Postcard from Paris, France: Purging art to ‘cleanse’ culture

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French stamp depicting a figure being restrained by two soldiers, symbolizing resistance.

Above: “The Pinch of Snuff (Rabbi),” Marc Chagall (1887-1985), mid-1920s

This painting, in which a rabbi sells his soul to Satan for a pinch of tobacco, was acquired by the Mannheim Kunsthalle in 1928. In 1933, Mannheim became the scene of an intense campaign of purge and defamation of modern art orchestrated by the Nazis…. the painting was dragged through the streets of the city with the message: ‘You who pay taxes should know where your money is being spent.'”

“‘Degenerate’ Art: Modern Art on Trial under the Nazis,” Curator Notes, Musee Picasso Paris, 2025

One evening at the end of May, we were fortunate to slip into a last remaining timeslot for viewing “‘Degenerate’ Art: Modern Art on Trial under the Nazis” at Musee Picasso Paris. It was packed with procrastinators, rendering the air-conditioning incapable of keeping the day’s lingering heat at bay. Yet, we all found ourselves crowding close to the artwork in an attempt to devour every word of the informative curator notes.

Most of the featured art had been included in a major exhibition of 600 works mounted by the Nazi regime in Munich in 1937. The purpose of this was not to shine light on exemplary art; instead, it was designed to condemn entartete kunst, or degenerate art, and the evil artists who spawned it.

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Postcard from Lyon, France: Film trivia challenge

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A postage stamp featuring a black and white image from the film 'La Femme du Boulanger' by Marcel Pagnol, with the inscription 'République Française 2,20' and the year 1986.

Above: Mechanical eye and listening device used by cyborgs in The City of Lost Children, 1995, Musee de Cinema et Miniature

I’ve always been a fan of science fiction, of models used in cinema. But I prefer miniatures, to dream a little…. I freeze frames of moments in life, places that touch me.”

Dan Ohlmann interviewed by Ludivine Corporal, “His Miniatures Have Been Wildly Successful for Years in This Renowned Museum,” Actu France, November 17, 2024

Dan Ohlmann’s construction of realistic miniatures is more time-consuming than it even looks, yet, by 1990, he had accumulated a substantial enough collection to open his Palais de la Miniature. As his fascination with set-design continued, he expanded to the acquisition of film memorabilia, costumes and props. A lot of them.

With a museum bursting at the seams and attracting an increasing amount of international attention, a Swiss fan arose as a major beneficiary. The donor purchased an early 15th-century Renaissance inn and turned it over to house the collection in 2004 – Le Musee de Cinema et Miniature.

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Postcard from Trieste, Italy: Flavors on northeastern edge of the Adriatic

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Vintage Italian postage stamp featuring red apples on a branch with green leaves.

Above: Squid ink paccheri pasta with shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes at Radici

On the northeastern edge of Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea and approaching Slovenia and Croatia, we’d expected the food to deviate more from the Italian dishes we were accustomed to. We were pleasantly surprised. We sampled only a handful of restaurants during our stay in Trieste but hope these photo reviews help you if you travel that direction.

We entered Ego Ristorante from a petite passageway on a rainy afternoon so didn’t even realize there were outside tables on a heavily trafficked pedestrian street on the other side. On the other hand, swarms of tourists huddled under umbrellas passed by without a clue of the small handsome interior space where we sat warm and cozy.

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