Tag: art in Lyon

Seeing the Lumière(s)

May 22

Dear Liza,

We have been in Lyon almost a month now, and finally did the last thing on our “Must See” list. I am so glad we did!

Most folks who are interested in movies have heard of Louis and Auguste Lumière, the brothers who actually invented moving pictures. They were born and raised, and made their fortunes, right here in Lyon, and we got to visit their house.

Besides displaying the turn of the century opulence and style of the family, the museum put the brothers’ work in context with other related inventions by Kodak, Eastman and Disney. Did you know that August Lumière actually met Walt Disney? Walt thanked Monsieur Lumière for his work, which had made Walt’s work and fortune possible.

There were old zoetropes and other pre-movie attempts at showing movement, and even the very first cinematograph, or movie projector.

There were also snippets of the 1,000 short films made in the first ten years of the movie era, all of which were made by the Lumière company.

They sent camera crews all over the world to film the Sphinx in Egypt and Sumo wrestlers in Japan, as well as simpler scenes of children at the park or men playing cards.

The Lumière brothers’ work in the science of film and radiography, color printing and entertainment, were an example of how training, hard work, and an understanding of popular culture can change the world.

Another day well spent in Lyon!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Musée des Beaux-Arts

May 6

Dear Liza,

When we get to any city, of course we find the art museum. In France, these are called Les Musées des Beaux-Arts. So the other day, we set out for an arty adventure.

The Musée in Lyon is on the Presqu’île, the peninsula that is formed where the Rhône River and the Saône River both run south for a bit before converging. We crossed the Rhône on the Pont Morand and walked right into the middle of the city!

Le Musée is on a wide plaza called Le Place Terreaux, which also has the Hotel de Ville, or City Hall. The first thing that catches your eye is this magnificent, roaring, complicated fountain. Sculpted by August Bertholdi (who also did the Statue of Liberty), it shows France as a woman, riding a chariot pulled by four wild, energetic horses.

The horses represent the four great rivers of France, the Rhône, the Loire, Seine, and the Garrone, with France controlling them in a gushing, turbulent flood. We walked around and around, amazed at the details.

The building that houses the Musée is hundreds of years old and is as beautiful as the art inside. The first staircase is topped with statues that represent the Beatitudes ( “Blessed are they that …” verses from Luke in the New Testament), and were so interesting that it took us twenty minutes to get past them!

I won’t try and tell you about all the art, just let you know that their oldest item is from an early Egyptian dynasty thousands of years ago, and their newest is some crazy ceramics from the early 2000s.

Of course, I loved the paintings, but the variety of sculpture really knocked me out. This tall fairy like person, called Abandoned Psyche, was beautiful, sad and sweet.

This wind-swept figure is called Power of the Will and shows how we all feel sometimes, just standing as straight as we can in the winds of circumstances.

And on our way out, I found the one sculpture I would take home if I could. This slightly larger than life sized dog, resting sweetly, waiting for whatever adventure comes next. I can imagine he would be very satisfying to pet, after a long crazy day.

Because he’s a good dog.

Love,

Grandma Judy