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- 03/15/2022
- 800 Words
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
ARROW - 19. Chapter 19
After all of the students left except the one who showed Colin’s photo to the group, “Sir, I have a friend that has a private collection you might be interested in seeing. I know he would like to discuss art with you. He travels a lot and always brings back paintings from the places he visits.”\
“I would like to see his private collection. Many of the paintings in the museums have been photographed and seen all over the world. A private collection would have paintings that aren’t as well known.”
‘Sir, I’ll contact him tonight and let you know when you can visit. Where are you going tomorrow?”
“I thought I’d go to the Musee National Picasso. He has a different style of painting.”
“Is it okay if my friends and I join you?”
“Yes. Let’s meet here, and we can all go together.”
That night after dinner, I told Colin some of the highlights of the conversation that we had earlier with the students. He thanked me in a very unique way.
In the morning, over a cup of coffee, I told Madam Lavigne that some of the students from the evening before would be dropping by to accompany Colin and me to the Picasso museum. She was concerned about breakfast, and I told her I would buy some bread and cheese and eat it as we walked.
When I said that, I forgot about the students. We went to the patisserie and bought various pastries, wine, and bottled water. I asked if they wanted cheese, they declined, so I bought a small piece with a small loaf of bread. The students ate the pastry, and Colin and I ate the cheese and bread. If you took a picture, it would be worth a good laugh. There was a group of young people moving down the street, talking, laughing, eating, and drinking wine. This could only happen in Paris.
We arrived at the museum, and the students took over. They began to discuss Picasso’s painting in terms of periods of time.
One of the students asked what the basis for his Blue Period is? An older student responded.
“It was a time when he was struggling. He was poor, and the Blue period affected his moods. He did his paintings in shades of blue or blue/green. He painted the Blue Nude, the Blue Room, and his Blue Poppies during this time. You’ll see others as we walk through the gallery.”
I translated his comments for Colin.
That was the start of our tour. As we viewed a painting, I would tell Colin what period the painting reflected.
“Armand, that painting is confusing.”
“Picasso was a leader in a painting style called cubism. There were a lot of students at Yale that opted for that style of painting, it never appealed to me.’
We spent the morning in the museum, taking a lunch break. That break turned into a discussion comparing various artists. One of the students mentioned paintings by the artists that lived about the same time as Picasso. That opened the door to a discussion about who influenced who. The resolution, we went back into the museum and stayed until they asked us to leave as they were closing. One would think that would be the end of our discussion; you would’ve been wrong if you did.
Walking back to Madam Lavigne’s house, one of the boys saw Le Select’s cafe. I don’t know who led the group, but that is where Colin and I found ourselves.
Sitting outside, a waiter came, there was a discussion, and he left. The next time he came out, he had several bottles of wine and glasses. The conversation continued as if we hadn’t stopped or ordered wine, and it was as if this was a natural occurrence.
After two hours and I didn’t know how many glasses of wine, I told the students Collin and I had to leave. I gave the boy sitting next to me some francs to help pay for the wine. At first, he didn’t want to take it, and he said it was pay for my instructions and comments on the various artists. I put the money under my glass, saying goodbye we left.
Arriving at Madam Lavigne’s home, she told us we missed supper, but she had some bread and cheese we could eat. I asked for coffee, telling her about our afternoon. She laughed, went, and brought us coffee, cheese, and bread.
Sitting with us, I told her about our day. She said someone phoned and left a message for me. Handling me a piece of paper was an address and the name, Andre Arnaud. Later I told Colin that was the name of the private collector. “We’ll go tomorrow.”
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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