This is one of my all time favorite paintings I have done for myself. When I went to Paris a few years ago I fell in love with the feel of the area and just wanted to submerge myself in it. So when it came time to decorate my own home I wanted to create some pieces that had meaning for me.
When I went to Paris in 2007, the whole week I was there it rained. This image is poetic to me and reminds me of that week. I wanted to take the image of the Montmartre stairs and create my own version of the staircase.
The Montmartre staircases are a focal point of an area of Paris known for it’s artistic history. It is also known for the white domed Basilica Sacré-Coeur at the top of the hill. The Staircase its self is actually called Rue Foyatier. It ruins from the bottom of the hill, alongside the Louise Michel Park and up to the Sacré-Coeur. Many of the greatest artists have lived there; Van Gough, Picasso and Dali just to name a few.
The whole painting comes across as a very somber, dark, rainy atmosphere with all the various shades of blue and black, with accents of yellow. As you look through the painting you see that the buildings and the stairs just disappear into the fog of blue towards the bottom of the hill. All that can slightly be seen is a couple under an umbrella.
With no leaves on the trees in the image, you can tell that it is early spring which helps set the tone of a cold dreary day in Paris. Paris in the rain – was that a song or a poem? The finished painting is framed in an antiques black and gold frame to bring out the darkness of the painting.
Have you been to Paris before or ever been to the Montmartre area? Let us know what you thought about it or if you have any suggestion of things to see while in that area of Paris.