Art de la table or table decorating

Has anybody noticed that many things in France become an art form?  I mean we have 'art de vivre', 'l'art d'´écrire' and now 'art de la table'.  Any dinner party in France will be an excuse to pull out all the stops as far as table decorating goes. So besides china, silverware and flowers you can pick a theme and  rush to one of my favorite places in Paris:  Point à la Ligne, where you will find the most fabulous and tasteful choice of candles and table decorations from classical to the most original.  I've added a picture from their catalogue along with some photos of beautiful crystal and silver swan salt cellars and 18th century style blue glass and silver salt cellars.  Get into party mode everyone!

Penmanship or l'art d'écrire

Trust me, I 'm the first person to advocate the speed, efficiency, immediate satisfaction of e-mailing, texting, messaging, in-boxing and so forth,   however there are moments when nothing beats writing with a  fountain pen in richly colored ink on smooth as satin paper (personally, my "lefty" handwriting takes on a more sophisticated appearance !).  One such occasion is the writing of what the French call the "lettre de château", this is a thank you letter you send to your hosts after a week-end in their country home (even when it is not a château!).   And, though I don't yet qualify as an antique,  I remember writing such letters when I was a teen!

Tea à la française!

You might not think that the French know much about tea...I am not talking about a tea bag in a mug with lashings of milk and sugar, no, I mean tea in a teapot with fine porcelain cups.  As I write I am sipping 'Nocturne Oriental' from Mariage Frères,  it is a green tea very delicately flavored with jasmine, rose and bergamot, it evokes the cool and soothing refinement of the inner courtyards of oriental palaces...Bliss, I tell you, throw in large silk cushions and the trickle of a fountain and we are there!

Link it!

This has been a very grey day.  I need to visit my own blog for a splash of color!  Aah, I feel better now!
Just a reminder: if you click on any of the photos marked French Cachet© photo, it will take you right to my site FrenchCachet.com to see more beautiful things! A bientôt.

Pure Beauty

After my last post titled 'animalier' in which I mentioned Bernard de Clavière, I have posted just a few pictures of his work.

'Animalier'

This French word usually refers to to 19th century artists who were known for their paintings of animals.  It can be also be applied to contemporary artists.  One such artist is the world famous Bernard de Clavière whose work is simply breathtakingly beautiful.  One of his paintings was offered by the French government to Queen Elisabeth.  Google his name or visit his website at bernarddeclaviere.net.

At FrenchCachet.com we represent French artist Diane Toury who does a lot of animal paintings, though not exclusively.  Her take on the subject is bold, modern and very fresh.  The animals depicted ooze character (as the 'Bouledogue Anglais' featured on this page), or are endearing, but they are never overly cute or 'saccharine sweet'.

 Juste rapidement en français:
A voir absolument le site de Bernard de Clavière, bernarddeclavère.net, un peintre animalier de renommée mondiale.  Des oeuvres à vous couper le souffle, tout simplement!

Chez FrenchCachet.com nous représentons Diane Toury dont les tableaux sont  un souffle de fraîcheur.  Ses sujets sont attachants sans pour autant devenir 'gnangnans' comme cela peut être parfois le cas avec les peintures animalières.

Bon, alors!

To date, 218 hits on  FrenchCachet.com (including some of my own for tweaks here and there!).

Allons, encore un petit effort...218 visites pour mon site!