Art du jour (2)

Vierge en oraison

Virgin in prayer

Jean Bourdichon

Tours, 1480?

When I was studying in Tours for 2 months in 2010 I went to the Musée des Beaux Arts and bought a postcard of this painting. Instead of sending it out I kept it my room wherever I happened to be. 

In 2011 I was back home in Chicagoland doing an internship required for graduation. The Art Institute of Chicago was having an exhibition entitled "Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France" which I went to on one the free visiting days they have with a friend. 

I turned a corner and voilà! saw this painting all the way from France. What a wonderful surprise it was! I think I took it as a sign of sorts, but as to what kind of sign, I have no idea exactly.

I'm all about Marian iconography. I'm sure that my name being what it is (Maria) has something to do with it. :) I like the crucial role art played in the Catholic Church for centuries and I like thinking about the personal choices artists had to make in creating an image of the Vierge.

Fleur d'oranger

Orange Blossom! Every now and then I'll get a flashback of sorts to my time in France. I'll see something or read something that I recognize as particularly French and realize even more just how many little cultural differences exist between the U.S. and France.

I was in a bookstore in Chicago recently when I stumbled upon a book of wedding fashions throughout the decades. While I was flipping through the pages, I found out that orange blossoms were a traditional staple of weddings especially during the Victorian era with brides wearing them as wreaths or making them a part of their bouquet. This was interesting to me because until I went to France this past year, I don't even think I had ever heard of orange blossoms being used in any context or mentioned in any way at all.

When I visited Provence I noticed a lot of perfumes, soaps, and shampoos (which are big selling items for tourists in region) are fleur d'oranger scented. Since I've never seen anything orange blossom scented in the United States, I made sure to buy fleur d'oranger scented soaps and perfumes knowing that it wouldn't be that easy to buy such things back home. I really love the fleur d'oranger scent and every time I smell it, I'm reminded of living in France.