SHARING WITH ME

We wandered down to the centre of Como, visited the Cathedral which is not an overwhelming site and not easy to photograph as the square was filled with restaurants virtually crowding out the entry.  Part of th front of cathedral I was happy to sit down and just think about Bruegel. What had I learnt? Looking at my scatty notes later in the evening, I knew how confused I was. Tomorrow would be a nice day on the Lake and I hoped not too much rush. We were to go to Tremezo - a two hour trip from Como and then onto Bellagio a short hop away. There are many villas to visit along the lake and it would be easier perhaps to take more time than we did. First stop was the Villa Carlotta at Tremeza. I am not going to even try to give the history of this villa except perhaps to say that it was given to Carlotta by the heirs who sold the villa in 1843 to Princess Marianne of Nassau, Albert's of Prussia wife, who then gave it as a present to her daughter Carlotta on occasion of her

Today the skies have opened and the rain thrashes down. After four days in Italy and over 35° this is a pleasant change but hopefully it will not go on for too long. Long enough for me to get some notes down on the marvelous Italian trip and also update my conference notes on the Underground art history. 
 Marielle and I are good traveling mates. As I rarely if ever travel with anyone it is a pleasure to share art moments and others with a good friend. Our tastes are not the same but she has taught me a lot over the years. Some months ago I discovered there was a retrospective of th Bruegel dynasty collection - nearly all of it coming from private collections around the world. For insurance purposes it was not sure if this collection would be shown elsewhere. I asked Murielle if she was interested and organized the trip. My idea would have been to visit the Villa Olmo and return to Paris the following day. But now I was told that the Lake was beautiful and that there wer

Gianni tempted me with a modern sculture exhibition in the Foundation Courbertin gardens in Saint Remy-Les-Chevreuses. Getting me to take a surburban train to the outskirts of Paris can be a major task. Putting a little carrot in front of me makes it easier. The day seemed to show some signs of staying fine as I made my way to the RER - and got there as usual far too early. It’s a 40 minute trip out the Saint Remy and frankly amazing that within such a short time, woods, green (very green with this dreadful summer) and countryside is with us. Is it the UK? No. Not Australia, definitely not. The French countryside has another atmosphere about it. Perhaps there is not the same feeling of space as there is in the UK. It can’t be termed as «cosy» but it certainly does not have the gigantic features of the Australian bush - which I love so much. I knew nothing about the Fondation and even less about the artist that we would be discovering. Denis Montfleur (1962). Marta Pan (1923-2008), I di