Art Holiday Accommodation in SW France Details

Tuesday 25 April 2017

CONQUES—AND OTHER MEDIEVAL MARKETING MIRACLES




Today, the medieval village of Conques is a truly stupendous tourist destination - it's one of the larger jewels in the crown of European church architecture. 
       But this was not always so—a thousand years ago it was struggling to attract visitors. The monks had tried everything to attract pilgrims—without much success. Located in the middle of inaccessible, remote, and difficult country for travellers, something special was required. 
       Eventually their eyes turned to Agen Cathedral. It was lucky enough to have the relics of St Foy. She’d been making miracles and attracting hoards of visitors for years. Her statue could—amongst other pretty impressive feats—restore sight even when the victim’s eyes had been physically gouged out.


  So a heist was planned. And, although it took an imposter monk 10 years to pull off, he eventually nicked it from Agen and took it to Conques.
  Don’t miss her - she's on show in the trésor. Her statue, which contains her actual skull, is covered in gold foil and smothered in a profusion of precious stones. She is a seriously impressive sight.


       Then there’s the stupendous tympanum—a marvel of medieval story telling. Christ in Glory is showing all the naughty people the way to hell. And he points the great and the good towards Paradise. 
  But wait! Isn’t that Charlemagne amongst the nice guys? Yes, there he is being led towards Christ by the Abbot. What? Has the sculptor just somehow forgotten his massacre of 4,500 people at Verden? 
  Or is it something to do with Charlemagne’s gift to Pope Leo III in return for being crowned Holy Roman Emperor? Nothing less than Christ’s foreskin. Or one of his foreskins anyway. Because, according to David Farley, a respected expert, there were between 8 and 18 of them.
But hang on! This could be leading us all astray. It’s meant to be an article about Conques. But Christ’s private bits seem to have hijacked the conversation. So perhaps it would be safer to stop right here. 

Friday 14 April 2017

LOCAL ANGLO SAXONS COLLECT €31.000 FOR MEDCINS SANS FRONTIERES

Below is a French press release that explains all.
And here’s a sentence that does the same in English. 
Over the past 10 years a group of English Speaking ladies in Mézin has organised a twice yearly sale of second hand books and second hand clothes which has resulted in over 31,000 Euros being collected for the charity Medcins Sans Frontieres.


















The photo shows the mayor, Monseur Jacques Lambert, and some of those involved marking the event with a poster outside the Marie in Mézin. 
A ce jour en 10 ans plus de 31.000 Euros on ete collectes a Mézin pour Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Mr Jacques Lambert, Maire de Mézin, rencontre quelques un des benevoles du canton de Mezin qui ont collecté plus de 31.000 Euros pour Medecins Sans Frontieres en faisant les Bourses aux livres anglais et les Bourses aux vetements d’occasion
Les ventes sont a l’Espace Associatif Claude Albinet en face de la piscine a Mézin et la salle est offert gratuitement par la Mairie de Mézin.
Tous les benefices sont reverses a Medecins Sans Frontieres.
Tous les vetements non vendus sont donnes a la Croix Rouge a Nerac.
La somme globale montre la generosite des gens a Mézin et ses alentours pendant 10 ans
C’est surtout les dames anglaises avec quelques francaises anglophones, mais il ne faut pas oublier les hommes anglais, nos maris et autres costauds qui nous aident en portant les livres, etc. a la salle et au stockage.
La prochaine Bourse aux vetements d’occasion a Mézin est le weekend 20 et 21 mai 2017 (samedi 10-17h/dimanche 10-16h) Venez nombreux….

ADAM & EVE


This nude couple is essentially my version of a very traditional subject, Adam and Eve (sometimes called The Expulsion) that’s been a very popular theme for artists since the middleages. It probably reached its peak during the Renaissance. I’ve always found it a socially acceptable way—or a good excuse—to paint naked people—often with mildly erotic overtones. 
When I was living in Melbourne, one of my exhibitions, Adam and Eve and Other Nudes did quite well in sales as well as press publicity.
Anyway, this is my latest Adam and Eve. 
You can also see it, and lots more of my paintings on Saatchi Online.
I have some ideas for a few variations on this theme which I’ll be working on over the next few weeks.
Here are some technical details. 
It’s painted on heavyweight paper (300gsm) specially manufactured to take acrylic paint. The painting is signed, dated and embossed with my monogram. 
The sheet size is 50 x 64 cms and the actual image size is 43 x 56 cms. (19.5 x 25 ins and 16.5 x 22 ins)
It will be packaged and shipped in a very sturdy, large diameter (10 cms) cardboard tube.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions of if you’d like to give you a quote on an affordable original painting.
And dont forget my challenge: Everyone, yes everyone, can learn to paint and draw.
For more information on art holidays in France for families and friends, please click here. http://makeartholidays.blogspot.fr