Sunday

This is Mein Hotelzimmer in Paris, or My Hotel Room In Paris, by Augusto Giacometti, 1938.

I’ve been waiting for months for the weather to turn colder so that I could show it to you. Isn’t it the cosiest painting you’ve ever seen? Don’t you just want to climb in? I do. I want to have come back from a fun dinner just as it’s started drizzling, and to climb into that bed and to lie there listening to the rain pittering on the rooftops.

It’s one of the interiors paintings I love best - so simple but so evocative. It’s the light, of course - it’s always the light - which is the kind of light you see inside people’s houses when you’re trudging home from school in the dark in winter. That yellow, welcoming glow gives you such a specific feeling - joy mixed with the anticipation of comfort, maybe of something nice for tea, and, for me, a presentiment of Christmas.

I love how rich the interior is, even though it is plain to a fault: a metal bed frame, a modest wooden table, a nondescript lamp. But then you have that light, that gorgeous wallpaper, so full of life and warmth, and that incredibly inviting bedding - plus a thoughtful eiderdown for extra comfort. Needless to say I have a whole narrative in my head about the middle-aged woman whose hotel it is, who is motherly and puts extra layers on beds for weary visitors, and who is extremely proud of her wallpaper choices.

The painter is gratifyingly appreciative this imaginary woman’s efforts. He likes the room enough to quickly whip out his paints. Augusto Giacometti, who was Swiss, was the cousin of Giovanni Giacometti, the father of Alberto, as in the long thin sculptures, Diego, also a sculptor, and Bruno, who was an architect. Amazing family. Augusto was a painter, a maker of stained glass (including in three prominent Zurich churches) and a poster designer. He was also one of the first abstract painters of the 20th century.

This painting of his hotel room is not in any way significant or important. It’s of no consequence whatsoever. But it is lovely, and that is enough.

Thank you for stopping by! These fortnightly picture posts are free to read. They alternate with my food posts, which are also free. For everything else, you need a paid subscription, so do consider that if you’d like to. If you’d like a sampler, sort of like word tapas, I made one the other day.

If you have been thinking about a paid subscription, this is your reminder that I am putting up my prices tomorrow, Monday 14 October. Anyone who becomes a paid subscriber before then will be locked in to the current price, meaning that regardless of what happens in future, the price you pay today is the price you pay forever.

Either way, have a wonderful Sunday and if you enjoyed this post then please VERY KINDLY hit the ❤️ button - it makes it more visible to non-subscribers. Thank you!

PS I’ve tried to impose more (some) order on my homepage - it’s now loosely arranged by theme. I’ve also put all last year’s useful Christmas posts in their own section. I know most of you read in the app, but do have a look at the homepage on a browser sometime - it’s easier to navigate I think.