Strasbourg
Back on the Rhine, the next stop was Kehl, in Germany. From there a bus journey took me over the border into France and the city of Strasbourg. This has to be seen to be believed. I can imagine looking up the word picturesque in the dictionary and see the name Strasbourg. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is stunning. The weather was glorious and made for some fantastic pictures of the houses with their distinctive black and white crisscross patterns along with others decked in colours of red and yellow, reflected in the canal waters, the dwellings decorated with arrays of multi-coloured flowers adding to the spectacle.
I’ve always admired clocks, and one of the most famous is housed in the Cathedrale Notre-Dame. It is the third clock in this location, completed in 1842 by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgue, with the previous ones dating from the 14th and 16th centuries. The clock displays astronomical detail, instruments depicting the position of the sun and the moon, a group of automatons who come to life when the clock activates, various sculptures and decorative features. There is a large planetary dial at the foot of the clock, a smaller, traditional clockface above that and then another large dial surrounded by signs of the zodiac. It’s colourful, highly intricate and towers eighteen meters (fifty-nine feet). As clocks go, it’s one of the best I’ve seen, and I could easily have spent longer there. I have some good photographs though. The cathedral itself is a sight in its own right and is everything you would expect from a construction of its era. The decoration inside and out is amazing, with the main entrance to the cathedral towering above those coming to visit. The level of craftmanship on display is overwhelming.
Next stop was the Musée D’art Moderne et Contemporain, the museum of modern art, which afforded me the opportunity to discover artists I knew little about. A number of the information plaques were in French only, so for the sake of completeness I will provide the French titles followed by the English where I can.
To get there meant crossing the Passage Georges Frankhauser who was an architect (1888-1968). You could walk the tunnel or climb some stairs and take the bridge on top and this gave fantastic views of the city.
The museum is a modern building, with a fair bit of glass and steel and contains some real treasures. I like to view the original painting whenever the opportunity comes up, but of course that’s not an everyday occurrence. I’m fortunate to be able to view paintings in Scotland on a regular basis, but those displayed abroad, means that books and websites are the options open to me. If interested, and for keeping my own record, I’ve listed paintings which I was particularly taken with during my visit, and I recommend searching for them online to see for yourself.
Gustave Dore was born in Strasbourg in 1832. His painting Le Christ quittant le pretoire 1867-1872 (Christ Leaving the Praetorium), is one of the biggest paintings I’ve seen. It was in its own hall, measures approximately 609 cm (20 ft) by 914 cm (30 ft), making it the largest of his religious paintings. It is considered the work of his life, and I can see why.
A highlight for me was Arman (Armand Fenandez) Homage to Cubism (Hommage au Cubisme) 1974. Accumulation de guitares decoupees. This consisted of a tall box with a glass front and inside were broken up pieces of acoustic guitars. It’s the unexpected aspect of modern art that I enjoy, and this piece delivered on taking me by surprise.
I was intrigued to see Rene Magritte, Madame Recamier de David (1967). This is a bronze sculpture, that recreates his own painting that was based on a portrait by Jacques-Louis David from 1800. In the painting Magritte substitutes a coffin for the sitter (Madame Recamier) the wife of a Parisian banker, while keeping the same colours and detailed brushwork, including the daybed, footstool and lamp. The bronze piece replicates this. I haven’t seen the original painting by Magritte which has the full title of Perspective: Madame Recamier de David (1951). At the time of writing, an internet search produces a page from the National Gallery of Canada featuring the original along with an image of the Jacques-Louise David painting it was based on. Magritte’s ‘Perspective’ series features a number of works, exploring themes of life and mortality by the surreal juxtaposition of a coffin in place of the figures.
Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp, (better known as Jean Arp) was born in Strasbourg in 1886. He exhibited his first abstract collages in Zurich in 1915 and was a founder of the Dada movement there in 1916. He exhibited in the Berlin Dada exhibition of 1920. Aside from his painting ‘Dance’ from 1925, there was a separate exhibition of his work. Soleil Recercle (1966) is a woodcut with a coloured design/painting each with a poem alongside. I believe there was seventeen of these on display.
Other highlights included Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme (1926); Femme a la guitare (1924); Personnage cueillant des fleurs (1958).
I didn’t know anything about Vassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), but was intrigued to see his work. His Manquettes pour le Salon de musique realise pour l’expositiond’architecture allemande de Berlin (1931) consisted of three drawings featuring numerous geometric shapes shaded with different colours. I thought these were marvellous. I was intrigued to see a specific exhibition of his work on show here. The Music Room Ceramic decoration for the Deutsche Bauausstellung in Berlin in 1931 was on display along with a Replica of the Artcurial gallery, from Paris 1975. There was even a grand piano included within the exhibition space. Another piece was Drei Elemente (1925) Three Elements. This again featured geometric shapes along with others that were less regimented and more free flowing.
Other paintings I enjoyed included, Max Ernst, A l’interleur de la vue (1929). Deux jeunes filles nues (1926). Apres moi le sommell (1958).
Camille Pissarro, La Petite Fabrique 1862-65 (The Little Factory). Claude Monet, Champ d’avoine aux coquelicots 1890 (Field of oats with poppies). Rene Magritte, Souvenir de voyage (1926). Andre Masson, Chevaux attaques par des poisons (1932).
The day was finished off by a lightning visit to L’eglise Saint-Thomas (St Thomas’ Church) as it was on the way and there was a little time in hand. Not on such a grand scale as the Cathedral, but still good to see. From there it was back to the square known as Place Gutenberg. Dating back to the 13th century, it contains a mix of architectural styles, from Renaissance to Baroque. As a writer I was excited to be there. In the middle stands a statue of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. The square is also home to the Strasbourg National Library. There is also the impressive Gothic-style Maison Kammerzell. Dating back to the 15th century, this building has intricate carvings, stained glass windows, and a stunning timber-framed facade. I was so impressed with Strasbourg and would revisit in future.
The Fiction Factory 