Amor Victorious

'Love conquers all; let us all yield to
love':
Caravaggio, the painter of Amor Vincit
Omnia (love conquers all), illustrates
a line from Virgil's Eclogues X.69. In
his painting from 1601, a playful spirit
accompanies an acrobatic pose of a
nude, slender body. Embraced by black
eagle wings and radiating a vivid smile,
this Roman cupid is about to descend
from a pile of human endeavours: music,
science, war, and government. A
dramatic interplay of light and shadow
mingles with a photographic clarity of
the vigorous subject. Allegorical
symbols play an important role alongside
naturalistic details: from the crooked grin,
dirty feet, crimson cheeks and tousled
head of hair.
 

Caravaggio, 1601
Oil on Canvas
The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Role of Air

A mysterious inner space, embraced
by two slender right hands reflects
the suspense of emptiness:
This arrangement -- created by
Rodin in 1908 and assembled
from two different statues --
perfectly pictures the importance
of air in the sculptor's work. The
artist's passion and fondness for
these hands is being emphasized
by isolation while creating an
autonomous entity and generating
a throughout harmonious
atmosphere. Deep relaxation and
the release of tensions are being
evoked by focusing on the
sculpture's curves and structure of
surface. Visible toolmarks on the
stone underline the nature and
liveliness of human hands.

Foto: 'The Cathedral'

Musee Rodin
79 Rue de Varenne
75007 Paris

Karl's Vinyl Microcosm

This collectible vinyl statue,

immortalizing the designer
Karl Lagerfeld and his
beloved cat Mr. Choupette,
already enjoys exclusive
status in the cartoon and
fashion world: From
Antwerpen to Shanghai,
fashion victims and Karl
fanatics can get ahold of
these Tokidoki-designed,
cartoon-like figurines -- with
twistable head and diamond
embellishment -- in the
designer's boutique stores,
located in carefully selected
metropolises of the world. 

194 Boulevard Saint Germain

75007 Paris

A Cultural Arbiter

Igniting the inspiration of
cultural lights such as Marcel
Proust, Claude Monet, Pierre-
Auguste Renoir, Sergi Diaghilev,
Marcel Proust and Toulouse-
Lautrec, the trained pianist of
Polish descend, Maria Zofia
Olga Zenajda Godebska (1872 –
1950), was a cultural arbiter,
muse and talent magnet. While
hosting an artistic salon in Paris,
she was recognized as a much
revered top-dog, just like the
writer Paul Morand described
her as a "collector of geniuses,
all of them in love with her ...
You had to be gifted before
Misia wanted to know you."
Her Parisian all-star-team
consisted of the movers and
shakers of the artistic scene
and the upper echelons of
society in which the couturière
Coco Chanel played an
important part. It is said that
the two personalities
extraordinaire – after
experiencing an immediate
bond à la kindred souls –
lived an enduring and
profound association. Coco's
genius, fatal wit, sarcasm and
maniacal destructiveness –
which intrigued and also
appalled their mutual pals –
were characteristics that
impressed the socialite and
pianist.
Marcel Proust used Misia as
the prototype for diverse
characters of his romans,
Sergi Diaghilev involved her
in all creative aspects of the
Ballet Russes, and, while
being the muse and symbol of
La Revue blanche, she appeared
in advertising posters created
by Toulouse-Lautrec, Édouard
Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard.