bridging the distance

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Willy Ronis, one of the giants of French photography in the 20th century, died on Saturday in Paris at the age of 99.  He is credited, along with Robert Doisenau and Henri Cartier-Bresson, with inventing humanist photography.

The son of a Ukrainian photographer and a Lithuanian pianist who fled the pogroms and settled in Paris, Ronis was born at the foot of Montmartre.

His first passion was for music and drawing, but he later turned to photography. Willy Ronis saw the poetry in Parisian daily life, and with his camera captured the scenes that form a part of our collective memory.

(Photo, Willy Ronis)

 Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2009 Jan del Monte

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