This exhibition is part of a major “Euro-regional” programme run by the Nord- Pas de Calais Association of Museum Curators, entitled “Dessiner-Tracer” (Draw-Trace), which brings together 28 museums around the theme of drawing, amongst which the institutions of Picardie and Belgium.

This exhibition brings together for the first time the brush-drawn work of Matisse from the first brush drawings made with Albert Marquet in the streets of Paris in 1900 up until their final realisation in the Chapel of Vence where Matisse was to find harmony between the monumental drawings and “raw” cut-out colours of the stained glass.

A section of the exhibition will be devoted to the calligraphy of Matisse in parallel with that of the Chinese.

punctuation 3 | inks, drawings from FRAC Picardie

punctuation 3 | inks is an exhibition of the Fonds régional d’art contemporain de Picardie (Picardie Regional Collection of Contemporary Art), within the framework of Dessiner-Tracer, and for which the drawings of Pierre Alechinsky, Silvia Bächli, Oscar Munoz and Giuseppe Penone are brought together to conjure up the body and plants in the fluidity of ink.

H. Matisse, Nu debout, fougère noire (Standing nude, black fern) 1948, Indian ink on paper, 174.5 x 151.5 cm

Musée National d’art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, © Photo RMN, © H. Matisse Estate

www.heymann-renoult.com

With the new France Rail Pass Premium you’ll enjoy first-class train travel throughout the national rail network of France plus the benefits of a private concierge service to vacation in comfort, style, and elegance.

Book a France Rail Pass Premium now and save $75 – But hurry this offer ends July 5th, 2011.

During checkout, enter coupon code PREMIUM75 on our Delivery page where indicated. One code per booking may be applied. Offer is limited to the first 300 bookings made with Rail Europe, Inc. by or before 11:59pm ET on July 5, 2011.

http://www.raileurope.ca/rail-tickets-passes/france-rail-pass-premium/discounts-and-pricing.html

“I would work tirelessly (…) with the will to achieve something new and create something that has never before been seen.” René Lalique

RENE LALIQUE (1860-1945)

A jeweller of exceptional gifts and an immense master glassmaker, René Lalique is one of the great artists of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. For 90 years, Lalique creations have been produced at Wingen-sur-Moder in Alsace. It is in this region, with its great glassmaking tradition, that the Musée Lalique is to open, a place to celebrate the memory of the artist and his heirs, worthy of their genius and influence.

Revolutionary Artist

Renowned Belle Epoque Jeweller

A favourite of Sarah Bernhardt

Admired by Gallé

René Lalique arouses extraordinary devotion throughout the world

Nicknamed the “Rodin of the transparent” by Maurice Rostand, Lalique was able to create timeless, graceful art with resounding success

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Musée Lalique

Rue de Hochberg F-67 290 Wingen-sur Moder – Tel. +33 (0)3 88 89 08 14

Opening hours

From 2 July to 30 September 2011: every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

From 1 October 2011 to 31 March 2012: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The museum is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. during school holidays

Prices

€6 – €3 – Family Pass €14 (2 adults and 1 to 5 children under 18) – Annual Pass €15

www.heymann-renoult.com

- artistic creation (painting, drawing, sculpture, engraving and photography) and literature seen through the prism of the irrational and the obscure.

- the esoteric tradition reexamined by way of a vastly detailed chronological perspective which encompasses the founding texts and its printed iconography.

- the relationship between occult phenomena and science through the evocation of scholars and experimentation in addition to a presentation of scientific instruments.

An assemblage of nearly 500 works, 150 scientific objects, 150 books and approximately one hundred documents from 25 European countries, L’Europe des Esprits will be on view at Strasbourg’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art spanning over 2,000 square meters.

Curated by: Serge Fauchereau / Art Historian & Joëlle Pijaudier-Cabot / Curator in charge of national héritage – Director of the Museums of Strasbourg.

A catalog of the exhibition published by the Museums of Strasbourg

L’Europe des Esprits ou la fascination de l’occulte 1750-1950

ISBN: 978-2-35125-092-1, approximately 450 pages

Contributions by Daniel Bornemann, Heloïse Conesa, Antonio Bonnet Corres, Osvaldas Daugelis, Michel Draguet, Serge Fauchereau, Savine Faupin, Marie-Jeanne Geyer, Olle Granath, Anny-Claire Haus, Annie Le Brun, Daniel Payot, Laurence Perry, Lucienne Peiry, Estelle Pietrzyk, Joëlle Pijaudier-Cabot, Roland Recht, Sébastien Soubiran, Christoph Wagner, Marie-Dominique Wandhammer

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg

1 place Hans-Jean Arp

67 000 Strasbourg – France

(+33) 03 88 23 31 31

www.musees.strasbourg.eu

But did they really want to LIVE there for the rest of their lives?

In trying to answer that question they set aside part of their next French holiday to drive to villages where they thought they might like to live, and ended up rejecting one after the other. In the course of this research they came to the conclusion that year-round village life was not for them and quickly agreed on the city of Aix-en-Provence.

A year later they took the plunge, left Washington for good, bought an apartment in the old center of Aix, and started living like the locals. It turned out to be the right choice for these former Washingtonians who have since decided to make France their permanent home. Taking Root in Provence is their story.

This ‘warts-and-all’ account of life among the French offers us a close-up of the daily markets, strikes, gypsies, curious villagers, ancient traditions, truffle cheaters, pagan and religious celebrations, secret swimming spots in the middle of Marseilles, not to mention the French interest in food that borders on the obsessive. Add good weather, a pinch of hedonism, a dose of culture, and it all adds up to a tantalizing view of life’s most cherished and elusive prize: quality of life.

With warmth and humor Simons shares her joys and frustrations, her fun with the language and her lessons learned, giving us an insider’s view of a privileged place that, despite its contradictions, seems to hold the promise of a true life of quality. Is it possible to find that paradise is right here on earth?

Taking Root in Provence

Anne-Marie Simons

$15.95

208 pages trade paper

ISBN 978-0980217-57-5

Published by Distinction Press

Available at bookstores everywhere, online and off.

For more information visit www.takingrootinprovence.com

About the author:

Anne-Marie Simons took a journalism degree at San Francisco State in the late seventies. She was then hired by an English-language news magazine called To the Point International, with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a European office in Antwerp, Belgium. TPI also owned a car magazine called SA Motor. She worked at the Antwerp office

for the news magazine and also covered the Formula One races in Europe for SA Motor. She worked as a translator, teacher, journalist, sportswriter and as director of corporate communications. Her husband left a career in international development banking to become an expert on Provençal cooking and other local pleasures. His recipes are featured.

What People Are Saying

“Marvelous! All personal, everyday, lived experience, love and exasperation in equal parts, taking us to the heart of Provence and making us locals too. The deep research and erudition are concealed by a surface as light as an airy Îles Flottantes. The book has a wonderfully chatty quality, carrying us along as in the wake of an original and uniquely privileged native. We hurry behind, gazing to right and left so as not to miss a single moment of vivid experience. This is a rich little gem”.

Maureen O’Brien, writer and actress

“Brilliant!”

Robin Hawdon, playwright and novelist

“A great book about life, culture and cuisine in southern France”

Tom Reeves, author of Paris Insights

The small town currently attracts many tourists curious about the places where the famous painters worked. Except for Paul Gauguin, the main attractions are Emile Bernard or Paul Serusier who created the ‘Pont-Aven School’ at the end of 19th century.

According to Novinky.cz, Gauguin lived there in 1886 before he left for Tahiti in 1888. The beauty of the place drew a lot of painters there. They found their inspiration in local stone buildings as well as wonderful nature. Nowadays, the works of long deceased artists are one of the main attractions of Brittany. There are approximately fifty private galleries. Moreover, during the peak season the town is full of flowers, especially hortensias. There used to be about fourteen watermills on the Aven River too. However, at present a tourist can hear sound of only one mill wheel.

A stone toilet just above the surface of the river is a remarkable piece of achitecture. The public toilet is undisputedly one of the most photographed buildings in Pont Aven. If a tourist walks about one kilometer up the stream they will find Bois D´Amour, which means ‘the woods of love’ in English. It is also a favourite place where the painters often worked. A short walk will take a curious tourist to the chapel Tremalo where they can see the wooden statue of Christ that was the inspiration for the famous Yellow Christ painting by Gauguin.

Those who are interested in more worldly pleasures can taste delicious pancakes as well as butter biscuits. They are popular presents as they are sold in nice gift boxes. Fish, chicken or other tasty meals are a good choice for hungry visitors too.

www.tourism-review.com

Optional master classes and excursions ranging from a full day of bread making in Dijon to golf at Chateau de Chailly, an 18-hole golf course set in the rolling countryside, help guests to personalize the itinerary. Prices for the seven-day holiday range from 1,895€ ($2,653)* to 2,300€ ($3,220) per person, double.

Host Katherine Frelon, whose litany of assignments includes cooking for a member of the royal family, provides fascinating hands-on cooking demonstrations incorporating fresh summer ingredients – including mushrooms, wild asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes – from her own garden as well as the local market. When not in the kitchen, guests enjoy insider access to the magnificent Abbey of Fontenay, exclusive wine tastings at some of the most renowned vineyards of the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, a privately guided tour of the opulent Hospice de Beaune, and lunch at Michelin-starred Le Charlemagne. There are tours of the Vineyard of Flavigny, the town which hosted the filming of Chocolat; dinner at the three Michelin-starred restaurant Bernard Loiseau; visits to the colorful markets of Dijon; and trips to the medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois and the charming Chateauneuf-en-Auxois. A demonstration and tasting at the local chocolatier, and a visit to a local cheese maker, are two delicious additions recently added to the impressive itinerary.

An array of additional excursions and master classes are available to help personalize the itinerary to the individual needs to each guest, with prices starting at 35€ ($49). Options include a cycling tour through the Burgundy countryside, complete with a gourmet picnic and experienced cycling guides; a hot air balloon ride accompanied by a bottle of champagne; and a cooking demonstration with award-winning chef Laurent Peugeot at Michelin-starred Le Charlemagne.

Rates for the holiday include accommodation; all meals prepared on the property; culinary instruction and ingredients; transfers to and from the Montbard train station; attractions specified in the itinerary; meals from set menus designed with seasonal ingredients by the head chef at both Michelin restaurants, complimented with wines especially selected by the sommelier; and a complimentary cookbook from chef and host Katherine Frelon.

La Ferme de la Lochere is a 400-year-old private estate in the heart of Burgundy, conveniently located four hours from London and one hour from Paris by train, and meticulously restored to reflect the rich history of the area while providing guests with modern amenities. The property includes several charming courtyards, an extensive library, mezzanine lounge area, heated swimming pool, a spacious state-of-the-art kitchen and five individually-designed, airy bedrooms with gorgeous views of the mountains and vineyards – each with private bath, fresh flowers, L’Occitane products and wifi. Each luxurious itinerary is complemented by free time for guests to lunch on the rolling hillsides, bike along the Canal de Bourgogne, stroll through the scenic countryside, shop in the unique towns – and much more.

Frelon’s Fabulous France provides tailor-made, luxury vacations in Burgundy from April through October. Information, brochures and reservations can be obtained from Frelon’s Fabulous France, 6 Rue de la Lochere, 21150 Marigny le Cahouet, France; +33 672 865 609; or, visit www.Frelonsfabulousfrance.com

With more than 550 pieces exhibited over 900m2, the museum presents the many facets of Lalique’s work and, in a resolutely modern setting, displays drawings, jewellery, perfume bottles, tableware, lights, vases…

RENÉ LALIQUE (1860 – 1945)

René Lalique was one of the most audacious artist decorators of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He opened his first business in Paris in 1885. He was very quickly acknowledged to be one of the most important designers of Art Nouveau jewellery in France. He worked tirelessly, drawing, modelling, exploring nature and studying the female form to produce studies and sketches of all kinds. His obsession: “to create something that has never before been seen”.

In his revolutionary works of art, he resorted to materials little used until that time, such as horn, ivory and semi-precious stones. An avant-garde jeweller, Lalique then put his expertise to the service of perfume alongside François Coty, a way to perpetuate the tradition of Art Nouveau, which attempted to reconcile Art and Industry.

Increasingly and until the end of his life, he devoted himself exclusively to glass – in which he was the undisputed master of controlling the effects of transparency and reflection. An eclectic artist, he also signed mascots for the automobiles of the Jazz Age and decorated the carriages of the Orient Express and the dining room on the ocean liner, the Normandie…

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Photo: Vase Bacchantes – 1927 © Lalique SA

“This is a modern re-creation of the epic and grueling 1908 New York to Paris Race,” explains Douglas Grimes, MIR Founder and President. “Not since then has such a monumental overland journey been attempted.”

Participants can sign up a team consisting of driver and navigator for the entire journey from New York to Paris, or enter just the U.S. portion or just the international leg from Beijing to Paris separately. An individual can participate as a passenger in one of a few spots available in a support vehicle.

If driving the Beijing to Paris segment, participants would ship and then meet their cars in Beijing with time to visit the classic sites of Beijing while the cars are clearing customs. Comfortable hotel rooms wait ahead across China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Europe, with race support vehicles following along. From Beijing all the way to Paris, the World Race 2011 Tour Operator MIR Corporation takes care of the details.

Following is a snapshot of the Beijing to Paris tour:

Days 1-20: China

The longest driving day is only 350 miles, with extra time built in to appreciate the sights of Xi’an, home of the Terra Cotta Warriors; Lanzhou and Dunhuang along the ancient Silk Road; and Urumqi, where nomads of Mongolian, Kazakh and Uighur extraction have roamed for thousands of years.

Days 21-27: Kazakhstan

Land-locked Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country. Stops include Almaty, the country’s largest and most cosmopolitan city; Lake Balkhash, one of the largest lakes in Asia; and the capital-by-decree, Astana, surrounded by the windy steppe of north central Kazakhstan.

Days 28-38: Russia

Russia is accessed at the western end of Siberia where the roads are more frequented than along the country’s midsection. Stops include Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains where the last czar met his end; Izhevsk, capital of the Republic of Udmurtia; Kazan, a beautiful Tatar city on the Volga River; and Nizhny Novgorod, Maxim Gorky’s hometown. In Moscow, capital of all Russia, visit Red Square and the mighty Kremlin.

Days 39-49: Europe

This is a Grand Tour through Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland and finally France. Most of these driving days are short, giving time to admire the landscapes beyond the motorways, as well as the art, architecture and ambience of Old Europe. The finish line is in Paris with a farewell dinner celebration.

The land tour cost for a driver and navigator is $26,695 per person twin/double (single supplement $4,350). To travel as a passenger in a support vehicle for a leg of the journey, per person rates start at $5,895. The Beijing to Paris leg departs the U.S. on June 3 and concludes in Paris on July 23.

MIR Corporation, www.mircorp.com is a tour operator celebrating 25 years of logistical experience in the region. Contact MIR or visit http://www.world-race.net for the details.

About MIR Corporation

MIR Corporation, whose name means “peace” and “world” in Russian, has been specialized in Russia (and neighboring countries) since 1986. Offering scheduled and custom journeys to Russia, along the Trans-Siberian and across the Silk Route, MIR’s Seattle-based experts design imaginative trips that take travelers far from the familiar and work closely with local affiliates in Western Russia, Siberia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan to carry them out. MIR has twice been named one of National Geographic Adventure’s “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth,” and is a preferred operator for museum, alumni and special interest organizations across the country.

The Musée du Luxembourg was the first French museum to be open to the public in 1750; since then, the museum has become a leading exhibition space for masterpieces from artists such as Gauguin, Matisse and Botticelli.

To celebrate the reopening of the museum, they are currently exhibiting Cranach and his Time until May 23. Through a display of 75 works by celebrated German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach, a prominent figure in the 16th century who became famous for his portraits of female figures, visitors are invited to uncover an artist whose work has not recently been showcased in France. The exhibit aims to situate Cranach’s work within society, art history, and religion, as well as demonstrate his influence on future artists.

Different sections of the exhibition are devoted to themes such as the artist’s travels, his paintings of nudes, his ties with politics and religion, and his influence on his contemporaries. To accompany the exhibit, iPad owners can download an e-album with visuals and video interviews, while iPhone users can download an app titled “Cranach, the visit,” which includes an audio guide of the exhibit. The museum will also be offering a selection of themed guided tours during the exhibition based on subjects ranging from religion to literature.

By this fall, the museum will unveil renovated spaces along with their exhibition Cezanne and Paris. The total work is estimated to cost 2 million euros, and will render two new spaces designed by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, the architects of the Centre Pompidou-Metz. The RMN-GP chose these architects for their high-quality work and inventive use of sustainable materials in their designs, such as creating furniture out of recycled paper tubes.

The new space will also feature new technical enhancements, such as improved security measures and easier ways to navigate the exhibition space. Also opening soon is a new café and tea salon, an educational workshop space, and a bookstore. There will also be space available to rent for private events held outside of museum hours.

www.museeduluxembourg.fr