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Liudmila Kondakova - Les Rives de Notre Dame
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In the warm, morning light of a Parisian day, weariness from your transatlantic flight evaporates. Your senses quicken in the presence of Notre Dame's grandeur. You have arrived at the immutable heart of Paris, the Ile de la Cite, the ship-like island that sits in the Seine seemingly floating through time. Perhaps you dared trade off modern creature comforts for the luxury of location when you selected this old hotel, 'Les Rives de Notre Dame' for your stay in Paris.
You can taste the buttery warmth of a croissant dipped in the double espresso you'll find at the cafe next to the hotel. You already enjoy the thought of returning to the cafe at dusk for a ballon of red wine. The musty scent of old paper at the stalls of the bouquinistes rise in your imagination, and you know you'll sift through those treasure troves of out of print books and magazines and yellowed prints many times before it is time to leave. Kondakova's remarkable style of 'Romantic Realism' is evidenced by the exquisite detail that breathes life in this image, 'Les Rives de Notre Dame'.
Kondakova's rendering of Notre Dame's magnificent rose window, will serve as your inner compass, indeed as it must have for centuries of visitors as they crossed the Seine for coronations, or under the banner of revolution, or in humble pilgrimage. Those famous flying buttresses will point you toward myriad paths of discovery, and you permit yourself the vanity of believing the devils, gargoyles and ornaments adorning one of civilization's greatest edifices will serve as talismans during your stay.
Is there really such a place as 'Les Rives de Notre Dame"? In Liudmila Kondakova's imagination, the importance of that question wavers against the enchanting spirit conjured by the image. Almost magically, the softly refracted reflection of the massive and monumental facade of the Cathedral of Notre Dame becomes one of many engagingly rendered vignettes in a magical tableau. Evocative in detail, 'Les Rives de Notre Dame' is sure to delight both those familiar with the works of Liudmila Kondakova and those discovering it here for the first time.
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