The day started with free invitations to the annual Salon des Seniors, which last year was kind of fun. Free samples, demonstrations, useful information. This year, it was all very “old.” Endless stands for hearing aids, bathroom do-overs, magical herbal supplements, and end-of-life solutions for cashing in now on your real estate (shudder). And the lunch at the convention center was miserable and over-priced, too. I was quickly asking myself why I was even there, and grinned when I remembered wonderful Lily Tomlin’s line about her first day of Kindergarden: “What did I ever have in common anyway, with a bunch of five-year-olds?” Exactly, Lily, thanks for the reminder: I don’t belong here looking at walkers and assisted living addresses!
At one o’clock that sunny day there was still plenty of time to grab the subway for a sudden inspiration: to view the restored wall-paintings in Saint-Sulpice Church (part of the extended celebration of Eugène Delacroix I saw recently at the Louvre)! Approaching the destination, as we meandered around the 6th arrondissement, it became clear we were two steps from the Luxembourg Palace, where the prestigious Tintoretto exhibit is now showing. That was not to be missed, and besides, the crowds were still thin and it was easy to get in and be face to face with the Venetian master. This would in fact do the trick: the portraits, including his wonderful auto-portrait, are exceptional, and his late group compositions are marvels of Renaissance style. They are of course renewed and brought back to their colorful best, and well-lit, too. Lent from around the world, even from the Queen’s private collection and certain unnamed private donors, so never seen elsewhere. Now, after this submersion in the beauty of Venice, Saint-Sulpice was just around the corner. If the interior of that church can seem somewhat somber, with such bright and joyous daylight this was indeed the time to view these delicate shades and hues, so different from Delacroix’s other work. The chapel, comprising two enormous murals and the ceiling as well, is simply breathtaking, perhaps his masterpiece. The compelling colors bring to mind Monet and even Van Gogh, decades later. And how the subjects seem to circulate or even float away from the surface!
To prolong the joy, and discovered just steps outside the great facade, I must recommend the finest “chocolaterie” to be imagined. True specialists in the art of chocolate, including all origins from Vietnam to Guatemala, I was served a brewed hot chocolate beverage (without milk) that can only be described as “life changing.” Time stood still for me as I savored – standing with one elbow posed on the little counter from another time, another world – holding the cup of the fragrant elixir, with a perfect little slice of cake citron maison. The unpretentious but stylish store, at 34 rue St-Sulpice, is called Chapon, after the master craftsman who runs it.
