A Woman's Paris ~ Joie de Vivre

(Part one) Rosemary Flannery‘s book Angels of Paris: an Architectural Tour through the History of Paris delves into the artistic trends and historic movements that the angels reflect and the stories of the artists who created them and of those who commissioned them. Readers will learn about Paris’ history, buildings, and monuments through the abundant, beautiful, and surprising depictions of angels from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century that are a part of the fanciful and romantic spirit of Paris.

French Impressions: The Angels of Paris: an artistic tour with Rosemary Flannery (part one) takes us behind the scenes to the city she has made her own. She dreamed about coming to France as a teenager growing up in New Jersey, living in a small town and spending summers reading Hugo, Zola, and de Maupassant. She writes: “I was dying to walk down cobblestone streets and meet people named Cosette and André… I came to Paris for the first time in my twenties, when I lived here and in the south for a year, and then returned often on vacation or for business when I was in the fashion industry.”

Before coming for the first time in the late seventies, she already felt that all roads led to France, and especially to Paris. She was mad about French literature, French cuisine, French fashion, the language, the culture… I found it fascinating that some of the world’s greatest artists, such as Van Gogh, Picasso, and Modigliani had spent a large part of their lives here and died here.

Rosemary has lived in France since 1989 and enjoys dual French-American nationality. She regularly speaks about French architecture to cultural associations, schools, and other groups, and she is a member of the Paris Historique and SOS Paris, non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving historical buildings and areas of Paris. She gives tours of Paris, especially of museums and architecture.

Angels of Paris: An Architectural Tour through the History of Paris, Rosemary Flannery’s first book, was published by The Little Bookroom, NYC and distributed by Random House in 2012. For more information on Rosemary Flannery, visit: (Website) (Events) (Tours) (Purchase)

“Pictures of foreign places always intrigue (as long as they weren’t taken by Uncle Harry), and Rosemary Flannery takes on Paris, a city at the center of art, literature, and endless memoirs and travelogues (and yes, filled with effortlessly slim women who nibble on stinky cheese and have well-behaved children). With her eyes skyward, she sees the beautiful angels looking down in The Angels of Paris: An Architectural Tour through the History of Paris.” — Louisa Ermelino, Publishers Weekly

“Look up, in Paris, and the city is full of angels. Flannery finds them all over Paris and gracefully weaves together each one’s story with the city’s history, architecture and plenty of anecdotes. Even Benjamin Franklin makes a cameo appearance, with the muscular little angles who hoist lightning rods on the roof of the Theatre du Chatelet. An ususual—and uplifiting—way to look at Paris.” Vivian Thomas, France Today

PERSONAL STYLE

AWP: When you moved to Paris, how did you grapple with the cultural differences? Can you share the moment when you knew it had changed for you?

RF: That was so long ago! I think I was mystified by many things and then got used to it. For instance, the shock the French have if anyone orders café au lait after dinner, or the notion that items bought cannot be returned­­—or are exchanged with great reluctance—in small shops. But after a while, it all seems to make sense and one begins to think they are right!

AWP: How did you become a “little bit” French?

RF: I was a little bit French before coming here. I had dreamed about coming to France as a teenager growing up in New Jersey, living in a small town and spending summers reading Hugo, Zola, and de Maupassant. I was dying to walk down cobblestone streets and meet people named Cosette and André… I came to Paris for the first time in my twenties, when I lived here and in the south for a year, and then returned often on vacation or for business when I was in the fashion industry. So my “frenchification” was a steady and gradual process!

AWP: What French cultural nuances, attitudes, ideas, or habits have you adopted? In what areas have you embraced a similar aesthetic?

RF: The richness of simple pleasures like having a meal at an outdoor café and the way ordinary things are rendered beautiful—as how a pastry is wrapped up into a little triangular present! I’ve become accustomed to all these things.

In France personal contact is very important, whether to do with administrative matters, obtaining information, or going forward on a project. At first, I found the necessity of always going to places to get things accomplished, rather than phoning, very surprising as it is so much more time-consuming for both parties. But in the end, a relationship is established, which is so much more enriching and well worth the time spent.

AWP: You arrived in Paris in 1989 soon after the 15th G7 summit, the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, and the opening of the concert hall, Opéra Bastille. What was it like? 

RF: It was an exciting time. I must admit that it was a year during which I travelled a lot, so perhaps did not have my finger on the pulse of the capital as much as others. I do remember the excitement of the July 14th parade, which was extraordinary, orchestrated by Jean-Paul Goude.

The opening of I.M. Pei’s Pyramid of the Louvre was thrilling as well, being able to see the vestiges of its medieval fortress and the new disposition of the artwork.

AWP: Some women and men are predisposed, each in their own way, toward France: through fantasy, family or a cultural context. Was this the same for you, and if so, how?

RF: Absolutely, I have always felt at home here. I’m going to do a DNA test to see if anywhere amongst my family’s Celtic heritage, there isn’t a bit of a strain of French blood somewhere! Before I came for the first time in the late seventies, I already felt that all roads led to France, and especially to Paris. I was mad about French literature, French cuisine, French fashion, the language, the culture… I found it fascinating that some of the world’s greatest artists, such as Van Gogh, Picasso, and Modigliani had spent a large part of their lives here and died here.

AWP: AWP: Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), a reactionary pragmatist regarding women, said in a letter written in 1795: A woman, in order to know what is due her and what her power is, must live in Paris for six months. In what way does Napoléon’s statement hold true with your experience living in Paris? How is Napoléon’s statement understood by women of today?

RF: It has been a joy for me to live in Paris. As for a woman knowing what is due her and what her power is, I think this can be achieved anywhere provided a woman has confidence and believes in what she is doing and pursues it, whatever it may be, at whatever cost. Many of today’s great women are in Paris and also out of it—my greatest admiration is for Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who is fighting the Taliban to achieve an education for herself and for other Arab girls. Her power comes from her conviction and her courage.

AWP: Parisians dress well and have a distince fashion style. How do you describe their understated elegance?

RF: There is a simplicity to the way they dress, which is often set off by fantasy jewelry, unusual shoes, or something in the way they style their hair. They seem to have a natural style; it is striking just to people-watch, even the students have an effortless style.

AWP: What is the most valuable thing the Frenchwoman has to work with?

RF: Confidence. They do seem to feel sure of themselves and for that reason, can pull off wearing curious combinations like stockings worn with sneakers and shorts and make it look good.

AWP: How do you define style? How do you express your own style?

RF: Style comes down to being yourself and following your own calling. In terms of fashion, it means wearing what’s right for you, no matter the trends. Personally I love color, wearing it and living with it, and having flowers in my home all the time.

AWP: Describe your own “Paris.”

RF: My own Paris is about making time for discovery. I love going to ‘new’ areas in the city and sharing time with friends, enjoying cultural experiences. I think this is key—the enjoyment, the conversation afterwards, all of it. I appreciate all that the city has to offer and try to partake of it as much of it as I can—expos, theatre, jazz, trying out new restaurants, or going to unusual neighborhoods.

AWP: Name the single book or movie, work of art or music, fashion or cuisine that has inspired you.  

RF: All Quiet on the Western Front by Rainer Maria Rilke, written about World War I. I read it as a teenager growing up in NJ and will never forget it. At the time, the Vietnam War was raging. It was very moving to learn and realize the obvious—that young men since the beginning of time, everywhere in the world, are sent to execute a horrible and thankless task, and all are told they are on the right side.

The book is very humanistic and teaches compassion, the most important emotion after love. And I wish we could figure out, now at last in the 21st century, (and about 100 years after that book was written) how not to go to war.

AWP: What is the latest book you read? Would you recommend it?

RF: I would highly recommend The Hare with Amber Eyes. Elegantly and movingly written, it tells the story of a descendant of the powerful Ephrussi family, Jewish bankers and grain merchants who lost almost everything during the Holocaust. In doing so Edward de Waal also describes Paris and Vienna during the Belle Époque, the rise of Nazism, and Tokyo after the war.

I’m now reading Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties, by Lucy Moore—great piece of work! Fascinating and so well written.

AWP: Tell us something we don’t know about Paris – its style, food, culture or travel.

RF: Hard to say if I know something no one else does!  In terms of food: I’m a bit worried about the inroads of American food in Paris—Starbucks everywhere, the hamburger food trucks, Cocopuffs sold at Monoprix… I hope the French are not losing ground with the richness of their gastronomic culture of everyday dining.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s very exciting that Parisian chef Yannick Alleno is dedicated to using products from the Parisian region of Île-de-France in his cuisine, getting back to products such as asparagus of Argenteuil, Montreuil peaches, or Mereville watercress; this is a fascinating and pioneering trend.

AWP: Your passion for life is extraordinary. What’s next?

I have just finished creating an App entitled “Angels of Paris” for Pocket Guides, Inc., the world’s leading city guide audio application. It allows the user to stroll around the center of Paris from the Latin Quarter to Chatelet to the Marais, while viewing a total of eight different sculpted angels and learning about Haussmannian, Rococo, 17th-century and medieval architecture. This project has inspired me to go a bit further and to design webinars and YouTube videos about Parisian architecture. (App)

The updates are mainly about my focus of tours in the Musée Jacquemart-André and a Modern Architecture Walk, which covers Gehry’s Cinémathèque Française, Parc de Bercy, Passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir Passerelle, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Piscine Joséphine Baker, Les Docks, Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air, and L’Institut du Monde Arabe.

You may also enjoy A Woman’s Paris® post, L’art du voyage: Discovering French Pilgrimage Medals. Jen Westmoreland Bouchard, professor of French language and culture, shares her discovery of antique religious medals from France, some centuries old, that she found at Le Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen (Paris’ largest and best known flea market). 

Oh, so French! Crossing to the other side. Paris-based writer Shari Leslie Segall shares her observations of becoming a little bit French and writes: “To a greater or lesser degree, whether you expected to or not, one day you realize that you’re crossing to the other side.” She offers a very incomplete list of how you know when you’ve arrived. (First published in FUSAC.FR July 5, 2013.) 

C’est normal!: the French philosophy and their genuine politeness. Dana Wielgus takes us on a journey through France—from Paris to Toulon—and successfully debunks the debatable stereotypes some Americans are fed about people of different cultures. 

French Impressions: Shari Leslie Segall on melting into French culture. Philadelphia native Shari Leslie Segall traveled the world before settling in Paris, where she has lived since 1985. Calling upon her insights into what makes our French cousins who they are, she shares her views in good humor about the inhabitants of her adopted country; and what it’s like for her as a writer, teacher, author—and marathon runner—living in Paris. 

A Woman’s Paris — Elegance, Culture and Joie de Vivre

We are captivated by women and men, like you, who use their discipline, wit and resourcefulness to make their own way and who excel at what the French call joie de vivre or “the art of living.” We stand in awe of what you fill into your lives. Free spirits who inspire both admiration and confidence.

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. — Coco Chanel (1883 – 1971)

Text copyright ©2013 Rosemary Flannery. All rights reserved.
Illustrations copyright ©Barbara Redmond. All rights reserved.
barbara@awomansparis.com