Cuddly

I struggled a little with this one.  The cat was too obvious, not to mention uncooperative, so my thoughts turned in other directions.

These cherubs holding up the basin of a fountain in the Allée d'Eau at Versailles look cuddly enough in shape, but not in feel.

Again in Versailles, this statue of a man (or is he a god) with a baby ought to be cuddly, but he doesn't look as though he's used to cuddling a baby.  He looks decidedly ill at ease.

But then I remembered Fontainebleau (or Versailles-without-the-crowds) where I saw this amazing collection of cuddly toys.

They weren't just a heap of cuddly toys, but a seat, one of a display of modern and mass-produced furniture that could also be considered art.

My first reaction was, "How wonderful", but then I started to think about what it was for.  The toys are hardly the conventional cuddly types apart from the teddy bear which appears to be half-buried by the rest, so was it really intended as a child's seat?  With sharks and crocodiles and what may be a python? 

I haven't examined the photos carefully yet.  How many animals are there?

If you'd like to join in the PhotoHunt, and find other other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site where you can find out more.

PhotoHunt: tied

All these beds, two from Fontainebleau and two from Valençay, have hangings which are tied in place.

A bedchamber at Fontainebleau.

This is Napoleon's bed, also at Fontainebleau, my favourite I think.

Another with green hangings, but this time in the less elaborate surroundings of the Château at Valençay.

King Ferdinand's bedroom at Valençay.

While I was preparing this post, I found myself wanting to know more about the history of beds.  I had no idea that there were quite so many differences, how they evolved over time, and why. 

If you'd like to join in and find other other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site. 

Mass production at Fontainebleau

While we were at the Palace of Fontainebleau we happened upon an exhibition called Design à la Cour which I didn't quite appreciate until I looked up the details later. I thought it was just about retro furniture.

There was more to it - cupboard after cupboard full of identical pieces of beautiful porcelain.  The whole was intended to show that mass produced objects can also be works of art.  It would have helped if I'd seen this video first. (in French).




Découvrez Design au Château de Fontainebleau : meubles d'hier et d'aujourd'hui

Fantastical Fontainebleau

I think you are probably going to have to enlarge these pictures to see them properly. I took them today when I visited Fontainebleau and couldn't resist showing a couple of oddities. The more normal, if you can call such opulence normal, will have to wait until a later post.

I can't find out anything about this painting, but it looks as though it must be Diana the Huntress. It's a fairly safe guess because Fontainebleau is full of Diana, in deference to Diane of Poitiers.  Am I the only person to find the picture odd?  Don't you think she looks rather, umm, manly?

A statue entitled "Nature" by Nicollò Pericoli.  360 degrees of breasts and in triplicate.  He must be a breast man.  It is intended to illustrate the endless productivity of the earth.