Happy Christmas Eve! Here’s is a season-appropriate painting by French artist Timoléon Marie Lobrichon (1831-1914), titled La Vitrine du magasin de jouets.
Tag Archives: French
On this day: a Ballet Premiere
The romantic ballet La Sylphide premiered in Paris on the 12th of March, 1832. The ballet was created by Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni as a showcase for his ballerina daughter Marie, the dancer generally credited with being the first to ever dance en pointe.
As the original production was lost, French choreographer Pierre Lacotte used old records and images to recreate a new production for the Paris Opera in the 1970s.
This promotional photograph by Francette Levieux is from the revival. It features Michaël Denard as James and Ghislaine Thesmar in the title role. Thesmar is the wife of Lacotte.
On this day: the birth of a photography pioneer
Daguerre in 1844
Photography pioneer Louis Daguerre was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d’Oise, France on the 18th of November, 1797. He became known as a father of photography after inventing the daguerreotype photography process.
Daguerre’s 1837 photograph recreating a still life is the earliest daguerreotype with a reliable date.
Above is Daguerre’s circa 1838 image of Paris. It is the first known candid photograph of a person. A man having his boots polished stood still long enough to be captured.
Also a painter and the inventor of the diorama theatre, Daguerre died in Paris in July of 1851, at the age of sixty-three.
On this day: Bastille Day during a war
The commune of Courseulles-sur-Mer in Normandy, France was liberated early after the D-Day landings in 1944. It is believed to be the first town in the region to be freed.
On the 14th of July the same year, a Bastille Day service was held, with locals as well as Allied troops taking part.
British and American troops with locals at the ceremony at the War Memorial. X
A brother and sister lay flowers. X
A local fireman holds the French Tricolour. X
A British marine (left), who played the Last Post, stands with local children who wait to lay flowers at the service. X
On this day: 1781
French troops storming Redoubt #9 during the Siege of Yorktown. 19th October, 1781.
Too Early
Too Early by James Tissot, 1873.
The Slave Market
The Slave Market (1867) a depiction of the Arab slave trade by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme
In Times Gone By... 