The Palais Royal

How have I managed to put this off until half way through my Paris Sojourn? I somehow missed the William Kentridge Egyptian sketchbooks that were on display last month, much to my chagrin. http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=39190

So I was determined not to be deterred again by the vast throngs milling around outside, each time I’ve passed by (at least the ones on the Tuilleries outside, perhaps there was no-one in the museum during the warm days of August?).

But today, together with a friend for moral support, I paid the former Royal Palais an overdue visit. We cut a rather haphazard course through an eclectic mix of rooms, on our way to the Prints and Drawings, but we were well rewarded for our efforts.

The hidden treasure that is the room full of 13th – 15th century Italian painting was a particular delight for me and reminded me that I must pay a return visit to the Sainsbury Galleries at the National Gallery in London (which also has an impressive collection of early Renaissance art).

Am already planning to go back and do lots more research there, as they very obligingly let you take photos and hopefully they don’t discourage sketching either (was it our imaginations or was it actually quite quiet in there after all today?). Am also keen to go back to the Sully Wing to see the Cy Twombly ceiling in the Salle des Bronzes Antiques. Luckily, I don't think thats' going anywhere, any time soon.

I have only relatively recently seen Goya’s painting in the ‘flesh’ so to speak and can never quite get over how fresh and vibrant the colours are and how free and expressive his brushwork, especially given that they are 400 years old.

And couldn’t resist including this Grumpy Little Miss by Velasquez, though I suppose I’d be a bit fed up too if I’d been having quite as bad a hair day as she obviously had!