THE KĂRCHER QUEEN

 Kärcher is a household name in Europe and a handyman’s best friend.  A few years ago, I bought a Kärcher high-pressure water cleaner to make my Calvisson handyman’s work faster.  Kärcher claims to be user-friendly and water efficient.  However, this year, my handyman was unavailable due to a minor domestic accident, and unable to find a replacement, I had to handle the cleaning myself.  I now believe that cleaning and weed removal are no longer tasks for the local handymen.  The water cleaner’s operating manual is written in 28 European languages but lacks helpful pictures.  After watching two YouTube tutorials, I became Karcher proficient at 82, bingo!

The equipment is a bit heavy to drag around but I discovered that the high-pressure gun is more fun to operate than a vacuum cleaner.  Wearing my rubber boots, I thoroughly cleaned porch, patio and terrace; all are now spick and span.   If “Kärchering” can be done by a female octogenarian, I understand why it has lost its appeal to younger men.  The unintended Kärcher Queen will conclude this topic at this juncture, however her perspective on mundane house chores remains unenthusiastic.

During her initial two weeks in the south of France, the Kärcher Queen focused on housekeeping tasks, she nonetheless found time for friends and culture and even managed a weekend escape to Paris.  The weekend had been planned to coincide with M’s stay in the city and the blockbuster David Hockney exhibit at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, FLV.  M is a long-term UN friend who also lives in Rio.

Since its inauguration in 2014, the Franck Gehry-designed building of the FLV has hosted many acclaimed exhibitions.  I am no art expert, but I find the foundation’s exhibition choices eclectic at best.  It offers a sought-after exhibition space, and its deep pockets compensate for an absence of art collection.  David Hockney 25 is FLV’s current blockbuster exhibition, it brings together more than four hundred works produced during the last 25 years.  It is Hockney’s biggest retrospective ever.

I had been impressed by Hockney “gadget” iPad paintings, fascinated by the old guy’ s grasp of digital technology (he is 87).  He started drawing on an iPad in 2011 and upgraded his technic during the Covid pandemic.  Hockney has kept reinventing himself over his career: the vivid colors of his Yorkshire landscapes are mesmerizing (photo below).  Hockney’s opera designs and sets powerfully end the show.  I exited the Gehri building with stars in my eyes and glorious music in my ears.

The Hockney “show” was the beginning of our “culture vulturing”.  We subsequently visited the exhibits of Gabriele Münter, Matisse and Marguerite (his daughter), Eugéne Boudin and Suzanne Valadon.  Now, I would like to discuss Münter (1877-1962) and Valadon (1865-1938).  Valadon was known as painter Maurice Utrillo’s mother and Münter as painter Vassili Kandinsky’s former partner.  The two exhibitions give full credit to the artists’ talent, vision, and innovation. 

It is a well-known fact that women artists (of all periods) have seen their legacy erased, and many were only “rediscovered” in the mid-20^th century!  Paris museums have recently given space to female artists like Brazilian Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973) and Italian Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653).   

In an Instagram post, my cousin E noted arresting coincidences between Gentileschi and Valadon.  Both learned their art from their milieu and were barrier breaking women who became financially independent.  Because “Maria” Valadon modeled for older painters (often lovers), painter Toulouse-Lautrec (also a lover) nicknamed her Suzanne in reference to the Baroque painting Suzanne and the Elders.  Toulouse-Lautrec certainly referred to Tintoretto’s Suzanne, as Gentileschi’s version was little known at the time. The biblical story Suzanne and the Elders, depicts old men trying to sexually abuse a girl, it illustrates how women were brought up in an abusive male society.  Valadon took her revenge: she was the first woman painter to depict a male nude.

Suzanne Valadon

Gabriele Münter is one of the founding members of the Blue Rider group (Blauer Reiter) in Munich (1911-1914).  The painters were affiliated to the German Expressionism movement.  Because, I am a great fan of Kandinsky’s Blue Rider paintings, I was vaguely familiar with Münter’s work.  Last year, I discovered Münter’s American photographs (1898-1900) which illustrated her curious and independent personality. Münter had inherited a large amount of money from her parents, providing her with financial independence, free of bourgeois conventions.  Before becoming her partner, Kandinsky was her teacher and supported her artistry.  WWI ended the Blue Rider movement, two of its leading artists, August Macke and Franz Marc were killed at the beginning of the conflict.  During WWII, she retreated to Murnau (Bavaria) and her art matured into a more sedate and luminous form.  She also hid a large trove of modernist works, regarded as degenerated by the Nazi.  She went from founding member to custodian of the Blue Rider.