Tag Archives: France

France’s “Nice the Beautiful” is now on UNESCO World Heritage List

Nice, French City seafront

Image: Ville de Nice

The French Mediterranean City of Nice has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The announcement was made on the cultural organisation’s Twitter account, which tweeted saying, “Winter resort town of the Riviera”.

The city, which sits on the southeastern coast and is known for its mild climate, was a favourite vacation spot for the various European royal families back in the 18th century. There’s even a seafront named after the British royalty called, “Promenade des Anglais (Promenade of the English)”.

The city joins 40 other world heritage sites located in France. The list includes the banks of the river Seine in Paris, the Amiens cathedral, Mont Saint Michel, and stretches of the Loire valley.

Nice, capital of Riviera tourism

Nice, capital of Riviera tourism. Image: Ville de Nice

Named “Nice the Beautiful”, the city has close to a million inhabitants and is the second-biggest city on the French Mediterranean coast after Marseilles, and the fifth-largest in France. Nice has played host to numerous creatives over the years, including Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and Friedrich Nietzsche.

“The history of Nice, which is at the same time deeply rooted and open, Mediterranean and Alpine, European and cosmopolitan, has produced an architecture and a landscape that are unique, a model for many other cities in the world,” Nice’s mayor Christian Estrosi said in reaction to the announcement.

According to UNESCO, Nice’s urban planning started as early as two centuries ago in a bid to attract foreign visitors looking to escape the bitter-cold winter of Europe. As a result, the clever design of the area has made the place a tourist destination which boasts to have several million visitors per year and it also has one of the busiest airports in France.

Nice, French City Beach View

Image: Paul Teysen/Unsplash

About five years ago on July 14, 2016, the scenic seafront walk of Promenade des Anglais was met with a murderous attack that killed 86 people, including 15 children. The Islamic State claimed responsibility and the event definitely affected Nice’s reputation as a holiday destination.

With the newly conferred status, the city hopes to boost its tourism and the funds it receives will be used to preserve the sites. As international travel slowly picks up its pace, keep Nice on your list of places to visit post-pandemic. France’s “Nice the Beautiful” is now on UNESCO World Heritage List.

By Joseph Low

 

François Halard – The Photographer and Art Collector’s Visual Diary

Antony Gormley’s High House Studio Norfolk Britain 2018

The French half consummate photographer and half astute art collector revered for his interior and architectural images, is now the publisher of a new book. With pages and a spine, Mr François Halard is anything but an author, his latest endeavor entitled François Halard: A Visual Diary features a multitude of personal communication documents transcending generation and geography.

François Halard – The Photographer and Art Collector’s Visual Diary

Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy’s Paris Home 2013

Retailing for $95, the book includes photographs of homes and artwork by some of the mid century’s greatest artists and image-makers such as Ms Louise Bourgeois, Messrs Saul Leiter, Luigi Ghirri and Mr Twombly.

Ugo Rondinone’s Home in Harlem New York 2018

Interspersed by the occasional handwritten note that provides the name and relevant information of the subject, François Halard is renowned for his in-depth investigations of the artists, designers and architects of today and yesterday. His most popularized work include The Hidden Lives of Objects which feature photographs of light-filled interiors, unmanipulated antique ornaments and quiet spaces.

Emanating an air that is eerie yet memorable, his work features a tableau of two similar yet jarringly juxtaposed photographs of the same hand – one on its own, and the other incorporating a fragment of a stone arm. His work in this series, offers spectators a photographic anchor to Italian painter and printmaker, the illustrious Giorgio Morandi’s distinguished paintings of inanimate objects. This year, Halard’s work was featured at the Liaigere’s Faubourg showroom in France.

Born in 1961 and raised by his parents Yves and Michelle Halard in a central France castle, François received his first assignment to photograph the late Yves Saint Laurent’s house, whilst still in his twenties. With parents who were both well-known interior designers, young Halard was surrounded by the time’s most talented professionals, including the prolific Australian-German photographer, Helmut Newton – whose home François Halard had based his earliest works on.

François Halard had always drawn inspiration from the past in his work, often eluding to the evolution of time and his memories of beauty, art and its creators. He considers his work a reflection of his subjects and its creators – and photography a method of sharing his experiences with a wider audience.

Saul Leiter’s studio in New York’s East Village (2015)

The ghostly photographs of the late American painter and photographer, Saul Leiter’s almost vacant apartment in the East Village of France, are haunting till this day. Taken two years after his friend’s passing in 2013, François Halard photographed the decrepit walls, empty closets and the few objects left behind by Leiter.

Saul Leiter’s studio in New York’s East Village (2015)

Leiter who has lived in the neighborhood for over 55 years, crafted abstract and soulful work with a deep connection to the area. His work often featured street scenes both monochrome and in color. François’ intimate photographs of the home depict timeless and memorable scenes for those who knew Leiter and his work – featuring his hat, Noguchi lanterns, expired Kodak paper, a high-black chair where he used to sit to paint or drink his coffee and a light box posed on a wooden pedestal table.

Saul Leiter’s studio in New York’s East Village (2015)

Now, with the release of his latest visual diary, François Halard focuses on the meticulous detail of every image, describing the digital space as a world of fleeting information overload, his book serves a curated library of images – some of which seemingly similar yet minutely different. The book itself, pays homage to artists and professionals who have inspired him over the years, including Luigi Ghirri who famously photographed Giorgio Morandi’s studio. Outgrowing his commercial phase, François’ only objective today is to regain control of his independent vision in a direct and minimalistic approach, free from correction, retouching and artificial lighting.

By Julia Roxan

 

Hotel de Crillon Reveals Breathtaking Makeover

Bar Les Ambassadeurs. Photos: Rosewood

Few hotels can lay claim to the tremendous historical significance like Hotel de Crillon. The original building was a stone palace built in 1758 and has gone through various reincarnations in terms of function: dukes made it their private home at different time periods, and the French-American Treaty, which recognised the establishment of the United States, was signed here. When the French Revolution swept King Louis IV from power, that stone palace stood as a silent witness to the beheading of the king and his wife Marie Antoinette as it took place on the Place de la Concorde, directly in front of the building. (Ironically, it was the king who commissioned the building.)

Hotel de Crillon’s 18th century, neoclassical facade

The palace was converted into a luxury hotel in 1909 and has filled its guest book with a long list of distinguished names since then. Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Sophia Loren, Andy Warhol and Madonna have all stayed here, whilst the likes of Bruce Willis and his daughter Scout danced at the Bal des Débutantes, which was hosted there for two decades in the Marie Antoinette suite. Despite the history and the splendour, Hôtel de Crillon in the 21st century was due for an update. The hotel closed in 2013 for a no-expense spared renovation that would create an elegant and contemporary home setting, without diminishing its 18th century allure.

The new lobby’s ceiling is raised by three feet to add more space and allow natural light to fill the room

Fast forward to 2017, the hotel reopened on July 5 to much fanfare. French craftsmanship and heritage is prominently showcased in the hotel’s 124 rooms, where guests will find Lalique taps, gold-and-crystal Baccarat decanters, and Lesage embroidery. Room rates begin at approximately RM6,130 per night, whilst The Les Grands Appartements designed by Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld, can be booked for about RM148,000 per night.

Restored chandeliers, gold and marble fittings and frescoed ceilings feature prominently in common spaces, and the once dimly lit lobby is now bathed in natural light due to a raised ceiling. An entirely new floor was dug underground to create space for elite spa services, including a men’s barbershop, shoe polishing as you enjoy the comfort of an authentic 1960s Aston Martin seat. There’s also a private garden and a skylight pool. The hotel’s former restaurant Les Ambassadeurs, now reincarnated as a bar, will nicely satisfy your libation cravings; and at the very limited-seating L’Ecrin, Michelin-starred chef Christopher Hache’s 7- or 12-course menu is sure to delight. That is, if you can get a reservation in advance. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Hotel de Crillon’s renovation in numbers:

17,000 cubic meters: the volume of earth removed from the two basement levels when workers dug beneath the historic site, notably to create a pool and spa with an accompanying skylight.

RM6,000: the starting price of the 78 rooms in the luxury hotel, which also has 36 suites and 10 signature suites. The famous Bernstein Suite costs €25,000 per night.

17,600: the number of mosaics used to line the swimming pool in the Crillon spa, a highly anticipated feature of the refurbished hotel.

30,000: the number of marble petals used in the corridor flooring. They were all laid individually, by hand.

60,000: the number of gold leaves used to decorate various spaces in Hôtel de Crillon. These too were applied one by one.

53: different varieties of marble chosen for use in the interior decorations.

RM44,000: the price of the bed of composer Léonard Bernstein, an artist who regularly stayed at Hôtel de Crillon, and who gave his name to the famous suite. The establishment auctioned a collection of furnishings in 2013 when it closed for refurbishment.

RM980,000: the amount fetched at auction by the hotel’s “César” bar, now owned by a modern art collector in Northern Europe. This piece of furniture was estimated at €12,000.

4,700: the number of people required to carry out the hotel’s renovations.

16,740 square meters: the total area of the renovation site at Hôtel de Crillon, which started in March 2013. Work has been carried out on seven levels.

(Numbers source: AFPRelaxnews)