A Traviel Pursuit

A personal chronicle of our travels inspired by a global pandemic…


Trompe-l’œil (“To deceive the eye”)…

Montmartre is the artsy district of Paris and where the greats of French Art (Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec) once walked the cobblestone streets. This rich artistic tradition is palpable in some corners but is becoming less and less so.

The Bal du moulin de la galette, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, depicts a Sunday afternoon dance in Montmartre.

The main square of the Montmartre, the Place du Tertre, is now overrun with caricaturists vying for tourist dollars (a self-portrait while vacationing in Paris is irresistible!). The paintings that are also available for purchase are of questionable provenance, despite the artist’s claim. Closer inspection might even reveal that the painter has been making the same surreptitious brushstroke for the last 10 minutes on their current “one-of-a-kind” masterpiece. The Place is a caricature of its once glorious self.

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