Friday

Friday. Again. Time flies. Madame had chef classes. I wanted to see the Le Corbusier house, la Roche again. My first visit a few years ago was impressive. My interest in architecture has since deepened so I went to see this iconic building again.

Second time around was much easier to find. This tum the exterior impressed me as well. I could see the incredible advance his vision meant for architecture. There are some points that stand out immediately. The structure is lifted of the ground to make more space. One can move under the building, even here with a small awkward plot. It increases garden space and give an open feeling of space.

 

With pillars carrying the weight of the building he could free walls for what he called ribbons of light, strips of windows running the whole length of a wall. This makes interior spaces light and airy. He uses lots if double volume space as well that increases the feeling of free space. Space flows from one living area into another. Since they are not all on the same level there is still privacy everywhere.

He built the house for an art collector so wall spaces are ideal for that purpose.

Look at this photo of a contemporary car to put his progressive thinking in perspective.

My next stop was museum Mamortane. It is dedicated to the art of Manet but houses an eclectic collection. The Monets impressed me, especially the later works where he worked more freely. The paintings are symphonies of color and brush marks on canvas. Almost abstract.

 

Part of the building is dedicated to an exhibition of gothic illuminated manuscripts. Really beautifully crafted art miracles.

I missed an incredible chance tonight. If you go to the Theatre Champs Elysees an hour before a show you can get a seat with limited view or no view of the stage for 5 euro. Tonight was a production of LA Clemenza due Tito by Mozart. I do not know the music and thought that it might not be worth while if it is little known music. I watched the whole video on You Tube. The story is absurd like most operas, but the music is beautiful. It was written with roles for castrati,now sung by sopranos. I posted a video. Can you see why it is performed seldom?

 

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