Quai Branly Museum, Paris (still) - The 24th of April 2013

(...)

My Quai Branly Museum "adventure" took me through various painting galleries as well and at one specific moment throughout the exhibition I felt I would spend the rest of my day there simply "travelling" ... 

Having had the privilege of having been given a book on Christian religious Art from Ethiopia by Christian following a trip of his to this country a few years back further led my curiosity to the gallery dedicated to it. The exhibition clearly exceeded the interest I had had then. There are no words to express the beauty of these late 17th and early 18th century representations on canvas, most of which taken from the Abba Antonios Church in the Gondar region. 

I was then drawn to two oil paintings from the Kabylia region in Algeria, which though utterly different from the previous ones in both theme and stylistic approach still caught my attention.

Odalisc with slave by Ange Tissier - 1860 (left). Young girl from Kabylia by Louise Canuet - 19th century French School (right).

My last moments in the Museum were spent strolling around a temporary painting exhibition by Paul Jacoulet in the upper floor, which was rather interesting, not only because it displayed the author's travelling experiences, most of which through the thirties to the fifties but also because it revealed his meticulous artistic approach and sensitivity to beauty.

Pengyong, Korea (right). Sado island, Japan (right).

 

China

West Caroline Islands paintings

 

The author's photo

I can't help including the photos of three artefacts that equally caught my attention for diverse reasons which go from my fascination for any type of paper work crafts to my attachment to Angolan Tchokwe statues as well as an intense curiosity to come across some of the Carnival dance manifestations represented here by the masks and costumes from the Oruro region of Peru.

 

1930-1960 paper idols "Alter-ego", Otomi population , San Pablito , Puebla, Mexico.

19th century  wooden statue of the Quibicolo region of Northern Angola (left). Carnival costumes from the Oruro region, Peru (right).

As I walked out after having briefly looked through the rather rich Museum Bookshop I came across the real painted-like image of the Eiffel Tower right in front of me, before heading off to Chatelêt to meet Marie Hélène so as for both of us to travel back to Athis Mons to collect the luggage we had left at the hotel and drive the short distance to Orly airport (hopefully) in time to catch our flight to Lima via Madrid.

 

It was only then that I realised I had had nothing since breakfast ...(it was almost four in the afternoon) ..., but I don't think anything would have "sustained" me better than this cultural meal, I suppose ...