Emile Manfeldt
Le Corbusier Foundation.
I am a fan of modern Architecture. Well, lets say most of the well designed buildings. One of the greatest architects of the twentieth century must be Charles-Edouart Jeanneret-Gris, or better known as le Corbusier. Le Corbusier summed up his approach architecture in five points. 1. Lift the whole structure of the ground. He used…
Picasso Museum
I never liked Picasso. I always found him arrogant, patronizing and jealous of his fellow artists. Towards the (many) women in his life he was chauvinistic and unsympathetic.
Making Books
Ever since I can remember, I had a love for books. Especially empty ones, like note books, books for drawing or painting in. If it had a nice hard cover it is even better. I can spend a whole morning in a bookshop in front of a bookshelf with Moleskin books in them. The books…
Insect hotel
We are often lead to believe that, for a gardener, insects are your prime enemy. We create gardens sterile from insects. If we can create gardens closer to nature, where insects and their predators can balance each other out, the instances where pests take over will happen less often. Secondly , there are many useful insects…
Babylonstoren , Western Cape, South Africa
Between the tons of Paarl and Franschoek in the Western Cape Wine region is the beautifully restored historic farm of Babylonstoren ( Towers of Babylon). What better place to recreate historic gardens than on a farm with this name ( referring to the biblical ‘Hanging gardens of Babylon.) )
The Notre Dame of Paris
Notre Dame, a History in stone. Ever since I read the romantic novel, Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo as a student, I dreamt of visiting the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. I still remember how my heart skipped a beat at the sight of this great building as I crossed the bridge over the…
Museum Chagall, Nice, France
On a hillside in Nice, surrounded by a lush mediterranean garden lies the museum dedicated to the painter Marc Chagall. This is the first museum built in France to permanently display art of a living artist. The museum was built with the cooperation and involvement of the artist. The permanent art works on display depicts…
Museum Bourdelle, Paris
The Museum of Antoine Bourdelle is located in the Montparnasse area. His former studio and a collection of art was left to the City of Paris after his death. The museum was his studio from 1885 until 1929. Bourdelle was a one of the former students of the sculptor Rodin. Like his teacher he wanted…
Zatkine Museum
I am a confessed museum freak. I prefer going to small art museums as they are far more accessible than huge museums like the Louvre. The smaller museums usually represents only one artist at a time. That allows you to get a grip on the art of a specific artist and help you to see…