The Antique Car Museum

The entrance to HSH Prince Rainier's collection of old cars in Fontvieille.  Here is a Mclaren Mercedes Formula One sports car.

Oceanographic Museum - the Wonder of Fish

The wonder of fish at the Oceanographic Museum.

Picasso in Monaco

Picasso at the Grimaldi Forum.

Monte Carlo Daily Photo is taking a temporary break ...

The Oceanographic Museum at sunset and a temporary au revoir ...

Monte Carlo Daily Photo is taking a break after publishing daily for over 6 years. Menton Daily Photo will continue, so do please visit me there where I may well publish the odd Monaco photo taken when I visit friends in Monte Carlo.

The reason is that I'm putting all my creative energies into a book of photography and words. All will be revealed eventually...

I want to thank everyone so very much for being so faithful to this blog - for your encouragement and comments. Currently there are 10,000 people a month who look at Monte Carlo Daily Photo, of which 5,000 are what Google refer to as 'unique visitors' so I'm aware that I'm saying a temporary goodbye to a lot of people. But I will be back one day.

I simply need to concentrate my creative energies on my book. 

lots of love and thanks - Jilly xxx

Tipsy Building

A view of the side of the Oceanographic Museum and gthe beautiful lamps that lead the eye to the sea.

I was standing slightly off centre so although the horizon is straight, the building appears to tip slightly - or should I blame the building and say that perhaps it had had a glass of vino too many ... ?

Oceanographic Museum at Sunset

The Oceanographic Museum at sunset.

There's a dawn photo today on Menton Daily Photo.

Oceanographic Museum

The Oceanographic Museum is a building I never tire of photographing.  So beautiful the way it rises out of the rocks.  There's some sort of work going on from the sea - a crane, perhaps a dredger?

And note the large seagull sitting on the small boat, doubtless waiting for a fish.

Staircase at the Oceanographic Museum

The monumental stairscase leading to the first floor at the Oceanographic Museum.

Lamplight at the Oceanographic Museum

One of the beautiful lamps at the Oceanographic Museum.

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Kate Moss

Marc Quinn has created several sculptures of British supermodel, Kate Moss in contorted yoga poses. "Microcosmos (Siren)" was made in 2008.  A duplicate, made out of ten kilograms of 18-carat gold sold at Sotheby's for $900,000.

No comment ...

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - the Origin of the World

Yesterday, we saw a real shell (cassis madagascariensis) from the 17th century that had been carved into a cameo.

Today, here is a sculpture from the Marc Quinn exhibition showing exactly that same species of shell but somewhat larger!  It's made of bronze and is called The Origin of the World ( Cassis madagascariensis) Longitudes. It stands just inside the entrance of the museum.

Much of Marc Quinn's work ties in beautifully with the permanent exhibits at the Oceanographic Museum.

Shell Art at the Oceanographic Museum

These carved shells are on display in a covered glass case in the Oceanographic Museum.  They were carved in 17th century Italy.

The cameos were carved onto Emperor Helmet shells (Cassis madagascariensis), considered the most highly prized shell for carving.

The Sea Eagle

The sea eagle sits, way up, on a corner of the roof of the Oceanographic Museum.  

The bump on the hillside opposite, which is below La Turbie is known as la tête du chien (the head of the dog).

Oceanographic Museum - Octopus

Hmmmm, not sure I'll ever eat octopus again...

This guy is really fixing me with his eyes, isn't he? 

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Zombie Boy (Rick)

Marc Quinn's sculptures are disquieting but beautiful at the same time. Some - many - are scary - at least I found them so. 

This piece is called Zombie Boy (Rick) Cu Pb NnFe Mg Si.  It's made of orbital-sanded flap-wheeled lacquered bronze and was created in 2011.

Just click on either photo to see the detail which is extraordinary.  As I walked past Zombie Boy I felt his eyes following me - in fact I had the strong feeling that perhaps he wasn't a sculpture at all but one of those street people who don't move and then suddenly spring to life.

He is astonishingly beautiful. 

Thanks to Philippe who informed me that Zombie Boy is a real person, with real tattoos - do take a look at the link. 

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Fire!

As I said yesterday, this area of the exhibition is forbidden to children unless accompanied by an adult. Whether it's because of the subject matter of the sculptures or because an unaccompanied child and fire could be dangerous, I don't know.

This piece is called Matter into Light: the Discovery of Fire (2011).  It's made of hand-treated cobalt-plated bronze, concrete, stainless steel, cement board, ceramic and bioethanol liquid.  This is one of a series of burning sculptures which thanks to new technology, can burn with real fire inside the museum without a flue.

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - the Guard

Screens surround the entrance to this space, the Salle de la Baleine, with a notice saying that children may not enter without an accompanying adult. Here you'll find an interesting mix of skeletons that belong to the museum and skeletons created by Marc Quinn, for instance Another Angel.  You'll also find a fornicating couple on a bed of fire which I suppose is the reason for the notice.  More tomorrow ...

This photo shows the guard on duty bathed in light - I couldn't resist snapping the scene.

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Coral Nervous Breakdown

Coral Nervous Breakdown - has to be the perfect title for this piece!  Created in 1997 it's made of stainless steel, concrete, polyurethene and sponges.

The second scupture is called Mustard Nervous Breakdown. (1998)

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Evolution

As you walk into the Salon d'Honneur in the Oceanographic Museum you see these 8 enormous sculptures of foetuses which are called Evolution and were created by Marc Quinn between 2005 and 2007.

Take a look a the second photo which shows their size compared to the visitors admiring them.

"The piece Evolution grows under the attentive gaze of Prince Albert I of Monaco, founder of the Oceeanographic Museum, who, in his autobiography, The Career of a Navigator' wrote:

'During my navigator's career I received fromthe sea a few testimonies concerning the laws which determine her role among the forces of the world ... It gave me a serene confidence in that destiny which the balance of the universe imposes upon oganic creatures along with the eternal cycles of life and death.'"

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Another Angel

This piece is called 'Another Angel' and is made of patinated bronze.  The exhibition is beuatifully staged with subtle lighting creating interesting shadows.