Random Lovely Stuff

And early work by Courbet, still strongly influenced by the Romantic style. There’s debate as to whether this is a reflection of genuine emotion or an academic exercise (as Romantic portraiture stressed emotional expression).

Maybe just me, but I have a fondness for pictures that include evidence of the work that goes into maintaining beautiful spaces, so I like the stepladder leaning on the building after someone has fixed the awning

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Les Canotiers (1875)

It looks like he’s celebrating the arrival of spring :)

Odette, Paris 5ème arrondissement

Marc Chagall, Windows in the Eastern Choir, (1978-79) Saint Stephen’s Church, Mainz, Germany

Wien Museum, Vienna, Austria

Henry Cowell redwood state forest, Felton CA

Paris’s oldest church, originally founded in 538. The original church was destroyed by Vikings in the 9th century, and the church as it stands today was completed in 1014, rebuilt on the same footprint as the original.

On loan from in the Maurits Collection, Italy

Trésor du Roi Soleil, Grand Palais, Paris

This beauty is part of a large, monumental series of paintings of public gardens, and can currently be found on the second floor of the Orsay, on the right hand side

Nouvelle acquisition, Musée d’Orsay

Sadly this is no longer a purveyor of chocolates and sugared almonds but a kitchen supply store

Sacré Cœur from the Orsay clock, misty winter morning

Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France