Jules Verne, French science fiction writer
Journey to the center of the earth? Around the world in 80 days? From Earth to the Moon? Five weeks in a balloon? Or 20 thousand leagues under the sea? Extraordinary travel. The famous and unknown worlds of the French writer Jules Verne excited the minds of not only his contemporaries who lived in the 19th century, but also those who were born and raised in the 20th century and from childhood tried to comprehend the obvious and the incredible. The famous French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels addressed the topic of immortal short stories by Jules Verne, who decided to present his luxurious collections of unique jewelry at the specially prepared exposition “Les Voyages Extraordinaires” (“Extraordinary Travels”), named after a series of adventure and fantastic novels by his compatriot, as part of the annual exhibition Art Dubai 2011, which, as always, will be held from March 16 to 19, 2011. For the third time in a row, Van Cleef & Arpels has partnered with Art Dubai, one of the most famous and important in the world of contemporary art. And that means he has something to tell and something to show.
Les voyages extraordinaires
So, the way the most respected audience, connoisseurs of painting, graphics, the highest and finest jewelry craftsmanship! If you ended up at Art Dubai 2011 in Madinat Arena, where this year more than 75 art galleries from 30 countries of the world have gathered, as well as the one-of-a-kind Van Cleef & Arpels Fine Jewelry House, then you definitely won’t be bored. After the year before last, the House of Van Cleef & Arpels demonstrated the delightful historical masterpieces of its masters, collected from private collections or preserved in its own museum, and presented fine watchmaking art in the past, it was time to go on a voyage.
A new collection of unique jewelry creations “Les Voyages Extraordinaires” (“Extraordinary Travels”) has absorbed the spirit and mood of four outstanding novels by Jules Verne, whose fictional world has become an inspiration for the masters of Van Cleef & Arpels, who recreated in their products the amazing beauty of fantastic flora and fauna, sky and stars. Especially for Art Dubai, the talented theater director Alfredo Arias and artist Ruben Alterio created a unique world of fantasies and dreams in a pavilion covering over 400 square meters. Everyone who gets into this world, at the same moment turns into a traveler, heading towards unknown adventures. And the first surprise that awaits him on the way are four caryatids - monumental sculptural images of those journeys that lie ahead ...
20 thousand leagues under the sea
Here the traveler "plunges" under water on the famous bathyscaphe "Nautilus" of the legendary captain Nemo. Through the windows you can see the amazing and bewitching "underwater world", which is inhabited by squids, cuttlefish, octopuses, dolphins, blue whales and other amazing inhabitants of the depths. Needless to say, all this magnificence dazzles with brilliant and sapphire brilliance, beckons with all shades of ocean waters and dull glare of metal.
The quintessence of this collection is the "Olindias Clip" brooch. That was the name of the jellyfish in the Temple of Apollo. Now no one knows if she was dancing or just swimming in the sea, but it was she who laid the foundation for the legend, which became a source of inspiration for artists such as Caravaggio and Bernini. They say that it protects the happiness of people and makes us fall in love.
The brooch of the same name, which is the thinnest jellyfish frozen in a dance, is studded with round diamonds, as well as baguette and rose-cut diamonds, and amazes the imagination with its grace and beauty.
From Earth to the Moon
After diving to the seabed, the traveler sets off to conquer space on a rocket once invented by Jules Verne and recreated by Alfredo Arias and Ruben Alterio for Art Dubai.
By the way, the full name of the novel sounded like "From the Earth to the Moon in 97 hours and ...". some minutes there. I don’t remember anymore. However, a modern tour to Earth’s satellite is unlikely to take more than half an hour. But what! This voyage of yours will be surrounded by stars and planets, whole galaxies and constellations, and even the Milky Way, miraculously turned by the masters of House Van Cleef & Arpels into unique pieces of jewelry. In this collection, the Berenice Constellation Ring attracts special attention. The source of inspiration for its creation was the constellation "Hair of Venus." Venus II was the Queen of Egypt in the third century BC, and according to legend, she promised to cut off her luxurious hair if her husband Ptolemy III returns victorious from the war with the king of Syria.
She kept this oath, but one night her hair disappeared. Then the royal stargazer announced that it was the gods who took the hair of Venus and turned them into stars. At the center of the ring sparkles a peridot weighing 27.11 carats. This unique bright green stone, which was revered even in Ancient Egypt, is surrounded by stars studded with diamonds, and is decorated with delicate flashes of coral and turquoise, symbolizing the dawn sky.
Journey to the center of the earth
Breaking into the mouth of an erupting volcano, a hellish car bites into the rock and begins its advance towards the center of the earth. This gigantic excavator takes precious stones and other treasures that formed under the earth’s crust many millions of years ago from the bowels of the earth ... And lo and behold! Jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels turn them into original sets or individual jewelry, sparkling with a variety of colors and shades.
It is worth noting here the Stromboli Set, named after the active volcano of the same name in Sicily. And the researchers in the novel by Jules Verne, if you recall, tried to get to the center of the Earth through the crater of a volcano in Iceland. The main task of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelers was to show the beauty of the volcanic eruption in jewelry.
And, it seems, they succeeded. Streams of pouring lava reflect ribbons of white and yellow diamonds, and the base of the necklace, decorated with lilac sapphires, resembles a volcano vent in the stains of frozen lava. The best gemologists at Van Cleef & Arpels participated in the search for the right amount of yellow diamonds for this set, because it was important for them to convey the unique golden sparkle of light in the jewelry. The necklace in this set is complemented by clips and a ring.
Five weeks in a balloon
Is there really a balloon on Art Dubai? You won’t believe it, but yes it is. The most real, bright red and very beautiful, ready to soar into the sky this very second. Travelers can climb into the basket and begin the "flight" over the evergreen rainforest inhabited by sleepy lemurs, huge elephants and even birds of paradise, and filled with lively cacophony of colors and sounds. On the dials of the collections of elegant watches, you can see copies of the most picturesque landscapes, opening from above, as if frozen in a round frame, to give you the opportunity from time to time to enjoy the best moments of travel.
However, it is impossible to complete the story about this "flight" without stopping near the central decoration of the collection - the necklace "Lemurs" (Makis Necklace), one of the most original and attractive. At the center of this necklace is a luxurious dark red tourmaline weighing 21.74 carats. The stone is framed by leaves created from pear-shaped and teardrop-shaped emeralds. The leaves are complemented by three colors of star-shaped sapphires - blue, pink and purple flowers, planted on stems made of precious stones and pearls. The basis of the necklace is two intertwined diamond creepers.
Surprise: lemurs hang directly from flowers. These funny little animals are so lively that it seems that they just froze in motion at the moment when they tried to enjoy ripe fruits made from sapphires and pear-shaped emeralds. Their tails are intertwined, and this playful undertaking required a lot of effort on the part of the jewelers who worked on its embodiment. In addition to the necklace, the Lemurs collection is represented by several rings, bracelets, earrings and clips.
And finally, at the end of the trip, guests can look into the round pavilion “L'Atelier”, which is an exact copy of the workshops of the House of Van Cleef & Arpels on Place Vendome in Paris. Here you can see all the stages of creating jewelry from the collections of high jewelry art - from pencil sketches and the first gouache drafts to the casting of a wax model, the fastening of precious stones and the final polishing.
An expert gemologist will talk about how stones are selected for each decoration of the House of Van Cleef & Arpels. Believe me, this is such a long and painstaking process that in some cases it can drag on for months or even years.
However, it will bring endless pleasure to both the creators and the owner of the jewelry masterpiece. Just like, however, an unforgettable journey in the company of the heroes of the novels of Jules Verne and the masters of Van Cleef & Arpels. Have you already packed things? We invite you to a dream
Jules Gabriel Verne (1828 1905)
The French humanist writer, one of the founders of the science fiction genre, Jules Verne was born February 8, 1828 in the wealthy port city of Nantes (France), in the family of a lawyer. At the age of 20, he was sent by his parents to a Paris college with the aim of obtaining a legal education. He began his literary work in 1849, writing several plays (vaudeville and comic operas). “My first work was a small comedy in poetry, written with the participation of Alexander Dumas the son, who was and remained one of my best friends until his death. It was called“ Broken Straws ”and was staged on the stage of the Historical Theater, owned by Dumas "Father. The play was somewhat successful, and on the advice of Dumas Sr. I put it in print." Don't worry, he encouraged me. - I give you a full guarantee that there will be at least one buyer. I will be this buyer! "... Soon it became clear to me that the dramatic works would not give me either fame or livelihood. In those years I huddled in the attic and was very poor." (From an interview with Jules Verne to reporters).
While working as a secretary at the Lyric Theater, Jules Verne worked at the same time in one of the popular magazines, writing notes on historical and popular science topics. Work on the first novel, “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” began in the fall of 1862, and at the end of the year the novel was already published by the famous Parisian publisher Pierre-Jules Etzel, whose collaboration lasted about 25 years. According to the contract concluded with Etzel, Jules Verne was to annually give the publisher two new novels or one two-volume (Pierre Jules Etzel died in 1886, and the contract was renewed with his son). Soon the novel was translated into almost all European languages and brought fame to the author. The greatest financial success fell on the share of the novel "Around the World in 80 Days", published in 1872.
Jules Verne was a passionate traveler: on his yacht Saint Michel he twice toured the Mediterranean Sea, visited Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Holland, Scandinavia, and entered African waters. In 1867, Jules Verne traveled to North America: "One French company acquired the Great Eastern ocean boat to transport Americans to the Paris exhibition ... My brother and I visited New York and several other cities, saw Niagara in winter, on ice ... On I was impressed by the solemn calm of a gigantic waterfall. " (From an interview with Jules Verne to reporters).
The fact that the predictions of scientific discoveries and inventions contained in Jules Verne’s novels are gradually coming true, the science fiction writer explained as follows: “These are simple coincidences, and they are explained very simply. When I talk about a scientific phenomenon, I will first examine all available I draw sources and draw conclusions based on many facts. As for the accuracy of the descriptions, in this respect I am obliged to all kinds of extracts from books, newspapers, magazines, various abstracts and reports that I have prepared for the future and are gradually being updated All these notes are carefully classified and serve as material for my novels and novels. None of my books have been written without the help of this file cabinet. I carefully look at over twenty newspapers, diligently read all the scientific reports available to me, and, believe me, I always feel delight when I learn about some new discovery ... "(From an interview with Jules Verne to reporters).
It seemed to many readers that the novels written by Jules Verne were surprisingly easy. In an interview, the writer commented on such statements like this: “Nothing comes easy for me. For some reason, many people think that my works are pure improvisation. What nonsense! I can’t get to work if I don’t know the beginning, middle and end of my future. a novel.
... If the reader can guess how it will end, then such a book would not be worth writing. To love the novel, you need to invent a completely unusual and at the same time optimistic denouement. And when there’s a plot plot in my head, when the best one will be selected from several possible options, then the next stage of work will begin - at the desk. "... Thanks to the habit of daily work at the table from five in the morning to noon, I have been able to write for many years two books a year. " (From an interview with Jules Verne to reporters)
“I try to take into account the needs and opportunities of young readers, for whom all my books have been written. When working on my novels, I always think about - even if sometimes it’s to the detriment of art - so that not a single page comes out of my pen, not a single phrase that children could read and understand ... My life was full of real and imaginary events. I saw many wonderful things, but even more amazing were created by my imagination. If you only knew how sorry I am that I have to finish so early lt your earthly way and say goodbye to life on the eve of an era that promises so many miracles! ... "(from an interview with Jules Verne to the correspondent of the New Vienna Newspaper; 1902).
Jules Verne died at 8 a.m. on March 24, 1905 in the town of Amiens (France) and was buried near his home. Two years after the death of Jules Verne, a monument was erected on his grave, depicting a science fiction writer rising from the ashes, with a hand outstretched to the stars. Until the end of 1914, every six months, as was done for forty-two years, Jules Verne continued to present readers with a new volume of "Extraordinary Travels." In total, the series “Extraordinary Travels” included 64 books of 62 novels and 2 collections of short stories.
Jules Verne is the author of about a hundred books, including poems, plays, short stories, about 70 novels and novels: "Five weeks in a balloon" (1862), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1864), "From the Earth to the Moon "(1865; Jules Verne chose Florida as the starting point and placed his" cosmodrome "near Cape Canaveral, the novel also correctly indicates the initial speed necessary for separation from Earth)," Children of Captain Grant "(1867-1868). ), "Around the Moon" (1869; the effect of zero gravity was described, the descent of a spaceship engulfed in flames in the Earth’s atmosphere and its landing in T oceans only three miles from the place where Apollo 11 came back from the Moon in 1969, 20,000 leagues under the sea (1869-1870), Around the World in 80 Days (1872. ), "Mysterious Island" (1875), "Fifteen Years Captain" (1878), "500 Million Begumas" (1879), "In the XXIX Century. One Day of an American Journalist in 2889" (1889; short story), "Floating Island" (1895), "Plain Banner" (1896), "Lord of the World" (1904), works on geography and the history of geographical research.In many countries of the world, societies of fans and lovers of Jules Verne have been created and are actively working. In 1978, the Writer's Museum was opened in Nantes, and 2005, which marks 100 years since the death of the writer, was declared the year of Jules Verne in France.
Here is how the secret of the immortality of Jules Verne’s books explained, their growing popularity even today, when most of the writer’s technical predictions turned out to be realized, and in many ways surpassed, by the French critic Jacques Chenot: “If Jules Verne and his extraordinary journeys do not die, it’s only because they - and with them the so attractive nineteenth century - posed problems that the twentieth century could not and will not be able to get away from. " Will their progressive 21st century be able to solve? Question ...
