must-see exhibitions

[chicchantal]

Any of these on in the second half of July? I'll go round the Pompidou and the Picasso gallery, but is there anything specific I shouldn't miss?

[GitteK]

Just browsed through latest (electronical) copy of Pariscope (which you can subscribe to for as little as about 40 centimes per week).

Here are some of the more speshul treats:

Montmartre Museum, Rue Cortot. Closed Mondays
"L'Absinthe, la fée verte à Montmartre - Montmartre s'affiche", until 31 August.
This exhibition allows you to follow the history of this popular liquor, the consumption of which even surpassed that of wine at the end of the 19th century, it's influence on the artists and the society of the period until it was prohibited, due to the serious addiction it caused.
www.museedemontmartre.fr/

Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Salle Saint-Jean. Closed Sundays. "
"Les Années Grace Kelly, Princesse de Monaco", until 16 August.
A hommage exhibition which leafs through an album of photos signed by the greatest masters of photography (Howell, Conant, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn) and which discloses the correspondance which Grace Kelly had with her friends in Hollywood and the big celebrities of the world (Jackie Kennedy, Alfred Hitchcock, la Callas, Cary Grant). On exhibition is also personal items, some of her wardrobe and dresses, jewellery and a number of fashion accessoires.
Click on this link: Grace Kelly exhibition

Château de Versailles
Karl Lagerfeld, "Versailles à l'ombre du soleil", until 7 September, closed Mondays.
The Château of Versailles presents a selection of photographs by Karl Lagerfeld offering an original perspective, between shadow and light, on the exceptional heritage of the Château and gardens of Versailles.

In 1987, Karl Lagerfeld decided to go behind the camera to create his own advertising campaigns. The resulting photographs were published in all the top fashion magazines and seen all around the world. The exhibition entitled "Versailles à l’ombre du soleil" (Versailles in the shadow of the sun) reminds us that his talent as a photographer is not limited to the world of fashion. His approach is guided by instinct and by images that excite his eye. Spontaneity and chance have a key role. So why choose Versailles as a backdrop? For Karl Lagerfeld, this important location inspires creation, like "the real incarnation of a fairy tale, a world that actually existed but that speaks to our imagination".
Here the photographer proposes an offbeat and personal vision of Versailles, with a cinematographic style in which light and perspectives plunge us into an extraordinary and almost unreal world. Karl Lagerfeld and Jean-Jacques Aillagon have chosen 40 black and white photographs developed on vellum paper, which are on display in the Apartments of Madame de Maintenon. Karl Lagerfeld's photos have been mounted on light grey fabric, without frames or glass, simply hung on the wall so that the public can appreciate the effect of the material, the grain of the paper, etc. These photos, which have undergone a special photographic treatment, underline the importance that the photographer attaches to contrasts. The old style of printing gives the photographs a completely original aspect. "Paper is my favourite material in the world. For me it is also the starting point for all creativity. In photography, it is what crowns the end result" (Karl Lagerfeld).
www.chateauversailles.fr/en/0_Karl_Lagerfeld.php

[chicchantal]

Thank you! the green fairy is definitely one for me. I keep meaning to try some. You can buy it in the UK because it was neve popular enough to get banned.

[GitteK]

Just thought that some of you might like to subscribe to Pariscope's electronical version too. It's next to free-of-charge (40 centimes per week) and it really gives you a BIG FAT Paris fix to be in the know of what is going on in our beloved Ville Lumière.

Click here SUBSCRIBE TO PARISCOPE