A Visit with Marcel Proust at the Musée Carnavalet

Wednesday April 6 was another cloudy, cool and windy day with a high of 12C. We started our day by meeting our host, who came over with some light bulbs for the overhanging lamp that was missing a few bulbs and had others burned out. She was very nice and hadn't really known about the bulbs as often guests leave without reporting such things. She recently repainted and remodelled the small apartment and is keeping it for one of her children once the kid is old enough to go to university. She often rents to professors who come for a month to teach at one of the nearby universities.

We dropped by Loutsa to show the barista our Nanopressso. We had already had our morning coffees at the apartment.

Loutsa- outside

The demo

Making friends in Paris

These Teddys are everywhere (hopefully they won't all come alive at the same time and take over Paris)

We headed out and crossed the Seine at the different bridge.

Back of Notre Dame-- still a lot of work to be done

We walked up one of our favourite streets into the Marais, Rue du Pont Louis -Philippe.

More easter chocolate windows

We stopped at Yoroppa Gallerie, a wonderful jewellery, scarf and bag store. The windows are always amazing.

Outside the store--- (I took this picture on our walk back to the apartment after the store had closed)

Alain bought the small hand-embroidered coffee cup that he immediately started to wear

We continued to Rue des Rosiers (street of the rosebushes) in the Marais.

Turning down the street

We stopped at Sacha Finkelsztajn's store for some treats. The store has operated in this location since 1946. Sacha is usually at the till, but wasn't there. We think his son was there.

Sacha's place

The best poppyseed and apple cake (they also have wonderful prepared foods, bagels and sandwiches)

We then proceeded to the Carnavalet Museum, our main destination for the day.

The Carnavalet Museum (History Museum of Paris) is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Marcel Proust (1871-1922) with a fantastic exhibit entitled: Marcel Proust, un Roman Parisien (a Parisian Novel). The exhibition looks at the place of the city in Proust's work. The Museum had been closed from 2016-May 2021 for renovations. The last time we visited, the Museum had seem very tired and in rough shape. The upgrades, renovations and new displays are excellent.

Entering the Museum

Poster for exhibit

We were very lucky that we had purchased our tickets on- line as there was a sign that the exhibit had sold out for the day. The exhibit closes on Sunday, and our experience is that a lot of people go the last weekend of an exhibit.

We had to wait a few minutes to enter the exhibit in a room with wonderful signs from stores and neighbourhoods in Paris.

One of our favourite street signs-- Rue des Mauvais Garcons

The large scissors sign

Rue des boucheries

Finally, the exhibit.

The Exhibit is in two parts. The first part documents Proust's 52- year life chronologically, from his birth into a wealthy, French bourgeois family, to his formative years, and then his life as a bon vivant in Paris society, which was often plagued by poor health (he regularly suffered from bad asthma attacks), with photos, letters, drawings, paintings and objects.

Proust grew up with his parents and younger brother Robert in a spacious three-bedroom apartment on Boulevard Malesherbes, in the 17th arrondissement, near Place Madeleine. Prout intensely disliked this neighbourhood. The family later moved to the posher part of the 17th arrondissement near the Parc Monceau, then the wealthiest neighbourhood in Paris where families such as the Camondos and the Rothschilds lived.

In 1906, after both his parents died and his brother moved out to start his own family, Proust moved to a Haussmann style building at 102 boulevard Haussmann, just down the street from the Jacquemart Andre Museum. With a sizeable inheritance from his mother, Proust indulged in the hedonistic Belle Époque lifestyle frequenting private clubs, balls and the best restaurants and private salons in the city. His favourite haunts were the Opera Garnier, the Ritz Hotel (where he kept a permanent room), and a number of up-scale Cafés. During this period he wrote a number of books, culminating in his masterpiece, the seven volume In Search of Lost Time. He moved to the 16th arrondissement where he spent the last three years of his life, mostly in bed due to illness.

The second part of the exhibit covers the imagined world of La Belle Époque Paris in Proust's books, through paintings, artifacts, clothing and photos. Proust's bed which is on permanent display at the Carnavalet, is part of the exhibit along with a chaise lounge, his cane and fur-collared black overcoat. Part of the exhibit also addresses Proust's homosexuality, which was closeted at the time, which he ambiguously channels into some of his characters in his books.

It was a fantastic, comprehensive exhibit. The focus of his life in Paris, both real and imaginary was wonderful. There was a map with the places he lived, the places he frequented and places where his characters hung out. Beautifully displayed with wonderful paintings and artifacts.

Siebe Johannes ten Cate (1858-1908) Les Ruines des Tuileries et la place du Carrousel, 1883
The Tuileries, the residence of Emperor Napoleon III between 1852-1870 was burned down
by the communards (during the Paris Commune) on May 23-26, 1871, the same year Proust was born!

There was a picture of Marcel's father who was the Chair of Hygiene of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris in 1885. He came from a family of grocers from Illiers, a village outside of Chartres.

Laure Brouardel (1852-1936) Le Docteur Adrien Proust (1834-1903), 1891

Proust's mother, Jeanne Weill, descended from a line of Jewish shopkeepers who had lived in the 10th arrondissement since their arrival from Alsace in the early 19th century.

Anaïs Beauvais (1832-1898), Portrait de Madame Adrien Proust (1849-1905), 1880

Studio Hermann & Cie, Marcel et Robert Proust, vers 1882

Jean Béraud (1949-Paris, 1935), La Sortie du lycée Condorcet, vers 1903
Proust was at school here between 1882-1889.

Paul Tournachon, dit Paul Nadar (1856-1939), Marcel Proust à 15 ans, 1887

Jean Béraud, La Colonne Morris, angle de la rue Laffitte et du boulevard des Italiens, vers 1885

(this column was located near where Proust lived).

Henri Gervex (1852-1929), Le Bal de l'Opéra, 1886

Anonyme, Marcel Proust et ses amis au tennis du boulevard Bineau (au centre Jeanne Pouquet), 1892

Jacques- Emile Blanche (1861-1942), Portrait de Marcel Proust, 1892

René- Xavier Printet (1881-1946), Le Balcon, 1905-06

Restaurant Larue--another hangout

Picasso- Programme des Ballets russes au théâtre du Châtelet, costume de Chinois du ballet Parade, 1917

Proust's bedchamber

Marcel Proust sur la terrasse du Jeu de Paume, 1921

Jean Béraud, Le Boulevard des Capucines, devant le Café Napolitain, vers 1880

Jacques Henri Lartique (1894-1986), Paris 1911

Henri Gervex, Une soirée au Pré-Catelan, 1909

Kees van Dongen (1877-1968), illustrations for A la recherche du temps perdu, I

One exits into the beautiful courtyard and gardens.

The courtyard of the Carnevalet

Another view

We exited onto Rue des Rosier where there was a commemorative plaque to Baruch and Dora Matykanski and their nine year daughter who were "deported in 1942 by the Nazis with the active complicity of the Vichy government and who were exterminated at Aushwitz, because they were Jews".

It was time for a late lunch at Miznon, an Israeli restaurant, around the corner from Rue des Rosiers in the Marais.

Outside of Miznon-- one will be opening in Toronto soon

Alain with his falafel; I had roasted cauliflower and tahini in a pita

Cauliflowers and tomatoes in the window

We stopped at the nearby Fragonard to see what was new and to pick up a gift.

Wonderful store

Lots of colour

For old times sake, we took a picture of the entrance to 64 Rue Vieille du Temple where we stayed
for three months in 2011

The door was open briefly - this was the courtyard where Felix the cat would be (no more)

We then went over to Rue Beaumarchais to stop at Merci, the large concept store. The same red mini was there as always.

Alain in the courtyard of Merci

The theme this spring was Holimood....

Great colours

Then down Rue St Claude -- Alain poses under the Alain (barber) sign

We stopped at the Jack Gomme store, where I buy a lot of my purses (most are made of a super light material). There really is no Jack Gomme, but Sophie and Paul have been designing bags since 1985. All are made in France. The store had "A deux, c'est mieux" sale with 20% off if one purchased two bags. Alain and I both got small bags.

The bags-- we got very small ones, not seen in this photo

Wire drawings of Paul and Sophie

More bags

Then we walked back to Rue Beaumarchais and stopped at a vegan bakery called Land & Monkeys. We shared a very good cinnamon bun.

Outside the bakery

Lots of very nice bread and treats

We stopped at Khadi and Co a few doors down. The designer, Bess Nielsen, is one of the two designers of the Épice scarves we so like so much.

The new collection-- I made purchase here

We then walked down Rue St Gilles (one street south of St. Claude). There seemed to be a number of very small stores on the street that backed into a beautiful courtyard of a building complex. I recognised the name Denovembre, and we decided to go in.

Beautiful silk and wool scarves in a lovely renovated store and studio

The designer came down from her small studio when she heard we were from Toronto. She had sold her scarves through someone who had owned a store near us on Queen Street. Judith has been in business for 11 years and recently moved into this beautiful space.