Pageant of the Masters

The theme this year for The Pageant of the Masters is The Art Detective.  It is currently running in Laguna Beach until August 31.  It begins at 8:30 in the evening and is outside so bring a sweater and or blanket, and some binoculars.  You are in for a treat!

It is best if you buy your tickets as soon as they are available in May from the Pageant itself, if you do, it is very reasonably priced.  If you have to get tickets from a ticket broker it's going to be really expensive; but what else is new!

This year was so interesting.  I learned so much.  It was laced with history and I found it fascinating.  It started out with paintings that were stolen by the Nazi's in WWII.  Then it touched on how countries acquired art from other countries and then art stolen right out of the frames.  It touched on new discoveries of art in the pyramids and art that was painted on walls (frescoes) that was almost lost due to bombings in WWII.  

 Here is the setting in which you will see the pageant.  Not a bad seat in the house really.  We were center stage.

 As an added treat, we got to go backstage this year because a man my handsome husband went to school with is in the tableau of The Last Supper.  It is absolute amazing to see how things are done.  What struck me was how the costumes and the backgrounds of the paintings are not detailed.  They are roughed in.  The pics are 2D and have structures to help the participants hold up their hands, sit or keep their foot in just the right position.  It is actually the lighting that makes everything look just so.

 They have a make up room and each player has his own makeup container, makeup direction sheet and mannequin head to help the makeup artist get them ready.  Real people are in the statues and they are naked and painted.  They keep the actors that are going to be nude in a separate part of the stage than were the children are.  They line up the tableaus 5 at a time ready to hit the stage and they have an adjustable frame that slides apart or together to fit each one.

Real people painted with gold paint. 

Our friend is the second guy in the green next to Jesus.  For the last couple of years, a woman has played Jesus and there are two women in the tableau in total. 

I also learned about Audrey Munson.  She has a fascinating story that I will share with you later. 

 She was the first American to appear in the nude in films and she was a favorite model of artists in the early 1900's.  There are over 45 statues throughout New York with her likeness.

Audrey Munsen as the Star Maiden 

If you are ever in Laguna Beach in the summer you should definitely go.  It is a bucket list item, don't miss out!

Pageant of the Masters

Watch the short film below to see how its done.

The Town of Chedigny and Chateau Azay Le Rideau

 This is the gorgeous town of Chedigny.  It is know for its flowers.  They have a town gardener who helps with colors and takes care of the plants.  Everywhere we looked were beautiful gardens, even when they only had about 1 foot from their wall to the street!

 I knew I was in for a treat, when I saw people taking photographs along the entrance to the town.  Photographers everywhere!

 Every street was lined with a profusion of roses and various other flowers.  I'm amazed at how little ground roses need to grow.

 We had lunch at this delightful restaurant.  They take reservations but fit us in without them.  On the side facing the walkway it was a wall of open doors. They spoke no English and we speak no French, but we figured it out.  It was very good.   Le Clos aux Roses.

 This is the entrance to the Chateau Azay Le Rideau.  Very pretty little chateau and the furnishings inside were fantastic.

I loved the ceilings above the staircases.  

Beautiful little place, the staircase is directly behind HH and it was fantastic.  One of the first chateaus to use the straight staircase in the Italian style and not a curved one. 

888,246 Poppies Pour Like Blood From The Tower of London To Remember The Fallen Soldiers of WWI

Pictures via Historic Royal Palaces

This summer, The Tower of London will be surrounded by a sea of Crimson.  This installation conceived by artist Paul Cummings and designer Tom Piper will commemorate each and every British or Colonial fatality during WWI. 

" Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red" will be unveiled on August 5 (the first day Britain became involved in WWI) and more poppies will be planted until the last poppy is planted on Nov. 11(Veterans Day).  A total of 888,246 poppies will cover the moat of The Tower of London.

 The flowers will be sold for 25GBP a piece to raise money for 6 charities.  I think this is a wonderfully, brilliant idea.  I wish I could see it in person, it is so impressive.

Loches

The town, one of the most picturesque in central France, lies at the foot of the rocky eminence on which stands the Château de Loches, the castle of the Anjou family, surrounded by an outer wall 13 ft./4 m. thick, and consisting of the old collegiate church of St. Ours, the royal lodge and the donjon.

The town grew up around the monastery and was built around 500AD.

It's a beautiful little town with wonderful narrow walkways and picturesque buildings.

The royal lodge, built by Charles VII of France and once used as the subprefecture, contains the oratory of Anne of Brittany. It was here on 11 May 1429 that Joan of Arc arrived, fresh from her historic victory at Orleans, to meet the king.

I loved all the dog statues everywhere.  I've never seen dogs represented in Chateaus and palaces.  Always love a dog lover.

Oratory of Anne of Brittany.  An Oratory is a small chapel. 

The donjon and the ruined keep.  HH climbed to the top of this hollowed out keep, but I just waited at the bottom.

Chateau de Chambord

Upon arrival at this chateau, you are immediately impressed with it's size and the intricacy of the rooftop.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.  It was built by King Francois I as a hunting lodge while he lived in Blois and Amboise. 

During the reign of the King, the rooftop chimneys were painted in gold and a deep royal blue.  The chateau was never completely finished, but it is so imposing and dramatic just the way it is.

There is a stunning balcony where you can walk among the turrets and admire the views.

Francois I wanted the rooftop to look like the skyline of Constantinople. 

During WWII, the Louvre hid paintings here from the Germans for safe keeping.  The Germans were confiscating all private collections of art from private citizens such as the Rothchilds, and stealing from the museums.  Hitler wanted to create his own museum with all the art from all over Europe, put many of his generals kept priceless works of art for themselves.

These impressions are from a vaulted, barrel ceiling in which these symbols cover the entire surface.

Many of the chimneys have been taken down and are in the process of being refurbished as shown here in this room.

The chateau boasts a double helix staircase in which there are two entrances on each floor on opposite sides.  Two people can walk the staircase at the same time and never meet, but see each other through windows in the middle of the staircase.  

The Chateau was ransacked during the revolution and all the furniture was burned or stolen.  It was one of our favorite chateaus.  It was well organized, great parking, nice little cafes (I had the best tuna sandwich there) and great bathrooms.