Maillol Museum
 

Today, after a morning and early morning at the Musée d'Orsay, we went to the Musée Maillol, on rue Grenelle, just one block from rue du Bac. There is a fascinating special exhibit of Venetian glass objects, from the 15th century to the present day, showing a wide variety of methods for making and decorating the glassware, as well as some very "modern-artist" items that defy written explanation. The upper floor has a large and diverse collection of works by Aristede Maillot himself, as well as some by important other artists his model and "companion" had collected herself. It was a surprisingly-enlightening visit, and we stayed much longer than I had expected.

Thank you for this report, Claude. I had never heard of this museum. My wife is a glass artist, and I'm sure we would like to see the special exhibit. Do you know how long it will be on show? I looked at the site http://www.museemaillol.com/ but could not tell how long that special exhibition will be up.

Unfortunately, it looks like we won't make it to Paris this Fall as usual --- sigh ----

It looks like it will run from 27 March to 28 July. Organizing this unique exhibition seems to have required a lot iof effort, so I would not be too surprised if it moves on to another city later this year, perhaps in the US. However, we didn't see anything at the musée today that would indicate that kind of joint sponsorship.

We saw the Chuhuli exhibition in San Francisco a few years ago (2008?), and this one outshines it.

While we know and like Chihuli, I'm sure the exhibition of glass done in the 1400s must be more impressive than the stuff Dale is currently doing with his modern equipment and army of gaffers.

That being said, visiting the new Chihuli Museum of Glass (and self aggrandisement) in Seattle http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/ is well worth a visit.

A handsome, smaller museum is a pleasant alternative in Paris, especially when it has grown out of an intriguing history. Aristide Maillol was a prominent sculptor in the latter years of the 19th Century and first half of the 20th Century. He came from the southwest, as much Spanish-Basque as French. In his elder years his model, muse and (possibly platonic) companion was Dina Vierny, who after his death was the moving force in establishing this monument. Its works and special shows tend to focus on the period of his life; I saw an exhibit of pre-Stalin modern Russian art there a few years ago. Wikipedia is helpful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillol

I love the Maillol Museum! One of my favorites in Paris.

And, for those who seek out works by Berthe Morisot - there are several in the collection.

"He came from the southwest, as much Spanish-Basque as French."

If he was Basque, Picasso was Norwegian. He was Catalan, born in French Catalonia (Banyuls-sur-Mer).