Guest blogging on The Midnight Shift

My friend Lee Lofland asked me to share some of my France photos for his blog's regular feature "Weekend Road Trip." Today I have a few photos from my trip in Paris, including some from Notre Dame Cathedrale and the Louvre.

You can find that post here.

Montauban, A City of Art and legends

Memorial to the 1870 war by Antoine Bourdelle

In my trip to France there were a couple places that I had to visit. One was Paris and another was Montauban.

I could find plenty of Americans who had been to Paris and were willing to offer advice about places to see and things to do, but I could not find anyone who had been to Montauban.

And that is a shame.

Montauban is a beautiful city in a gorgeous part of France and it deserves more tourists.

I needed to visit Montauban because one of the heroes in the legends of Charlemagne is Renaud de Montauban. Renaud is the eldest son in the famous French poem Les Quatre Fils Aymon or The Four Sons of Aymon.

Renaud's sister Bradamante is the heroine of my story. Therefore I found it necessary to for me to set my novel in the area surrounding Montauban.

Even though it is not historically accurate to the time period of my story. Blame it on the poets who wrote the Matters of France. They were fabulous dramatists, but not well versed on history.

The city of Montauban was founded in 1144 and Charlemagne died in 814.

However, trying to divorce Renaud from Montauban would be like trying to take Robin Hood out of Sherwood Forest.

Or using another Italian city other than Venice when refering to Leonardo. Perhaps Leonardo de Firenze.

It wouldn't work.

By my accepting the idea that dramatic necessity required my using Montauban, it mentally freed me to include similar historical inaccuracies when I deemed it a plot necessity.

That also meant my visit to Montauban was less demanding when it came to fact finding. I needed a sense of the surrounding area, but there would not be any buildings dating back to the time period of my story.

I also wanted to find examples of the legends of Charlemagne influencing their art and heritage.

Unfortunately, that was the most disappointing aspect about Montauban. I had tried via email to connect with any historians, professional or amateur, who were fans of the Matters of France. The Tourism Office sent me a lead, but I did not receive any reply.

It was not the first, nor shall it be the last time an email query receives no response.

My disappointment increased during our visit to the tourist office. I asked if there was anything such as a statue, a mural, streets, etc. in honor of Renaud de Montauban.

The only thing they knew of was a stone face on the side of the Ingres Museum thought to be of Renaud de Montauban. You can see it if you stand on the Pont Vieux and look at a certain angle.

Here is the Pont Vieux or "Old Bridge" over the Tarn River. This bridge dates back to the 14th century.


And here is the stone face that reportedly belongs to Renaud de Montauban.


While having found this face in order to take a picture seems worthy of earning points in a scavenger hunt, I was expecting more for this literary hero by the city of Montauban.

I had hoped to find statues, sculptures, paintings, or possibly a mural. I would not have been surprised to find streets being named after Renaud, Aymon, Guichard, Alard, Richardet and Bradamante. Maybe even a restaurant or two.

Les Quatre Fils Aymon Café.

As far as I know, that name is still available.

Something to demonstrate pride and ownership of this legend by the city of Montauban.

No other city or town can lay claim to being the home of Renaud.

In Chantilly I saw this painting depicting Renaud's magical horse Bayard who could expand to accommodate all four sons of Aymon on his back.



I asked the people working at the Tourism Office why there was not anything else celebrating their literary heroes. I wound up annoying them since they are not in control of artworks for the city or naming streets.

Their only answer to me was that this was only a story.

Only a story.

Rocamadour claims they have the sword Durindal embedded in the side of a rock (similar to Excalibur.) This was the sword of Roland made famous in the epic poem Chanson de Roland. I do not know how they claim it came to their town, but if Roland were to have thrown it as he lay dying in the Roncesvalle Pass and it flew through the air to Rocamadour he would have to have made one helluva toss.

That sword would have to go about 190 miles or 308 kilmeters by my quick and dirty measurment on Google Earth from Roncesvalles to Rocamadour.

Yet Rocamadour uses that bit of legendary lore to lure tourists. It is based on a story.

Carcassonne uses a legend to describe how their town was named. The legend involves successfully withstanding a siege by the Emperor Charlemagne.

They made up their own legend of Charlemagne. It's not true, but it makes a good story.

Portland, Oregon has bronze statues in a park dedicated to characters written by children's author Beverly Cleary. Statues based on stories.

I remember a restaurant on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit named Friar Tuck's. There is no legitimate claim to the legend of Robin Hood by a college town restaurant/bar in Michigan, yet they proudly used a name they thought would be inviting to patrons.

A name based on a story.

I love the vibrancy of the city of Montauban. I love its history and its surrounding beauty, but I think the city is missing out on tourist dollars. Tourist dollars that are waiting to be claimed.

My plea to the city of Montauban is for them to honor Renaud de Montauban and his fair sister Bradamante through artwork.

Carve it and they will come.

Paint it and they will come.


If nothing else, do this because I want to come back and take pictures of that artwork. I also want my picture taken standing near them.

Okay, enough babbling about what I did not find in Montauban.

Here are some photos I took of a city known for its beautiful brick architecture. Montauban is sometimes called Toulouse's "little pink sister" due to the color of the bricks. The vibrant color is due to the rich color of the soil.

This next picture is from the Place Nationale in the heart of downtown Montauban.

Our visit was on a bright sunny day and unfortunately the carved inscription is washed out in this photo.

Here is a closer look.

On the left is the Occitan Cross which was the standard of the Counts of Toulouse and on the right is the standard of the city of Montauban.


Here is a nice colorized version of Montauban's standard taken from the pages of Wikipedia.



Next comes tables for the lunch crowd on the Place Nationale.



We chose to eat at a restaurant whose tables were underneath beautiful arches.



Our first stop of the day before we went to the Tourist Office was actually the Farmer's market held on the other side of the Tarn River.

We were unsure where the market was, but was told it was near the Pont Vieux. We parked near the Ingres Museum but did not see any sign of the market. Then we saw women carrying bags laden with fresh produce. We set off trying to find where they had come from and after crossing the bridge soon discovered a large open air market teeming with people and the bounty of the land.



The fruits and vegetables were wonderful. Chasselas grapes are a specialty of the region and were bursting with flavor.

Yummmmm.

I sampled brioche for the first time in my life and we bought a marvelous apple tart for dessert.

We had the best bruschetta of our lives using heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil we bought at that market.



After our lunch we visited the Musée Ingres named after Montauban's most famous artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867).

The building at one point was an episcopal palace, later it was a town hall and finally became a museum. It houses paintings by Ingres, sculptures by another famous Montauban artist Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929), as well as other artwork and Gallo-Roman artifacts. The basement of the building is called the Black Prince room another reminder of the longreaching impact of the Hundred Years' War.


One of the most famous paintings by Ingres was inspired by the Matters of France. It is Roger délivrant Angélique. (1841)


The original hangs in the Louvre.


Here is a better version I found on the web.


Ingres was so fascinated by Angelica that he has another painting without Ruggiero. I apologize, but the lighting was not ideal at this point in the day and this was the best photo I could manage.


I do not care for the character of Angelica in either Orlando Innamorato or Orlando Furioso. She is more in the archetype of Aphrodite and I prefer the character of Bradamante who follows the archetype of Athena.

Too bad Ingres did not depict Ruggiero and Bradamante together. Or Renaud de Montauban.

Enough pounding on what I want versus what they have.

Here's a painting that impressed me. It is Le Songe d' Ossiane by Ingres.



A Gallo-Roman mosaic dating back to the fourth century.


There was also a few display cases with Greek pottery.



On the way downstairs there is a wood carving showing the patron saint of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin being martyred by being tied to the back of a bull.



Downstairs are more mosaics. You can tell by the color of the tiles next to the bricks that the materials were made in the nearby area.



A close up on the fine detail of the mosaic.

I would love to have something that intricate and beautiful in my house.


Then the room of the Black Prince. Check out the vaults on the ceiling.


Some stone sarcaphagi.


An old stone fireplace.




The close up is of a bear and a dog holding the crest.

On the left side of the mantle is the Wild Man of the Woods.


And on the right side is the lesser seen Wild Woman of the Woods.

Yay for equal representation!


One of the most disturbing things we saw in our travels in France was le banc de question.

Otherwise known as The Rack.



Here is a nice picture of colored glass to cleanse your palate.



And to leave you, here is the marvelous spread of food that my husband lovingly prepared for our dinner including the fresh fruit and baked bread we bought at Montauban's farmer's market.



It was a good day. The next day on our travels brought us to the town of Peyrusse le Roc. A town reportedly that was once conquered by Charlemagne's father Pepin le Bref.



I shall be sharing some of my pictures of my travels with my friend Lee Lofland on his blog this Saturday. Feel free to stop by.

Thursday afternoon in Paris: armor, weapons, and a tomb

Once my husband and I had been dropped off by a shuttle van to our hotel in the heart of Paris we walked everywhere. Our legs and feet were sore from all of our walking. Part of that was intentional on my part so that I could get a sense of exactly the size of medieval Paris.

That meant that we had walked solidly for three days in Paris. On Thursday I wanted to expand our horizons and visit a museum that was well outside the circumscribed areas once delineated by the fortifications of Philippe Auguste. I wanted to visit the Musée de l’Armée and see their collection of weapons and armor. Looking at the map, it did not appear to be all that far, but I knew how exhausted I would be if we tried walking there and back in one day.

Instead we used the Métro for the first time. We had read all about the reputation of the
Métro as being a haven for pickpockets and were therefore a little wary. We wanted to blend in as much as possible and not seem like we had the word "Tourists" emblazoned across our foreheads. That included talking as little as possible, and when we did speak we used as much French as we could.

We snuck peaks at our map lest we get lost, but we stashed it away quickly.

The museum is in a large complex of the Hôtel des Invalides which includes an active hospital and Napoleon's tomb. It is near the Eiffel Tower and this is as close as we came to seeing that landmark.





The buildings are surrounded by a large dry moat which means you are forced to use the marked entrances and cannot just cut across the lawn as a shortcut. You have to walk the loooong way around without exception.

Here is the courtyard and you can see the dome over Napoleon's tomb.



The museum holding the armor was on one of the wings and while I knew it probably would not hold much ancient armor, I wanted to see what they had. They have hundreds of suits of armor and once you get accustomed to viewing them, you start gravitating to the unusual ones. Such as this armor decked out with imagery of lions. Notice the helmet and the shoulders.



They also had armor for children. Or as I like to call it: "cub armor."


It is hard to imagine the expense of this kind of armor to begin with and then to contemplate how quickly children outgrow their clothes. It seems downright foolhardy to purchase such things. You cannot simply let down a hemline or such when they grow an inch or two. Here is another example of cub armor.




I would assume that they were created for important ceremonies, because otherwise it would seem totally impractical and cost prohibitive. I also doubt they were ever used in combat or tournaments. Please correct me if you know I am wrong.

Then we come to helmets. They evolved over the ages, but the ones I found most amusing were the ones which were obviously custom made.

This one's profile reminds me a little of Jamie Farr from M*A*S*H.



Being reminiscent of an actor is one thing, but this helmet reminds me of Mr. Potato Head. I do not know why anyone would want to sport that particular look.


Beyond aesthetics, it does not appear that there is much ventilation provided in that helmet nor would you have much ability to see. I guess the purpose would be to stand there, look stupid, and take a beating while wearing an iron helmet. How wonderful.

There was one shield that I really liked, because it reminds me of Athena who placed the gorgon's severed head upon her shield.



Here's a close up on Medusa's face. Whether or not it would help defend yourself in battle, you will look good in the process.



The museum also had display cases filled with swords and knives. A weapon that gave me pause was one that I could imagine being carried by a clergyman whilst on a pilgrimage. If you look carefully you will notice that the top of the crucifix is actually a concealed dagger.





It is kind of like the old decorative hat pins which could serve for more than one purpose.


Then there was a small room dedicated to ancient weapons. Here are some old rusted Francisca axes that some historians credit as being the source of the name Franks and therefore France. They were lethal axes which were thrown in battle and almost impossible to defend against.



There was also an ancient bronze cuirass. It looks uncomfortable, but if it could protect chest cavities from being penetrated by a Francisca axe...any thoughts of personal comfort would become secondary.


Some of the larger weapons in the museum included canons. The one that impressed me the most was one that had the bizarre adornment of two pairs of lovers.


Here are two close ups of the lovers.


Love and war juxtaposed on a weapon. Amazing.




We also came across a case that included figurines depicting warriors through the ages. The attention to detail is wonderful. According to the description, these were made by Baron Fernand Vidal de Lery starting in 1888 and later ceded to Bernard Franck.

The first figure has the caption "Guerrier franc - Charlemagne 768"

The second is labeled as "Guerrier Carolingian 768."



They were definitely not mass produced toys such as ones made today by Playmobil.


After finishing with that museum, we visited Napoleon's tomb.

Here is the inside of the dome.



Here is his sarcophagus.

There are also incredibly large pillars of black marble encrusted with gold.

This ostentatious display of wealth was created after the French revolution. It was a bit too much for my liking.



After that, we found our way back to our hotel and rested before going out for dinner.

The events of that night will be the subject of another post as I think I have reached the maximum number of pictures for one Blogger post.



Linda

(edited on 3/20/13 to remove obsolete references and make this post a little more timeless)

Thursday morning at the Louvre, Part III

As I continue my travelogue about my recent trip to France, I would like to invite those joining this story in progress to read my previous posts here.

After seeing the Objets d'Arts and Art of Islam exhibits we had a little time to enjoy looking at beautiful art. What a concept!

I would have loved to have visited the Musée d'Orsay while in Paris because I love Impressionist paintings, but we had no time for that and none of that art was from the time of Charlemagne. Therefore, it remains on a list of things I still would like to visit "some day." So we had to make due with the Louvre. (I know, such a hardship.)

For those who have not been to the Louvre, it is massive. It would be impossible to see everything in a single day even if you simply walked past every item without stopping. If you did somehow traverse the entire monument in such a fashion, it certainly would not be pleasurable nor would you get any grasp of the importance of the exhibits you passed.

After looking over the map and seeing our choices, I chose to visit the Greek antiquities
and my husband chose Etruscan art. It is not a secret that I adore Greek mythology. For me those are the tales of my childhood. I preferred reading the heroic stories of Theseus, Perseus, and Bellerophon over Grimm's Fairy Tales or stories about princesses in tall towers.

My favorite of all the characters from Greek mythology was and is Athena. What is not to like about a deity tasked with the powers of wisdom and victory? I mean, why would anyone prefer Hestia the goddess of the hearth over Athena?

With that in mind, here are some photos of that excellent goddess.

Here I am standing in front of a statue of Athena which lost her arms over the years.
At least she still has her head.


Here is another statue of Athena which I prefer since it appears intact.


A close up on her serene looking face.


Here is a painting of her which looks Rubenesque to me. I do not think that I yet to come across a painting of Athena which I truly like. That medium for some reason makes her look too soft, even if she still holds weapons.



As we made our way through the Greek antiquities section we turned a corner and came upon a crowd of people busily snapping their cameras. It was as if we came across Paris Hilton and the paparazzi. I saw a statue from the side and said sarcastically, "What is it? The Venus de Milo?"

Turns out, it was. We did not take a picture of it, but in retrospect I wish we had. If only to demonstrate the insanity of trying to take a picture of an object with at least one hundred people in your way.

One thing that surprised me about the Venus de Milo was that when I looked at the statue from the side (or the angle of her left shoulder), it appeared there was a large hole. It reminded me of hollow chocolate bunnies. I wish I had taken a picture of that, but the swarms of people made me want to move forward quickly.

Edited to add: I found an image on the web someone took of the statue showing the left arm at an angle and you can see what kind of looks like a hole.

I have never been a fan of the Venus de Milo, so I had no real emotional pull to want to stand in front of it properly and drink in its beauty. Nope. That statue does nothing for me.

Then again, I never have been a fan of Aphrodite. Even seeing the world famous statue in person did not change my mind.

Neither did seeing the Winged Nike of Samothrace, a statue that my Humanities professor at Michigan State emphasized.

The Nike of Samothrace was placed in a prominent area near stairways and it was hard to miss. I have never cared for that statue. Perhaps if it was not decapitated, and I was able to see the look of triumph or determination or righteous indignation then I would feel differently.

Seeing Nike of Samothrace in person did not change my mind. I found it technically brilliant, but was unmoved.

Personally I prefer this statue of Artemis to either Nike of Samothrace or the Venus de Milo. The statue is complete and shows the same beautiful flow of garments to denote movement, et cetera. Perhaps it is simply showing a strong woman in action that pleases me.



Now onward to some Etruscan art. I believe this was a sarcophagus.



Then comes pottery with mythological imagery. Check out the griffins pulling the chariot.


Here is another view closer up. You can see that some of the winged creatures have the heads of eagles, while others have the heads and manes of lions.



Here is another view which does not have the same heroic appeal. This one appears to have a drunken satyr. If he is not a satyr, then the man is exceedingly hirsute and still requires the assistance of two grown men.




On another vase we find the iconography of Athena, the helmet, the spear, and the gorgon's head. This time she is accompanied by her owl.


After viewing the Etruscan art we felt obligated to see the Mona Lisa before leaving. We did not have the time to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, nor the Champs-Elysées while in Paris, so we felt we had to at least see the Mona Lisa since we were at the Louvre.

As we walked through a gallery of Italian paintings, I became excited when I recognized a painting. Not because I particularly liked it, but I was able to dredge up dormant trivia from my mind placed there by my Humanities professor years before.

I pointed at the painting and announced its artist with confidence. Then lo and behold, I was right. Huzzah!

See if you can recognize who painted this before scrolling downward.




Yes, it is "Madonna and Child Enthroned" by none other than.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Cimabue.

That is right, Cimabue. (Pronounced CHEEM ah boo-ee).

Not the most famous of artists, in fact I doubt that he would make many top ten lists for favorite artists of anyone. I was happy to be able to not only resuscitate his name from my memory banks, but I dusted off the terms contrapposto and chiaruscuro that day as well.

I was happy when another tourist took a picture of that painting after we did. It was as if our actions inspired someone else to take another look to an important but most likely under-appreciated piece of art.

As we walked through the gallery, Scott found a painting that reminded him of the artwork of contemporary artist Alex Grey.


Unfortunately, we do not have the artist's name, but here is a close up of the image in the far right of the painting.


Fantastic.


We did see the Mona Lisa, but there were at least three hundred other people and cameras in front of it. I thought of a television commercial that ran when we lived in Southern California.

A squirrel eating a nut was shown in the foreground and then the camera pulled back to reveal fifty people taking a picture of the squirrel.

Chicka, chicka, chicka went the sound of the cameras.

The commercial decried the lack of solitude in the sea of humanity that is Southern California and invited people to take off to the mountains to avoid the crowds, or some such thing.

We walked by the Mona Lisa, got an idea of its true size and dimension and laughed as we said, "chicka, chicka, chicka."

It would have been impossible to get a good picture of the most famous painting in the world given the sheer number of people surrounding it. Anyone wanting a good image of Leonardo's masterpiece would be served by buying a post card in the gift shop than to use their own camera in order to get a picture of it obscured with heads, elbows and cameras.

Ah, but here is a large painting by Montauban's native son Ingres. More about him when I detail our trip to Montauban.



And, even though we were a wing with paintings, there were still statues to be found. Here is another statue of Athena. Her hands look like they had been grasping a spear and a shield, but have been lost over the years.





At that point, we were ready for lunch and take the Metro for the first time.

Linda