Nice! (France, that is)

October 8, 2024|Rick Juliusson

Noah and the Rainbow: "an ellipse which underlines the first alliance between God and men: the curve of the rainbow corresponds to that of the body of Noah sleeping. The angel, manifestation of the divine Word, is white like the rainbow (Chagall shows here that he is not unaware of the theories of color that make white the sum of all colors). He announces the happiness promised by this alliance, visible in the upper part of the painting, but also, in the lower part, the misfortunes of the Jews, described in the Bible by the prophets and actually experienced throughout history."

When you get invited to Diana Ross' 170th birthday party in a swanky boutique hotel overlooking the French Riviera, the only possible answer is Yes!

My mother Diana turned 80, and her foxy beau Ross turned 90, so they brought us, my brother and Ross' granddaughter to Nice for a week of luxury, food, a wee bit of culture, and a lot of sitting on the balcony watching the world, waves, and the women's World Ironman competition go by.

Sandwiched between the rigors of a one-week Italian bike trip and the upcoming month-long Camino hike, a beachfront food excess nap-filled respite is just what the doctor ordered. And in the midst of extended worldwide travel, a week of family time and celebrating this beautiful young-at-heart couple is just what the heart ordered. Thanks Mom!

We walked an hour to this beautiful beach

After 90 + 80 years, they still dance in the street

Nice' beach is all stones, imported every year

Old town narrow market streets

"The Regina", just one of many regal old buildings

The amazing new library

I enjoyed a free orchestra concert near these Roman ruins

Marc Chagall National Museum

One highlight was the Marc Chagall National Museum. Specially designed by Chagall himself exclusively to present his "Biblical Message" body of work, the main room has twelve paintings illustrating Genesis and Exodus, then five paintings evoking the Song of Songs in a neighbouring hexagonal room.

Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise: "The composition, firmly articulated on the horizontal of the river that crosses the Garden of Eden and the vertical of the tree of light on the left, is also balanced by the distribution of the colored masses on the green background. Chagall stages a Paradise upset by the Fault: birds with goat heads fly away, others have their heads down, joined by winged fish coming out of the river."

Noah and the Rainbow: "an ellipse which underlines the first alliance between God and men: the curve of the rainbow corresponds to that of the body of Noah sleeping. The angel, manifestation of the divine Word, is white like the rainbow (Chagall shows here that he is not unaware of the theories of color that make white the sum of all colors). He announces the happiness promised by this alliance, visible in the upper part of the painting, but also, in the lower part, the misfortunes of the Jews, described in the Bible by the prophets and actually experienced throughout history."

Song of Solomon V: "In a sky crowded with dancing figures, there is a brightly colored sun in the shape of a Star of David. It dominates the left side of the canvas. Its long purple silhouette is surmounted by a bird's head because its song evokes that of birds and angels. It advances in the sky towards a bride surrounded by flowers and fruits, promises of descendants."

Song of Songs III: "The composition, built on three large round shapes that obviously evoke breasts and a woman's belly, is also cut in two by a horizon line that delimits two very distinct parts. Chagall seems to have wanted to tell his story in this painting: the representation of Jerusalem, in the center, is double: at the top, the city resembles the vision of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, with its ramparts. At the bottom and upside down, it is indeed Vitebsk, recognizable by the sanctuary with the green roof that surmounts it. The entire lower part of the painting, upside down, thus evokes the artist's youth: the wandering Jew, carrying his bag on his shoulder, speaks of his exiles, the couple entwined along the lower edge, it is the one he formed with Bella, now lying underground. The upper part would then be a hymn to his new life in the South of France, and the married couple under the canopy recalls his second marriage with Vava, to whom the cycle is dedicated."

Monaco

We popped up to Monaco one day because, well, (1) it's only an hour train ride away, (2) a chance to get another country's passport stamp (though these days there's no stamps or even border controls between all the European countries), and (3) I get a perverse pleasure from immersing myself in settings of uber indulgence and excess where I can indulge in excessive self-righteous judgement (while conveniently ignoring the fact that I'm staying in a beachfront property just a few bays down the road).

In that, Monaco did not disappoint. Behemoth yachts littered the harbour. Ferari and Lambo car dealerships dominated the streets, and villas stretched as far up the hill as the eye could see. We figured we wouldn't meet the dress code at the Monte Carlo Casino, so opted for a long hike up to the impressive old fort on the edge of town (never did find the elevator) before a gorgeous bus ride home along the Mediterranean coast.