Viennese Kiss

The most celebrated artist of the Viennese Secession 
 

 

 

The most celebrated artist of the Viennese Secession is Gustav Klimt.

Many people don’t know his name even though they regularly drink coffee from cups decorated with his famous painting “The Kiss” or keep their flowers in a vase with the same motif. 

Gustav would not mind. He supported applied art, art that enhances ordinality of life and enriches daily routines. 

 

Family and early life

Klimt’s father was not a successful gold engraver. His mum had ambitions to be a musical performer. The family lived in the suburbs of Vienna, often experiencing financial hardship.

Luckily for Gustav his artistic talent became evident from an early age. 

He graduated from the Viennese school of decorative art with a qualification in architectural decoration. 

Klimt, his brother and a friend formed a joint business venture after their graduation. They registered an artistic company and began pursuing and winning public commissions for decorating buildings. 

The business flourished until the wheels of fortune turned in the opposite direction. Gustav’s  father passed away, followed by his newly-married brother.

Grief and pain are the best mentors for expressing authentic talent. After the tragic events Gustav gradually moved away from classical murals and began paving his unique artistic path.

Gustav's passions

Surprisingly, Klimt was a quiet man. He avoided public speaking believing that his art speaks for itself. In his studio he worked dressed in a long blue robe, usually without underwear beneath it. 

The artist  had a  chubby figure and not a very attractive round face. To make it look longer Gustav shaved the hair above his ears. 

Because apart from his passion for art he had only one more obsession: women. Gustav adored women. He liked painting them and loving them. The legend goes that Klimt had countless affairs and at least 14 children, mothered by his models.  

A popular Viennese anecdote says that he used to take hourly breaks from painting affluent Viennese wives to make love to his usually poor models. Klimt  never married.

 

The scandal

Painter’s devotion to the female body and beauty caused him a lot of troubles.

His company was commissioned to paint ceiling murals for the Great Hall of the University of Vienna. 

Klimt painted the figures of Medicine, Philosophy and Jurisprudence. This caused  public outrage due to their “over sexuality”. 

The University declined the paintings, Klimt returned the commission and refused to work under public orders for the rest of his life. The retreating Nazi soldiers in WWII destroyed the paintings in 1945. 

A colour detail reproduction of the figure of Hygieia, the Greek Goddess of Health from the bottom of the Medicine painting was published in 1931. It is powerfully beautiful, a pity others are missing. 

 

Attitude to critics and "Golden period"

 

Since then Gustav worked only for private clients. 

His motto was “If you cannot please everyone with your actions and your art, then please a few. To please many is bad”. 

To show his attitude to his critics Klimt painted “The Goldfish”. 

A mischievously smiling, red-haired naked woman who turns her backside towards  the viewers/critics. 

 

From 1900 to 1910 Gustav entered the most productive “golden phase”of his creativity.  

He applied golden leaf technique and took inspiration from the Byzantine mosaics he saw on his trip to Ravena, Italy. 


THE KISS

The famous Kiss is from this period. No one knows who the kissing couple are. The popular belief is that they are Gustav and his long time companion Emilie Floge. Emilie was a sister of his brother’s wife, a feminist, independent businesswoman and fashionista. The real nature of their partnership is unknown, opinions vary between two extremes, entirely platonic or passionate love. 

The Kiss painting is a cultural icon, on permanent display in the wonderful art museum of Belvedere, Vienna.It is one of the most recognisable pieces of art with century enduring popularity. 

Seeing “the Kiss” is an unforgettable experience, fully justifying frequent trips to Vienna. 

 

 

The next post will be about the “Woman in Gold”. 

Ode of Joy in the basement

BASMENTS

Basements exist beneath the surface. They are dark, frightening and full of spiders and cobwebs. In the basements we hide things. We keep things that we are afraid to express and prefer to repress.

On the flip side, basements brim with mystery. In the underground our senses open up to something beyond what we know or are able to explain. In basements we can awake our curiosity, engage our brains and have a lucky strike. 

So, do not be afraid to visit the basement of the Secession building in Vienna. 

You will have an astonishing adventure. 

THE EXHIBITION

In 1902 the Secession artists created an extraordinary “Beethoven extravaganza” exhibition. They dedicated it to the famous German composer, a long-time Viennese resident, on the 75th anniversary of his death. The exhibition was a massive success and scandalised the gossip-thirsty Vienna.

 

A statue of Beethoven occupied the middle of the main exhibition hall.

The sculpture was a labor of love for its author, 15 years in the making. He wanted to express the vulnerability of a  great talent. 

The statue presented a frail little man, sitting on a big throne, with a passionate expression and clinched fists. What did the public and critics see? “It was a man revealing himself. It appears as if  the composer emerged from a bath, put on a towel to protect his modesty and extended one foot as if awaiting a chiropodist” Really!

Around the sculpture 21 artists displayed their works. 

The contemporary Viennese composer Gustav Mahler made an adapted version of the prominent “Ode of Joy “ of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

 He positioned 6 trombonists on the stairs and arranged they played it at the exhibition opening. 

 

KLIMT’S FRIEZE

 

 

Gustav Klimt painted a Frieze as a tribute to the Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. He also generated the main scandal.

Frieze is a mural painted as a wide horizontal band on a wall close to  the ceiling. Klimt painted three walls. 

The first wall presents the theme “Longing for happiness”. Three naked figures plead to a knight in shining armour to ease their suffering. The knight gazes across to the middle wall. 

The middle mural is titled “The hostile powers”. 

The centre is occupied by a monkey-monster. with his three daughters Gorgons presenting lust, immorality and lack of control. 

Above them are his other three daughter called sickness, madness and death.

 A lone figure of a half-naked monk is painted on the right. 

On the last wall hope arrives as a figure of Poetry. A group of women representing Arts lead us to the “Choir of Angels from Paradise”. They sing  the “Ode of Joy”. Finally, a couple are embracing. 

The symbolism of the Frieze was explained to the public in a specially printed brochure. 

The official reaction was moral outrage. The Frieze was called “painted pornography” with “dangling dugs”and an “ecstatic tribute”.

 Klimt’s raw and intense painting was far too much for the refined taste of conservative Vienna.  

ODE OF JOY IN THE BASEMENT

Luckily, after closing the exhibition the Frieze stayed there for another year.

 Later it was cut into eight pieces, stored for 12 years in a furniture depot and changed ownership frequently. 

Eventually, the Austrian government acquired and restored the Frieze. 

In 1985 it build a special room with optimum climate conditions in the “Golden cabbage’s” basement and displayed the Frieze there.

 

In 2020, for the 250th birthday of Beethoven, The Wiener Simphoniker delivered a multimedia experience for the visitors to the Secession basement.

 Now we could look at the Klimt’s Frieze, listen  to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and appreciate the story of the gifted suffering artist.

Music translates into a visual art.

Enjoyment is enhanced.

The Golden cabbage of Viennese Secession

Every city has at least one, initially rejected building which later turns into an iconic landmark. The controversial design slowly grows on the sceptical residents and their creative genius produces an affectionate nickname for it. The nickname is slightly embarrassing but soon becomes part of the urban folklore. 

So, while London has its Gherkin and Cheesegrater, NewYork – its Lipstick, Boston – the Sponge, Beijing – two Beehives, Vienna is proud of  its “Golden cabbage”. 

 

 

 

 

The “cabbage” is situated in the centre of the city, on the busy Karlsplatz. 

It is a white, unusually shaped building with a gold cupola. 

During its construction between 1897 and 1889 the shocked contemporaries produced hurtful names for it such as “crematorium” or  “Assyrian lavatory”

 

 

 

 

The building was meant to be a “temple of art”, a symbol of the progressive art movement.

Everyone knows the legendary story of the Parisian “La Boheme“ rising against the academic suppression during the Impressionism period. 

The story of the Viennese Secession appears neglected by the public and art historians. Is it  because Vienna did not have an artistic revolution? It was more like a dramatic separation (secession). 

The cultural and political elite accepted the new movement. The Emperor was the honourable guest of the first Secession exhibition. The City hall gave them a plot of land at the corner of the Karlsplatz to build a showcase Pavilion. 

 

The Secession began with informal meetings in two Viennese cafes. Between the beers and wines, some frustrated members of the Artistic Association decided to form a group and rent a venue  where they could display their paintings, cancelled by the establishment. 

The exhibitions proved to be very popular and amassed a small fortune. 

This success motivated the group to cut all ties  with the Artistic Association. 

In 1889 around 24 artists defected and in total 50 art people opened a new chapter in the capital’s creative history. The progressive movement put Austria back on the artistic map and has kept it there since.

 

 

The first president and wildly-accepted leader was Gustav Klimt ( the author of the famous “The Kiss”).

Klimt was at the peak of his fame, given the Emperor’s prize for his panel paintings on the Burgtheatre in Vienna. 

 

 

 

 

A young architect member of the group designed the Pavilion with the distinctive glided dome. The building appeared unusual for Viennese conservative taste, yet it was a concrete manifestation of the Secession philosophy. 

The group  included architects, painters, musicians, decorators and illustrators. Most of them believed that the creation of art is not for the sake of the art itself but to bring beauty to everyday ordinary life.  

They upheld the artistic freedom and the integration of the artistic genres. 

The motto of the movement could be seen above the front entrance of the  pavilion “To every age its art. To every art its freedom”. 

Three Gorgons (Medusa’s heads) represent the synthesis of three arts – Painting, Architecture and Sculpture. 

Inside, special partitions could be rearranged, so every exhibition could come with its own unique designs. 

 

The group split after eight years. The “Cabbage“continued functioning. During the Nazi regime the “Secession” was classified as a “decadence” and the building was destroyed. 

After WWII the Pavilion  was re-erected  and now functions as an independent cultural centre. It is open for visitors. 

The series “Autumn in Vienna” will continue with the post “What is in the basement?”

Autumn in VIENNA

 

The best season to visit Vienna, the capital of the European country Austria is undoubtedly autumn. Tourists are significantly less compared to the summer invasion or the Christmas market madness. Still, the size of the touristic crew does not determine the  preference.

The real reason comes  from the strange,“fall-from-grace” charm of Vienna. The past-glory nostalgia and the beauty in the face of coming death are  common themes for both Vienna and the autumn season. Both grow on you against all the odds. 

 

Vienna is the capital of Austria. AustrIA, Osterreich, not AustrELIA. People often confuse Austria with Australia. Lack of geographical knowledge could contribute to the mistake. Nevertheless, such an  error shows Austria’s irrelevance to the world. 

The state has approximately 84,000 square km (32,000 square mis) and a population around 9 million. In comparison,  the sixth-largest country in the world, Australia, stretches over nearly 8 million square km and its population is just under 28 million. 

 

 

 

It was not always this way for Austria. At the end of 19th century (1867-1914) Austria and Vienna lived their “Golden era” for almost 50 years.

In 1867 a new  Austro-Hungarian Empire came into existence. The monarchy was dual and constitutional. Austria and Hungary existed as two separate, yet equal states governed by a single monarch from the Habsburg dynasty called Franz Joseph I. 

Within the borders of the Empire were the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, the modern day countries like the Czech Republic, Slovenia, some  parts of nowadays Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Italy and Montenegro. The Empire embraced multiculturalism. The population spoke at least 15 different languages. 

Vienna  gathered momentum and turn into a megapolis, with a modern road infrastructure,

solid administration and mandatory education.

 

 

 

More importantly for me and the world Vienna became the cultural hub of Europe.

I wander why we strive to immerse into French Impressionism, Post Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, etc, and forget about the “Secession” movement in Vienna. 

This group gave the world unique creations of break-taking beauty. And yet, the Viennese “Secession” artists, architects, musicians and designers in Art Nouveau style remain relatively unknown. 

Is it the  language barrier or the irrelevance on large scale? 

 

Let’s go back to the story of falling from grace and transition into irrelevance. Some historians rudely describe Austria as a “failure”.

The Empire did not manage the multiculturalism  and the fight for national freedom well.

On 28th June 1914 the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. 

The Empire declared war on Serbia. Russia immediately mobilised to support Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia and France. Britain declared war on Germany after they invaded neutral Belgium. 

The local conflict escalated into a global war (1914-1918).

 

After WWI the Austro-Hungarian Empire no longer existed. Its “Golden era” was over and Austrians had to accept their fate of constantly explaining “ No, it is not Australia, it is Austria”.  

Every cloud has a silver lining. In our case the art and beauty are saved for  the world. The next post will be titled  “The Viennese Secession”.

LEMON TART

 

Menton is a small town on the French Riviera.

It is located just 7 km west of the border with Italy. 

The local landscape outlines a typical coastline for the French Riviera – steep Alps plunge sharply into the blue sea. Pebble beaches prevail even though some are sandier or with fine gravel. 

All in all, normal Cote d’Azur staff. And yet, this small-scale locality (30,000 people population in 2022) attracts around 200,000 tourists a day in peak season. Something special must be going on there. 

Menton’s climate is definitely something special.

Summer days are hot and dry, perfect for beach holidays. Breeze blows gently from the sea, cools the heat and refreshes the air. 

Alps protect the land in winter. As a result,  the winter daytime temperatures stay around 13-14 degrees and at night drop only to 4-5 degrees. 

 

 

Therefore, the good news is that visitors can swim in the sea all year round .

The bad news is for the fans of the Wim Hoff method of cold exposure. Temperatures seldom go below freezing.  

The mild climate provides remarkable benefits for the inhabitants of Menton.

The weather favours farming, not common for the rest of France  such as growing citrus fruits, olive trees and avocados .

Menton became known as  the “citrus paradise “ with 316 days of sunshine per year.

The very high quality of the lemons grown in the area built the brand “Citron de Menton”. 

 

Lemon is king in Menton. 

The most favourite colour in the town is yellow, the most delicious dessert is lemon tart, the most produced drink is limoncello. 

 

 

The world-celebrated event in Menton is the Lemon Festival held between 14th and 29th February every year. 

Clever local people created this profitable opportunity which combines tourism, the sale of farming produce and entertainment in one occasion .

The first festival took place in 1934. It was a massive success and the festival has been going strong for more than 90 years.

Its popularity brings visitors to the town all year round.

They tour lemon farms, try the famous lemon tart and buy  Barbotine Majolica pottery with the vibrant citrus motif. 

 

 

A place like that inevitably attracts artistic and bohemian souls. 

One of the celebrated  inhabitants of Menton was the French actor, poet and artist Jean Cocteau (1889-1963).  

The local people have organised a well-curated museum of his works near the town port. 

 

 

I am not familiar with the art of Cocteau apart from his drawing in the French Catholic church Notre Dame de France in

London’s Leicester Square. 

I do find certain repeated patterns in his painting mildly boring.

However, the elegance of the lines and the emotional and philosophical depths of the paintings provoke unexpected

thoughts and joy. 

 

My satisfaction was complete when I saw one particular drawing.

I thought  everyone knows  someone who could model for this painting. 

 

That is all, folks- the last post of the series “French Riviera”.

I am moving on to waltzing in Vienna. 

 

Villa of a broken heart

From my previous post  you know that in 1905 Beatrice Rothschild was facing a tough time in her personal life and the incredible luck of inheriting a fortune.

 Modern psychology insists that the best way to go through personal crisis is to unleash your creativity. 

Beatrice did exactly that. 

The result can be seen even a century later.

 

Villa Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild is built on the top of the hill in Cap Ferrat. 

If you stay nearby, the best way to reach it is by foot. 

You could drive but parking the car will test your skills.

From the reception you enter the magical world of la Belle Epoch.

 
Beatrice got the idea when she visited the Greek-style mansion Kerylos at the end of the neighbouring Beaulieu-sur-mer bay belonging to her husband’s cousin. 

She decided to build a villa where she could exhibit her art and furniture collections.

 

The building work started in 1905. 

The hired architects could not get their heads round the fact that their designs should enhance the collections  and not the other way around. Beatrice’s temperament also did not help. 

As a result, the building of the villa lasted 7 years and 7 architects were involved. 

Beatrice took an active part in the project. Anecdotes still circulate how European merchant and antique dealers were coming to the Beaulieu-sur-mer train station where Beatrice personally inspected their products and made deals straight from the platform. 

 

 

 

The experts said that in Villa Ephrussi Beatrice brought together two beauties – the beauty of  nature and the beauty of human creations. 

The building resembles the architectural trends of 15th and 16th century Venice and Florence. Originally the villa was painted in okra.

 It has a covered palazzo and the rest of the rooms show the owner’s taste for 18th century French furniture. There are many antique treasures such as Louise XVI furniture, Meissen porcelain and the art of Fragonard and Francois Boucher. 

Actually, no one knows how the rooms were decorated during Beatrice’s time. All her belongings from her other homes in Paris and Monte Carlo were brought here after her death and the rooms were redecorated. 

 

 

A wonderful surprise for the visitors is the chance to enjoy a lovely break in the restaurant located in the oval dining salon. The restaurant also has an outside area looking towards the “Sevres garden”. 

Yes, Villa Ephrussi is also “a museum of gardens”. 

Creating of the gardens became a Herculean work. 

The rocks were dynamited and flattened. Soil was brought to plant trees and flowers. 

The most impressive garden is the French garden in front of the villa. At its end Beatrice built “The Temple of Love”. 

To shield the gardens from the strong Mistral wind Beatrice arranged thick glass panels, similar to the panels protecting the decks of the ships, along the terraces of the villa. 

She lived her dream of cruising around the world even when she stayed in the villa!

 

 

 

The dream did not last long. Beatrice completed the villa in 1912 and in 1914 WW1 broke out.

The garden project stopped unfinished. Beatrice left the villa and never returned to it.

She died from tuberculosis in 1934 aged 69 at the Hotel d’Angletterre in Davos, Switzerland. 

 

 

The gardens were restored and re-created after the war and today there are nine gardens displaying themes from different countries. 

And that is the story of the villa of the rich eccentric woman with white hair and a broken heart. 

A villa, a rich woman and a down-to-earth Hemingway

The main sightseeing attraction in Cap Ferrat is the Villa Ephrussi , built by Baroness Beatrice Rothschild, one of the wealthiest women during the Belle Epoque. 

Beatrice left the villa to the French Academy of Fine Art. In her will she insisted that the villa retain its vibe of a “living salon”. 

This alone tremendously increases the appeal of the villa. The world wants to see how the other half lives. 

LA BELLE EPOQUE 

La Belle Epoque translates in English as a beautiful era or good times. 

Times were really good at the end of 19th century. The Franco-Prussian war ended in 1871 and Europe enjoyed 40 years of peace, economic and cultural prosperity. Wide-spread optimism and trust in the future prevailed. The iconic Eiffel tower built for the World Fair in 1889 is a symbol of this era. 

Until the break of WW1 in 1914. 

The name La Belle Epoque was given after the war, expressing nostalgia and sentiment for this golden era. 

THE ROTHSCHILD DINASTRY

Beatrice belonged to one of  the richest and most influential families of the 19th century. 

Her great grandfather Mayer Amshel Rothschild established a banking business in Frankfurt in 1870. He built an international banking system by strategically placing his five sons in the financial centres of Europe – Frankfurt, London, Paris, Vienna and Naples. 

This smart business adventure became an extraordinary financial success and brought power and social recognition to the Rothschilds. In 1822 the Austrian Emperor made all five sons Barons. 

In order to control their enormous wealth and preserve their influence Rothschilds began marring within the family. Often to cousins. Consequently, the family grew into an affluent and powerful dynasty. Their motto still is  “Unity, Integrity and Hard Work”.

THE FAMILY

Beatrice’s father Alphonse was a son of James, one of the five Rothschild sons, who settled in Paris. He married Leonora, his cousin from London. They had three children – Beatrice, her sister Bettina and her brother Edouard.

Alphonse had a very successful career and became a governor of the Banque de France. 

Beatrice inherited her love for art and antiques from her parents. Her father collected works of art and was a benefactor of French museums.

 

BARONESS BEATRICE EPHRUSSI DE ROTHSCHILD

I cannot find many details about Beatrice and her life. 

Usually people describe her as an attractive woman with a delicate face and a “ravishing figure”. When she was 20 years old her hair suddenly went white and remained white for the rest of her life. 

Her peers remembered her as “a wild young woman” dressed in a pink gown and “insufferably excitable”. Beatrice seemed intelligent and very well-mannered even though she possessed the famous Rothschild temperament and eccentricity. 

She unapologetically lived as she wanted. During construction of the villa she told one of the architects “ I do not ask what you think. I explain to you what I want.”.She insisted that the gardeners attending the villa should wear sailors barrettes so she could maintain the fantasy that she was travelling on a boat around the world. She also“demanded that flowers should grow in the mistral”.  

Beatrice lived a life of indulgence and pleasure. She extensively travelled around the world, collecting art, porcelain and antique furniture. She often gambled in the Monte Carlo casino and bought two properties in Monaco to be near it. She attended boxing matches, was member of a women’s flying club, drove her own car and was interested in tennis and horse racing. 

She had two chimpanzees who were talked to and treated as humans. In addition, in all her houses she had aviaries with thousands of birds. Her pet mongoose slept near her bed in a bespoke Louise XVI chair. Beatrice organised a dog wedding with diamonds on the paws of the dogs and spectacular fireworks. 

TROUBLES IN PARADISE – THE MARRIAGE 

 

19-year old Beatrice impulsively broke the long tradition to marry within the family. She fell in love with Mauris Ephrussi, a banker from Odessa, 15 years her senior.

Mauris was a cheater, a compulsive gambler and ran up enormous debts. Sadly, he infected Beatrice with a sexually transmitted disease, probably syphilis, denying her the ability to have children. 

After a year the marriage broke down even though Beatrice and Mauris remained legally married for 21 years. In 1904 her father initiated divorce proceedings. He wanted to protect Beatrice’s inheritance, because at this point Mauris owed a vast amount of money.  A year later Beatrice’s father passed away. 

 

 

Beatrice was 40 years old, divorced, grieving for her father and deeply depressed. She and her brother had just inherited 700 million euros.  

Remember the famous Scott Fitzgerald’s quote “Rich people are different than you and me. Unless you were born  rich it is very difficult to understand.” 

And an equally famous reply of Earnest Hemingway “Yes, they have more money”. 

What was Beatrice going to do?

TO BE CONTINUED

Bijou place you may not know

Any discovery of a treasure hidden in plain sight brings an epic delight.

 And also the nagging inner voice “How come you have missed it for so long?”.

Take for example the visitors to the French Riviera. Even the regular tourists  blissfully miss the Riviera’s bijou called the village of Saint- Joan- Cap – Ferrat. 

The reason is definitely not logistical. Cap-Ferrat is a natural peninsula on the French Riviera only 10 km away from Nice and 18 km from Monaco.

 A taxi driver from Nice airport can reach a hotel in Cap-Ferrat in 30 min. 

There are trains, buses and boats available during throughout the year. 

Fortunately, Cap-Ferrat’s unpopularity with mass tourism helps to preserve its natural and created beauty. 

Uncrowded beaches, picturesque coves, spectacular views towards the neighbouring bays of Villefranche-sur-mer and Beaulieu-sur-mer and hiking costal paths form a part of the resort’s charms. 

The climate remains mild all year round, with very little rain in the summer and relatively warm winters. 

 

The steep elevation from the sea to the Alps mountains shelters the cape from the strong Mistral wind. 

The French movie  “Chocolat”with the famous actors Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp presented the arrival of  the Mistral as symbolising a mysterious longing for something. Metaphorically or not, experiencing the Mistral wind in Cap-Ferrat is unforgettable. 

 

 

The peninsula is build on dry rocks with limited fresh water.

The water supply problem was resolved in the late 19th century. 

This improvement encouraged the planting of olive threes, pine woods and subtropical plantations of palm trees, Hibiscus and Jacarandas. 

All the flora remains man-made.

 

The history of the peninsula unfolds as dramatic as its landscape. 

From a humble fishing village Saint-Jean- Cap-Ferrat became a magnet for the reach and royalty. 

The town has ancient roots. In the 6th century a hermit monk from Egypt called Hospitals lived in a ruined tower on the peninsula and in his honour the cape was named Cap-Saint Hospice. 

From the 14th century, the county of Nice, including Cap-Ferrat came under the House of Savoy. 

In 1860 France annexed it. 

 

 

A pivotal moment for the Cap Ferrat community was the arrival of King Leopold II of Belgium who bought a large estate on the peninsula, built luxury villas and constructed beautiful gardens .  

The beautiful Jardin Botanique Les Cedres he created still exists today. 

 

The village of Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat separated from the town of Villefranche-sur-mer in 1904 and adopted the current name Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat in 1907. 

In 2012 the prices of real estate in Cap Ferrat were the second most expensive in the world after Monaco. 

 

 

What sets Cap-Ferrat apart from the other Mediterranean resorts? Without doubt the magnificent nature, the preserved charm, the heritage, the balance between tradition and modernity.

 Cap-Ferrat offers authenticity, exclusivity and undeniable charm.   

A little bit of heaven

 

 

The phrase “French Riviera” contains an obvious geographical reference. It relates to the Southeastern coast of France. On the West the Riviera  begins at Cassis, a small town 20 km east of Marseille and continues to the French border with Italy to the East. 

The word “Riviera” has a Latin origin and means a “bank” or a “shore”. Italians used it to describe the coastal area of Liguria in the northwest of the country. So, the word “Riviera” depicts “a region characterised by the rough contact of sea and mountain”. 

 

Surprisingly, the invention of the name “French Riviera” belongs to the British aristocracy. Traditionally, every upper class Englishman had to take the Grand Tour to Italy in his formative years. Around 1760 the nobility updated the tradition with a new trend- the fashion to visit Nice and the French Riviera in winter. 

 

The British fascination with the French Riviera began with a book. Scottish novelist Tobias Smollett wrote about the health benefits of the mild winter climate in the Nice area.  His book “Travels Through France and Italy” was published in 1766 and became very popular among wealthy Britains. 

 

Seizing the opportunity another Scotsman, Doctor John Brown, started prescribing a “climate-therapy” (change of climate to help cure diseases) to his rich and noble patients. Voila, the fashionable health resort and the name “French Riviera” for the region was born. 

 I personally prefer the French phrase “Cote d’Azur” (with accent on o) instead of ‘French Riviera”. 

The literal translation means  a “coast of deep blue” – the deep blue waters of Mediterranean sea and the vivid blue of the unclouded sky. 

 

 

The name is poetic because it was given by the poet Stephen Liegard. He was a lawyer and a senior civil servant, a poet and a dandy and published a book about the region of Nice called “La Cote d’Azur”in 1887 . 

He called the area “a country of blue sea, sky and flower”. The beautiful name stuck. 

 

Whenever the Southeastern Mediterranean coast of France is mentioned, its name always holds a luxury connotation. European and Russian Royalties, wealthy people, famous artists and nowadays celebrities have been and continue to be regular visitors to the region. An integral part of the glamorous allure of the Code d’Azur  is provided by the word’s most prestigious casinos. 

 

The pioneers of the gambling industry on the French Riviera were a ruling Prince and a fraudulent entrepreneur.

 Prince Charles III of the governing Grimaldi family of Monaco was facing a financial crisis in the middle of the 19th century. His solution to these money troubles came in the form of legalising  gambling and establishing  a casino and a company “La Societe de Bains de Mer” to manage it in December 1860. 

He hired the famous architect Charles Garnier (Opera Garnier in Paris) to build the casino.

 

The gambling did not take off very well.

The Prince went into negotiations with a French entrepreneur called Francois Blanc. 

Francois had a colourful entrepreneurial past including an arrest and trial for fraudulent business strategies in Bordeaux. 

In the middle of 19th century Francois was managing a hugely successful Casino in Bad Homburg, Germany. The problem was that the German casino attracted clients mostly in the summer.

Francois immediately recognised the ability of the Riviera to attract wealthy clients in the winter and all year round. 

 

The negotiations were long and painful. At the end the Prince conveyed shares of the “La Societe de Bains de Mer” to Francois Blanc. The company owned the rights to  public service – supply of water and gas, the right to build hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues  around the casino. Francois invested in developing  the infrastructure (roads and railway) of the country ensuring  easy access to Monaco.

The incredible successful rate of the casino led to a huge surge in the gambling industry on the Riviera. A series of exclusive, opulent casinos were build in Cannes, Nice, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Menton. They offer history, elegance and entertainment to their clients. 

So, I can suggest another name for the French Riviera and Cote d’Azur. The name is “Heaven” – an escape to a cosmopolitan space of serene beauty , extravagance and unparalleled comfort. 

WALTZING IN LONDON

Everyone has heard about the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London – a well-known classical music summer festival in the capital of England. 

Nevertheless, many unenlightened fans of classical music are unable to guess the meaning of the word Proms in the festival name. So did I until last Saturday. My love for the Viennese Golden era music forced me to face my ignorance. 

To look literally at its meaning ! It came in the form of an ugly empty space called arena in the middle of the auditorium of the Royal Albert Hall . 


While I was sitting comfortable in my swing chair, a large group of people assembled in the arena.

Some people were sitting on the floor, others were standing up, all looking casual, yet  excited. 

What could probably possess these people to choose the discomfort of standing over to the convenience of the velvet-dressed seats?

 

 

There was no time to ponder. 

The orchestra came on stage and the Finnish conductor Anna-Maria Helsing gracefully raised her baton. 

Everyone in the arena stood up. The plain middle space disappeared under the arena members and suddenly we all were united. The musicians, the audience, the TV and Radio crew – we all were one, dancing the waltz of Johann Strauss II. 

 

 

 

 

I guessed the first row of the standing up community had the best view, right in front of the orchestra. May be it was worth it to sacrifice the luxury of the seat for the opportunity of listening and observing the musicians close up. 

Or may be not. 

Nowadays the Royal Albert Hall offers a very impressive sound quality. Before 1969 a strong echo caused by the roof design presented a real acoustic issue. Visitors joked that the echo helped them to hear the music twice for the price of one ticket.

Everything changed when acoustic diffusers (fibreglass discs) were installed on the ceiling of the hall. They effectively reflect  the sound back to the auditorium and were lovingly named “mushrooms”. 

 

The rising star of the Metropolitan  Opera, the American soprano Erin Morley made her debut on the stage. The audience cheered her enthusiastically. 

At the interval time I asked a family in front of me how long the break was gong to be. They replied “Usually 20 min.” With accent on usually. There is some pride in being a regular at the Proms. 

The programme continued with popular and not so famous Viennese musical pieces – exactly the intention of the co-founders Robert Newman and Henry Wood more than 125 years ago. They aimed to popularise classical music with a large audience. 

 

 

“By the beautiful blue Danube” waltz’s popularity goes without any question and deserves the special privilege of being the final piece of the concert. It is the best musical piece full of magic, beauty and nostalgia. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the secret behind the name Proms. The reference comes from the popular tradition called Promming. 

Promming means to stand up in the middle arena or in the galleries of the theatre. One of the definite attractions of Promming is on the cheap price of the ticket. It costs only £8 and can be bought on the day of the concert from 9:30 in the morning. 

For the very popular concerts the prommmers need to queue almost all day but who understand the joy of queuing better than the British people. 

Prommers bring a special element of informality, disorganisation and enthusiasm to the Royal Albert Hall that breaks the seriousness and stiffness of classical concerts. 

Still, I prefer to enjoy this gorgeous Viennese music pleasantly leaning on the back of my chair. 

 

In September I will be listening to the  Strauss  music in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. It seems naturally to waltz in Vienna.