Tatoueurs, Tatoués - Exposition at Quai Branly

Tatoueurs, Tatoués (Tattooists, Tattooed) - an exposition exploring the history of tattoo artists and tattoos, as you may have guessed, from their origins through to current times.

The exposition starts with the origins of tattooing, which is said to date back to 3350 - 3100 BC. It looks at the reasoning behind tattoos in these earlier cultures - a mark of initiation rituals, an indicator of marginalisation, a mark of social prestige, a mark of punishment. In general, a sign of belonging or not belonging to a group.

It then continues on with tattoo history - circus sideshows, tattoos in Japan, tattoos in North America, and tattoos in Europe. Each has an interesting past of tattoos growing and falling in popularity, interplaying with historical events.

Spring exhibitions at Musée d'Orsay - review

There are two temporary exhibition treats to enjoy at d'Orsay this spring.

1.  Gustave Doré: Master of Imagination - This one was a nice surprise, as I went in knowing very little about Doré...so much so that the gallery staff felt sorry for my ignorance, and she gave me the audio guide for free!

The exhibition covers Doré's life works, from his early caricatures, his illustrations (his strongest body of work), his paintings, as well as other things he dabbled in such as sculpture.

Some of the highlights include the creative illustrations he did for the bible, his illustrations of Shakespeare's plays, and his landscape paintings (my personal favourite). You'll also see how his works have had a sizable influence on the comic book world, and the cinema world.

Musée d'Orsay - a newbie's guide

The Musée d'Orsay is one of the must see galleries in Paris, with a focus on the impressionist and post-impressionist art. In terms of art periods, roughly speaking, d'Orsay takes over where the Louvre drops off, and carries the baton through to where the Centre Pompidou picks up.

The building itself is worth the visit alone - a converted train station over 100 yrs old, which was almost demolished.

For the artworks, the big names include Monet, Cézanna, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Rodin, to name a few.