A Tranquil Confidence: Four Women of the Belle Epoque

  I want to share with you an appreciation for the paintings of Marie-Therese Durand-Ruel by Renoir; Elisabeth, Countess Greffulhe, by De Laszlo; and two others, Lady Richmond and Jane de Glehn, by Sargent. To me they represent an essential characteristic of the civilization they lived in: a tranquil confidence. The Renoir picture of the…

An Observation on Regret from Proust

Lately I have re-reading Proust. Here is an example of why. In "À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs" Proust's young stand-in protagonist is visiting the studio of the fictional painter Elstir at his villa near the seaside resort of Balbec. It is about sunset, and he is about to go home. He asks Elstir…