May 2021 - Paris Panorama

Welcome to the May 2021 edition of our newsletter Paris Panorama!

Each month we feature an inspiring haiku poem by Anna Eklund-Cheong.  You will also find a photograph of Paris by Tom Reeves, our restaurant of the month with a link to the review, and an angel of the month by Rosemary Flannery.

Bonne lecture!

Haiku of the Month

May Haiku
Photograph by Eric Hian-Cheong
Haiku by Anna Eklund-Cheong

Photo of the Month

Rue Malebranche
Photograph by Tom Reeves

Tom Reeves publishes photographs of Paris on his Paris Insights Facebook page.

Our Restaurant of the Month

Our restaurant of the month is selected from the restaurants at which we dined during the prior month.   We invite our readers to read our reviews at the following link:   https://www.parisinsights.com/restaurants.php (sign in to read the reviews).

Le Bel Ordinaire
Photograph by Entrée to Black Paris

Imaginative cuisine served on rue de Bazeilles, near the popular Mouffetard market.

Angel of the Month

Angel of the Benitier
Photograph by Rosemary Flannery
Author of Angels of Paris - An Architectural Tour through the History of Paris

For this month's angel, Rosemary writes:

In 1834, the Minister of the Interior commissioned Antonin Moine to create two benitiers – holy water fonts – for the Madeleine Church, dedicated to Mary Magdalene. When Moine presented large plaster models at the 1836 Salon with soulful figures symbolizing Religion and Faith flanked by graceful angels of ambiguous sensuality, the reception was mixed: some judged them to be of a "profound spirituality, of a calm and elevated religious expression inspiring meditation and prayer."  Others disliked the languid forms emphasized by "the wet drapery of their transparent gowns which evoke the materialistic beauty of pagan art from the times of Louis XIV and of the Empire."

The church’s architect, Jean-Jacques Huvé felt that the large, complex compositions of Moine’s benitiers were unsuitable for the church’s interior.  Finally, the central angels of the original models were retained to adorn simplified benitiers. One angel swings an incense-burner.  The other, pictured here, holds a navette – a reference to the small boat in which Mary Salome, Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin Mary would have landed on the banks of the Camargue.

Eglise de la Madeleine, Place de la Madeleine, 8th arrondissement (Metro: Madeleine)

To learn about other angels, follow this link:  Angels of Paris – An Architectural Tour Through the History of Paris.

Rosemary Flannery is an experienced artist currently creating portrait drawings from photos.  Click here to learn more: www.portraitsbyrosemary.com