Thursday, November 27, 2008

Hunting Museum


Once again I discovered a museum I had never heard of before: the nature and hunting museum (Le musée de la chasse et de la nature), located in Le Marais, where I went this morning for a press conference. I first was attracted to this very original sculpture (I have been unable to find out who made it!) then to the beautiful building that shelters this museum: l'hôtel de Guenegaud, a "palace" that was built between 1651 and 1655. I did not visit the museum though, because I did not have the time, but I surely plan to go back.

39 comments:

  1. So when you go back, may I go with you, please? Lovely image -- the usual wonderful Tenin perspective! Great, Eric.

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  2. A hunting museum, how original. I have to check out the link to see what exactly is in there.

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  3. That sculpture is a little creepy. Fitting as at first glance I thought the title of this post was "Haunting Museum."

    GF, Alexa! What will you add to the crown?

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  4. That sculpture is a little creepy. Fitting as at first glance I thought the title of this post was "Haunting Museum."

    GF, Alexa! What will you add to the crown?

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  5. Hi Alexa, You are the PDP Queen on Turkey Day!

    The photo, interesting, hmmmmmm, what is it? Half man -- half fig tree? No, that cannot be. Fig trees have more leafs. Anyway, it is amusing.

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  6. Seriously, twice? That comment wasn't worth posting the first time. :D

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  7. Ohhhhh I didn't get it! So my pillow will support my crownless head tonight. Well done though Alexa! Yay!
    I'm off to sleepy-night-nights now then. Can't comment again until tomorrow night so Happy Thanksgiving to all US people here!

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  8. Oh, I know, it's a man wearing sea weed or is it kelp? I guess he is hiding because he is hunting and does not want to be seen.

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  9. I'm having problems with the Internet here. Tried to say that this sculpture looks like a plant with legs—
    tres bizarre! (Mais tres interessant.)
    Gobble gobble to all of us American PDPers—and anyone else who has something to be thankful for (and I sincerely hope that includes ALL of you!).
    I guess I'll have to wear this horticultural extravaganza on my head for the day. Lucky moi.

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  10. Eric, the artist appears to be Johan Creten (he's all over the internet). They have a blurb on him at the museum's website. http://www.chassenature.org/site_musee/actualite/expos-paris.html

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  11. Wow, I knew of something in Paris that Eric didn't. This museum was on a list of museum choices for the French Culture and Civilization course that I got credit for when I spent part of a summer in Paris, I didn't choose to go, but I certainly had heard of it....

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  12. Good work, Lois Simon. The bronze sculpture is named "Why does Strange Fruit always look so sweet?" according to galerieperrotin.com.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all in the US of A.

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  13. I'm looking forward to seeing photos if you do go back...can you take photos in museums over there? I know you can't here.

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  14. There is an old American Indian saying that says: Stay away from stone man requiring many fig leaves.

    Just kidding. Sounds like an interesting place, Eric! I bet Sarah Palin would like it. ;)

    Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans - including the ex-pats!

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  15. I love all the blues in this photo, especially in the windows.

    Eric you MUST go to this museum! I went to it for the first time in September and it's an absolute delight. You missed the opportunity to take a photo of a full-sized polar bear in the Marais! I took tons of photos of all the taxidermized animals.

    Alexa congrats, and I can't wait to see the horticultural extravaganza on your GF crown!

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  16. Eiffel Tower Suzy, "There is an old American Indian saying that says: Stay away from stone man requiring many fig leaves." I know that saying... HAHAHAHAHAH

    You took my Fig comment and turned it into something sexy. You're Great!

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  17. In my quest to see every museum in CDG, I have had the pleasure of visiting this one, alsho before the refurbishment. I'm sure Katie, it was as empty for you as it was for me.
    I LOVED looking at the prints, and learned from one how they captured live animals. On one end, the hunters stood holding flaming torches to scare the animals into running in the other direction which contained huge nets. Voila, a captured lion(or whatever). Who knew!!!

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  18. Wow, very interesting. I'd love to go visit sometime!

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  19. I thought the person in the statue was covered with bees..

    Another place to add to my list of things to do and see. photographing taxidermied animals sounds like something I'd like to do.. I saw a book of them once and it was fascinating.

    The Turkey is almost ready to go into the oven for the night.

    18 more days 'til Paris!!

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  20. That's very interesting. Is that an animal pelt worn as a disguise, or is it stylized? My first reaction was that it was some sort of fruit on the statue, but then I enlarged it.

    I'd be interested to know what's inside. I just interviewed a hunter for a story I wrote about him hunting a turkey for Thanksgiving, and his reasons for hunting were different than I expected. He likes being outdoors and feels closer to nature, especially watching the sun rise in the wilderness.

    Maybe once I move to Paris and learn more passable French I will drop by and see the difference in perspectives.

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  21. The sculpture and a "hunting museum" reminds me of a true story. I had to testify in court, for my job, when our city council decided to prosecute a resident for something merely because one councilmember's friend was angry with a neighbor. Let's call the councilmember's friend Pat. Pat's neighbor, defending himself in court, call him Louis. Louis explained to the judge: "One day I was in my back yard drinking a cup of coffee and some birds flew up from the woods. (He lives in a forested area, le bois.) I walked over and saw Pat lying on the ground in military camouflage clothes. I guess he was spying on me. I asked him what he was doing, but Pat just lay there, not moving, as if maybe I wouldn't see him in his camouflage. After asking him a few times, I just walked away."

    The city lost the case, Louis won. Justice was served.

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  22. I love this. The statue is so uncivilized, like the horned man, yet it stands in the court of this perfectly-proportioned building. So Paris!

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  23. The Hunting Museum of Finland was founded by the Finnish Hunters' Association in 1930. Although, the museum wasn't opened until 1972 in Porvoo. Into a new building, which was built by the city of Riihimäki, the museum moved in spring 1990. The Hunting Museum of Finland Association is responsible for the activities of the museum. Among the members of the association there are, for example, the national hunting organizations. The activities of the museum are financed mainly by means raised by game licences.
    -------------------------

    Social Bookmarking

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  24. J'aime bien l'angle de la prise de vue de la photo!

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  25. Ah mais ouiiii, j'etais rentree par hasard un jour de fete de la musique ou il y avait un concert de ...cors de chasse !

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  26. For all of you American Francophiles, this may enhance your Thanksgiving day celebration:
    A French Connection.

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  27. i love the perspective you've chosen. wonderful colours, too.

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  28. Happy Thanksgiving to all!! Have a leg for me. : )

    Thanks for the awesome article, Stuart!

    I'd seen this museum, but I'm not that into hunting and chose not to go. Eric seems pretty excited about it tho, so since its only about 2 minutes from where I live (I love saying that!!!) I'm going to give it a whirl.

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  29. i'm sorry, but its kinda freaky to me. mind you i scare very easily. i thought that he was covered with bees. i do love the blue on the windows.

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  30. Strange and sweet. I like the name of this bronze sculpture from Johan Creten. Sure I'm telling that to myself too!
    The angle is very nicely chosen.

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  31. I have lived in Paris for three months and totally loved the city.

    Any picture of Paris is only most loved by moi.

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  32. This museum is necessary time. But this i am no chance. Congratulations You i photography is wonderful. Greetings.

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  33. I wanted to give thanks to this delightful blogging community that has so expanded my life.

    Reading the blogs and postings has become my favorite part of the day.

    My heart goes out to the city of Mumbai and those who have friends and family there.

    Thank you for the French Colonist article.

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  34. Katie and PHX - I should have said you were excited by this museum, too - all of you made me want to go. And go I did, but I won't tell about it! Eric still wants to go and this is such a unique place that he should get the chance to tell us all about it. I'll just say, I loved it!!

    I also saw some rooms that weren't open at the Hotel de Soubise when I went last time - including a Princess' Salon which was famous all over Europe at the time it was built. I walked the cobbles of the Cour de Rohan in the Latin Q, an ancient private walkway that I'd read was open, or I wouldn't have dared pass the Prive sign at the gated archway, and surprise, it's filled with greenery and flowers even in November.

    I'd been thinking about le Procope since I'd seen it and so I ate a liesurely Thanksgiving meal there. Surrounded by lavish reds and golds and looking across the street at the original Comedie Francaise, I had a prix fixe menu that included roast ox, definitely something you don't see in LA! It was so tender, it must have been slow cooking for hours and it came with lovely coriandered carrots and potatoes. Founded in 1686, le Procope has made famous artists, politicians and actors happy for over 300 years.

    I rounded out the day with an evening visit to the Institute Neerlandais in St Germain which had a fantastic exhibit of drawings by Rubens, Breughel and their contemporaries from the Uffizi Gallery in Italy. Then came the Christmas lights and windows at the Grand Magasins. What a display!! But nothing like American Christmas lights and displays. (The kids love them just the same way though!) The lights were all an Arabic motif on Galleries Lafayette and what looked sort of like fireworks on Printemps. The windows had lots of stuffed bunnies and bears in pinks and blues. Nary a St. Nick in sight! I always assumed that our Christmas symbols all came straight from Europe, but apparently not.

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  35. It sounds wonderful, Carrie. Each of your days is so full!

    If you still have a taste for game when you get home, the Saddle Peak Lodge in the hills of Calabasas still has things like Elk and Antelope on its menu. ;)

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  36. Wow - Petrea - I didn't know that! Thanks.

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  37. Now that seems an odd combination. A nature museum usually has the goal of celebrating nature. To combine that with murder of nature itself is interesting.

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  38. Many thanks for the exciting blog posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you are a brilliant writer. I actually added your blog to my favorites and will look forward for more updates. Great Job, Keep it up.. :)

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