A daily aesthetic promenade

Something has Changed in the Design World

2010-09-12T04:12:00.001-04:00

After visiting the international exhibition MAISON & OBJET in Paris it’s obvious to me that something has deeply changed in the design world: consumers are moving toward something more natural with more value and more meaning: recycled, sustainable and ethnic. These three words summarize the current trend.

Rattan Raffles Four Drawers Chest at gratcom

Hand-loomed fabric in milk protein fiber, produced in Mali.

Traditional linen embroidered curtains from Morocco

Petrified wood natural “sculpture”

The Lost Art of Ironing

2010-06-08T04:36:00.001-04:00

The notebook pictured below is the work of a school girl that dates from the beginning of the 20th century. Each page illustrates the techniques of ironing and the methods of folding the various items that are part and parcel of the household linens. A separate page is devoted to each individual item (sheets, pillow shams, tablecloths, napkins, shirts, handkerchiefs…..) opposite its own written page of explanation. Clearly a significant amount of time was relegated to not only the maintenance but also the beauty of presentation of these seemingly ordinary objects!

The first two pages below describe how to iron a handkerchief:

spread out the handkerchief face down with the monogram and the selvaged edge at the top
fold such that the bottom selvage exactly meets the top selvage
double one more time bringing the fold to the selvage
if the monogram is on the left, fold from the right to the left
fold in four and iron the hem on the face of the fabric

The three pages below illustrate a variety of styles for folding a dinner or a tea napkin. Each image is carefully described on the facing page.

The steps to follow for ironing a dinner napkin

A variety of decorative examples for ironing and folding tea napkins. The monogram is always in a position of prominence.

The page below describes how to iron and fold fancy pillow shams. The way the sham is folded depends on the location of the monogram such that it’s visible and highlighted once the sham is folded.

Ironing and folding one’s nightgown

Ironing and folding a man’s dress shirt

Gardens in the City: Paris in Bloom

2010-05-24T11:55:00.001-04:00

In big cities gardens have a special meaning as they bring a feeling of natural beauty and peace into a harsh environment. In the northern hemisphere May and June are often optimal months for city gardens. I just returned from a quick trip to Paris and its gardens, big or small, were breathtaking! Before such luxury it becomes instantly clear why so many people love Paris.

The Eiffel Tower in uncommon garb – jacarandas in full bloom!

The “Palais Royal,” is located smack in the middle of the crowds and traffic jams of Paris. However, nestled inside its 18th century buildings there is a beautiful and peaceful garden where the noisy city seems far away. This garden, virginal in its appearance today, was nevertheless in the 18th century a torrid center of debauchery!

Luxembourg Gardens is one of the favorite promenades for Parisians who live in the 6th arrondissement, one of the most chic quarters of Paris. As soon as the sun comes out the crowds arrive, but if you wander a little off the beaten path you will find many hidden oasis of calm such as the one pictured above. And if you want to learn how to prune your fruit trees, you’ve come to the right place: not only are there more than 200 species of apple and pear trees alone, but there’s also an exclusive school located in the middle of these gardens for pruning fruit trees.

In May, when it’s time to buy potted plants and flowers for your terrace, there is no scarcity of selection. At Moulié, Place du Palais Bourbon, you won’t be disappointed! As elegant a florist as one would hope to find, Moulié is located just a stone’s throw from the French Parliament and adds some light and color to a square otherwise dominated by blue uniformed policemen.


	One of the oldest places in Paris to buy flowers and plants is Quai de la Mégisserie, right in the heart of the city and just along the Seine.


Happy are those who live in this house, peeking out behind the red tulips and just between the Musée des Arts Premiers and the Eiffel Tower. This neighborhood is one of the most luxurious in Paris.	This quaint house in the middle of the Bercy Gardens is named the House of Gardening.	Even those who live on a barge like to have their own private tiny garden.

A Gift Selection

2009-11-22T11:41:00.002-05:00


A 1903 photographic portrait on Japanese paper by GERTRUDE KÄSEBIER, an American photographer born in 1852 in Des Moines, Iowa. Estimate: $1800 at Lemperetz	An elegant amber beaded necklace, Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co Sotheby's New York Estimated 7 500 - 10 000 USD	Boathouse Stripe Organic Bath Towels $9-$29.00 POTTERYBARN

P'HOME D'AMOUR sugars with pram $17	Travel in style with the Meris Duffle Bag by Amy Butler $240	Oregon Flute $5.95 Crate&Barrel

Christe Eleison $850 Catellani & Smith	A seascape watercolor by Louis Faye $3000	Brooch, René Lalique, 1900 Pearl, enamel, diamond and molded glass roses. Sotheby's New York Estimate 20.000- 30 000 USD

Is "Nature Morte" dead ?

2009-11-02T23:59:00.001-05:00

Everyday objects have always been a source of inspiration for artists. From the Flemish painters of the Renaissance to Morandi in the 20th century still life painters have found the essential beauty in ordinary objects. With modern art the most common objects have become a kind of obsession. These are no longer the essence of beauty but rather the ugly evidence of the consumer society.


Ricard Hamilton, 2008 Since the late 1980s Bethan Huws (born 1961, Bangor, Wales, UK ) has produced a wide ranging body of work that is acclaimed by the modern art world.	Hotel Dry Cleaning, 1998 Jason Dodge was born in 1969 in Newton, Pennsylvania, USA. He lives and works in New York and Berlin. For Dominic Eichler of Frieze Magazine "he is a clever imitator, an expert illusionist with the sharp eye and deft hands common to conjurors"

Apolinere, 2008 "Unique work" by Bethan Huws	Left Glove Burnt By Gold, 2008 Jason Dodge


Shoes, 2006 Marius Engh	Pair, 2004/2005 Hreinn Fridfinnsson (1943-) Hreinn Fridfinnsson is one of the leading classics of Icelandic conceptual art.
	At a time when sport shoes are more and more the shoes of choice, leather is the symbol of conservatism or coquetterie.
Wicked Witch of West Shoes, 1999 Wonderful Boots Stan Dann Stan Dann is an artist from San Francisco, CA

But you know as nobody has ever been able to give a commonly accepted definition of art, there is room for anyone who sees himself as an artist. And fortunately for some people (like me) there still exist artists in the tradition of Chardin or Morandi.

Morandi

Rodrigo Moynhan (1910-1991)

William Bailey
William Bailey is an American contemporary realisitic paintern born in 1930

Pottery, 2008
Louis Faye

Daniel Enkaoua, 2009

Claudio Bravo

Red, Grey & White Paper, 2005
Claudio Bravo

Home Decor Inspiration at FIAC 2009

2009-10-23T04:57:00.001-04:00

FIAC is one of the big annual art expos in Paris during the month of October. The name FIAC stands for International Fair of Contemporary Art. This year I noticed that many exhibiting artists were inspired by home decor.

	Chairs
	The Background of a Hostage Incident, 2009 by the Art & Language Group. The Art & Language group was founded in 1968 in the United Kingdom by artists Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge(b. 1941), Michael Baldwin (b. 1945) and Harold Hurrell (b. 1940), four artists who began collaborating around 1966 while teaching art in Coventry .

	The Art Gallery BISHOP/WEISS exhibits workd by Matt Golden. Matt studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London, UK.. ( CV)
	Lighting
	Grotto, 2008, by Bettina Buck. Bettina Buck is a German artist, born in 1974, who studied Fine Arts in Cologne and London. She is represented at FIAC by the Italian Gallery MONITOR.

	Empathy by Gyula Varnai. He is an Hungarian artist born in 1956 who studied mathematics, physics and music. He is represented at FIAC by ACB.
	Table Wear
	Tea Pot with Shadow by Hand Peter Feldmann. Hans Peter Feldmann is a German artist born in 1941.

	Table by Thomas Smith.

Juan Montoya Design

2009-10-10T13:13:00.001-04:00

One of the most acclaimed designer in the United States today. Born in Colombia he graduated from Parsons School of Design. He founded Juan Montaoya Design in 1978. He also designs furniture. Despite what Juan Montoya said, " "The client and space dictate what style I will be working in. I consider myself a tailor who finds the best materials to clothe an interior in the most appealing and comfortable manner, down to the last detail", there is a Juan Monoya style: the closest attention to detail, a South American sense of color and a love of quality art work

A Designer's Handbook in the 18th Century

2009-08-10T12:20:00.009-04:00

“Le dessinateur pour les fabriques d’etoffes d’or, d’argent, de soie” by Joubert de l’Hiberderie was published in Paris in the early 18^th century. He gave some useful pieces of advice about what to learn in order to become a successful designer .

“ I would never advise any parent to make his or her child study the art of drawing except in the case where the child was immensely talented and showed his enthusiasm for the art. “

Then, he goes on to say, before being taught the art of drawing, the future designer should spend two years in the factory where the object of his design will be made. There he would have the opportunity to understand its technical constraints.

At this point he would be ready to begin the study of figure drawing. In mastering the art of drawing the human body he would develop a line that is real and precise. He will then go on to study the rendering of flowers…

Design attributed to Jean Francois Bony (1754-1825)

Design by Philippe de Lasalle (1723-1804)

Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective

2009-08-04T13:03:00.003-04:00

Is Francis Bacon ( as Cavaraggio) admired because he was supposed to be a bad boy and not because he was a good painter? Francis Bacon's paintings arrive in New York at a moment when wrongheaded traditions are the only ones that are widely esteemed …… Read the article of Jed Perl, The New Republic.

1920-1960 armchairs

2009-07-29T06:28:00.032-04:00


Jacques Emile Ruhlmann (1878-1933).	Louis Sue (1875-1968) & André Mare (1885-1932)	Louis Sue (1875-1968) & André Mare (1885-1932)

Sant' Elia Chair, Giuseppe Terragni, 1933	A Maurice Dufrene armchair, mahogany, 1925.	Designed by louis Herman De KoninckGobert, Bruxelles, 1923

An armchair designed by Luigi Vietti in 1936	An armchair fom 1936	A beautiful armchair in Macassar eboby from the 30's.

1940	An armchair in beech from the 40's	An André Arbus (1903-1969) armchair

Gigondas

2009-07-19T03:47:00.038-04:00

Gigondas is a charming small Provencal village in the southern Rhone region of France. Its name comes from Latin: "Jocunditas" means pleasantness and charm.

St Catherine d'Alexandrie, the village church, dates from the 11th century.

Gigondas lies at the foot of the " Dentelles de Montmirail," a mountainous ridge named for the lacy shape of its peaks. In the photo below, taken from one of these peaks, you can see my beautiful wife and the valley below carpeted with vineyards.

Gigondas wine is much like Chateauneuf du Pape but much less expensive. It's a very good buy.

We recommend " Moulin de la Gardette", the small family vineyard of Jean-Baptiste Meunier.
The average age of the vineyard is more than 30 years and it's grown without chemical weed killer. The grape harvest is handmade. Moulin de la Gardette wines are fruity, elegant , full-bodied and ages very well. Their price is very moderate. An excellent value!

La Petite Gardette 2007

Rich with fruit, smooth with a good lenght. An excellent inexpensive wine.

Gigondas "Cuvée Tradition" 2006

A full-bodied red. Grapes from vines between 20 and 60 years old.

Gigondas "Cuvée Tradition" 2007

80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre and 10% Cinsault. wait 2 or 3 years before dinking it

Gigondas "Cuvée Ventabren 2006"

70% grenache, 20% syrah, 10% cinsault; deep ruby texture, nose of black fruits, it should drink for 15 years.

Designer Lighting

2009-07-04T03:51:00.012-04:00

Three classical lamps by FLOS (You can't go wrong choosing one of them):
Chasen T designed by Patricia Urquiola a Spanish designer and architect who lives in Milan. She designed for many well-known firms.
Taccia a great classic designed by Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962. It hasn't aged a day!
Ktribe T designed by Philippe Stark in 2007.

Cloud Floor by &'COSTA, an innovative Italian company, casts a gentle light . It was designed By Carlo Zerbaro ( he founded &'COSTA in 2000) and Alessandro Trentin. La Foule by "dix heure dix", a French design company, is a wall lamp in painted steel and printed glass, designed by Fabrice Berrux. When it was first presented it received an enormous acclaim.

Elegant Maids of Yesterday

2009-07-03T10:45:00.009-04:00

There are few direct accounts given by servants in the 18th and 19th century. Most of the time what we know comes from a third party who gives either a very positive or revolting version of their life. The artists who created the paintings below show different portraits of maids who are very elegantly dressed in sophisticated fabrics, lace and simply superb caps. They are probably servants of the highest society of their time as few people were able to afford such a luxury.

Edouard Benedictus, a true Renaissance man

2009-06-29T11:26:00.007-04:00

Recently I attended a small local auction and I fell upon one of the beautiful Edouard Benedictus book :" Nouvelles Variations" (1925). What good fortune!!! I love this artist. Edouard Benedictus was a multi-talented Renaissance man, at the same time a writer, a painter, a textile designer, a book binder and a chemist.

He created wonderful and colorful albums of textile and wallpaper designs in the Art Deco style . His books include "Variations," 1924, "Nouvelles Variations," 1925,and "Relais," 1930.

He was a friend of the French composer Maurice Ravel; both of them joined an avant-garde group of artists, writers and musicians known as the "Apaches" ( with Maurice Delage, Leon-Paul Farges, Manuel de Falla, Igor Stravinsky...).

Edouard Benedictus is the man who discovered safety glass in 1909: he discovered the process of lamination by dropping a flask that had contained nitrocellulose in his laboratory. The shattered glass held together, instead of breaking apart ( REF: SAINT GOBAIN)

The many facets of Shanghai

2009-06-26T12:30:00.008-04:00

I visited Shanghai for the first time 25 years ago. Today one of my daughters lives and works there and the Shanghai she knows has few things to do with the one of the 80's. With the advent of the single child civilization children have become the center of attention in a completely new way.

Look at how these two little girls are primped and gussied up! And look at how eager they are to discover the world!!!

Not only is intellectual acuity encouraged in very young girls but they learn fast to not be pushed around.

The cultural revolution is truly a thing of the past and has almost become a subject of mockery. Maybe it is also a way to dedramatize a very painful time!

The modernity of the 18th century

2009-06-25T12:41:00.006-04:00

The word "new" has such marketing value that it is used all too often. As a matter of fact what we think of as new has often very deep roots in history. The Chinese artist who carved the piece of jade pictured above created a sculpture with a very abstract and refined shape which an artist of the XX century could very well attribute to his own time. This stunning carving was made in China in the 18th century. The vase below was made in Murano, Italy toward the end of the XX century inspired by the beautifully embroidered lace handkerchiefs of the 18th and 19th centuries, it became known as a handkerchief vase. The artists in Murano did not lose sight that lace was first invented in Venice.

Venini Fazzoletto hankerchief vase, Murano, Italy

Lalique Hair Pin , France, early 20th century

The design of the flower is very stylized and abstract.Similar hair pins can be seen at Musée d'Orsay and at the Gulbekian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal. Calouste Sarkis Gulbekian was a loyal Lalique customer

A Dora Maar painting

2009-06-22T13:32:00.002-04:00

A painting of Dora Maar (1909-1997) is on sale at Bonhams , London this week. It represents a landscape in the Luberon mountains of Provence. Best known as the muse of Picasso Dora Maar was a painter and a photographer in her own right. She studied painting in Paris with Andre Lhote.

She and Picasso met in 1936 at "Les deux Magots" a famous café at Saint Germain des Pré in Paris. It's said that Picasso was seduced by her deep and large brown eyes.

Tradition triumphs in Burgundy

2009-06-21T11:07:00.009-04:00

Comtois Horse working in the Romanée-Conti domain

Domaine de la Romanée Conti make some of the most famous Pinot noir wines in the world. The grapes are grown according to biodynamic principles and organic agriculture. You can see the extent to which they apply these principle as horses are used instead of tractors to reduce the compression of the soil!!! Many domains in Burgundy compete to be the most organic even if some have to chauffeur their horses in trucks to the vineyard!!

Map of Vosne Romanée

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.

2009-03-20T20:13:00.003-04:00

Beautiful wall painted sundials from the south of France.

Mottos written on antique sundials

Work because time flies

Ne Diferas ( don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today)

Silente Loquor ( I speak silently)

Spero lucem

my small shadow measures life

Dum fugit umbra quiesto

Quotide morirur ( each day i will die)

Sole me, Vos umbra regit ( I live by the rule of the sun, you live by the rule of the shadow)

Ars longa, vita brevis

I am the joy of all

I only count the day light hours

I measure the pace of the sun and your lives

The Art of Dining

2008-10-02T12:33:00.001-04:00

"The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure not a slight pleasure"

Michel de Montaigne

A huge white banquet damask tablecloth that falls to the floor. This is a throwback to the ancient past when the tablecloth was used as a napkin to clean one's fingers (as most of the time people did not use forks!!!). Some antique damask tablecloths are real works of art and priced accordingly.

One should always set a table with a minimum of two glasses, the water glass on the left and the wine glass on its right. When there is red and white wine the white wine glass should be positioned at the far right.

However it is altogether appropriate to have a formal service with an elegant but short tablecloth. And all the better for a woman to show off her legs.

Of course it's always possible to have the best of both worlds, a formal service with a tablecloth that reaches the floor and a shorter cloth placed on top to the best effect. This one for example has elaborate embroidery which is set off by the colored cloth underneath.

My bed for an empire

2008-09-23T04:56:00.001-04:00

A bed stripped to its essentials: this is minimalism.

The dream of the eternal virgin.... (so clean that men are prohibited).

A well made contemporary version of the traditional bed, sometimes known as a "lit bateau," or boat bed.

A beautiful art nouveau bed designed by Louis Majorelle in 1902.
Known as "le lit nenuphar," or the waterlily bed.
The bolster pillow is oh so typically French!

What's a beautiful bed without comfortable linens...
hand embroidered pure linen sheets, simply the best of the best.

(and anti-allergenic and 100% organic to boot! )

An extravangant 19th century bed (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris)

A 20th century romantic version of a "lit à la polonnaise." The curtains are made of a modern printed toile inspired by "toile de Jouy" in harmony with the wall paper.

An American four poster bed

In the middle ages individual sleeping rooms were non-existent. More often than not, even the bed was shared by several people. If by chance you’ve read Tristan and Iseult you may remember that Tristan slept in the same room as the king and his wife. Surrounding a bed with curtains was a way to not only protect from the cold but to insure a bit of intimacy as well. This kind of decoration later evolved into a sign of stature.

A rustic 19th century canopy bed.

.
Bed " Lit à la polonnaise" with a round fabric dome ,and elaborate upholstery details.King Georges IV of England acquired such a bed for his private residence Carlton House in the 1780s

Four French rustic beds 18th and 19th century.

Chic is back

2008-09-19T13:37:00.000-04:00

Now I understand why my daughters still dream about Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck. These two possess the kind of class that is timeless. After taking a look at the Sartorialist I had the impression this kind of man is fast coming back into style. In London, New York, Paris Madrid and all the big cosmopolitan centers successful men are daring to be sophisticated. A propos I noticed the pocket handkerchief is back.

Valentino

The Sartorialist never misses the smallest detail. A blazer, a pocket handkerchief, a pair of leather shoes (from Lobb for sure) worn without socks with an old pair of jeans, what else... (of course, cashmere is always welcome)

At Barneys it's easy to find one

Et voila!!!!! (as D.H. Lawrence so aptly put it, “The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread "

When a tool is a work of art

2008-09-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

This traditional workshop has kept in perfect condition two looms dating from the end of the 19th century. The frames were made of walnut. The craftsmen who made them wanted their tools not only to be efficient and strong but beautiful too. They were proud and handled them with love.

The poetic painting of the Islamic world: a neglected art

2008-09-09T04:51:00.000-04:00

The art of Islamic painting has often been neglected as well as misunderstood in the Western world. For religious reasons, figurative painting was rare and it most often appeared in the form of book illustration. Most works were not signed as the Islamic world is less individualistic in its philosophy and practice than the west. Poetry is an essestial part of Islamic painting insofar as the painter paints the world of his dreams as opposed to strict reality.

Superb poetic painting from the "Seven Poets Anthology" of 1398: a magical mountain in an everlasting spring. Is this perhaps a reference to the ancient religious tale in which Zoroaster speaks to the world from the top of the mountain? This painting is reminiscent of Pierre Bonnard.

Mohammad Qassem, 17th c.

Ispahan, 1627

Prince Iskandar Anthology

Bahran Gour in the seven portraits room

Shiraz, 1410

Gulbekian Foundation

The Simargh with the dragons, Turkey 15th c.

Sewing with style

2008-09-06T06:32:00.000-04:00

Refinement is everywhere, even in the smallest detail of life. In the distant past almost every woman and girl knew how to sew and embroider, even those of the aristocracy. Thimbles, needle cases and other elements of the sewing kit were often veritable jewels. They were made of gold, silver, porcelain, ivory, bone, wood or brass. Some were decorated with precious stones. These intimate and specialized objects were a kind of illustration of the refinement and love of beauty of the time. Starting a collection is relatively easy as they don't take up much space and as it's possible to find examples in a wide range of prices.

a set of needle case and thimble in silver 18th c. England

A beautifull work of art, London 1735

Summer in Provence

2008-09-02T07:34:00.000-04:00

This summer I spent some time at my sister's country home in Provence. She owns an old bastide (Provencal manor) nestled in the vineyards at the foot of Mont Ventoux. As you can see, the Provencal architectural style of the 18th century has little in common with the "Provencal style" of houses in California or even the Cote d'Azur. First of all, these bastides have few if any windows on the side of the house that faces north. At the time, this was done to protect the house from the dominant north wind, the "Mistral." In addition, the architectural design is almost severe. The walls are extremely thick and the windows relatively small so as to protect the house from the southern heat. Typically, there are many plane trees to bring shade and freshness. The garden is "à la Française" with geometric patterns created by stone walls and shrubbery. As there are many underground springs in the region, the garden remains very green.

A grand piano in the living room: this is the perfect time to relax and play music with friends.

Famous designers of the past: Charles Rennie Mackintosh

2008-08-29T09:59:00.001-04:00

In the 19th century it was not uncommon to be at the same time a designer, an architect and a painter. Charles Rennie Mackintoch, one of the most influential "Art Nouveau" designers was all of these at the same time. He wanted to build and design for real people, individuals, and not for the masses. His concern was not only to satisfy the practical needs of people but to allow them to live with works of art. This is a far cry from the concept of "good design" as developed in the United States in the fifties, an ethic of utilitarianism as the main goal of a society of mass products

When he arrived in London in 1915 Charles Rennie Mackintosh produced more than 120 designs for the textile industry.

carnation 1915

Waves 1915

The attraction of the void

2008-08-27T07:35:00.000-04:00

A chair made by Tecno (Italy) and designed by Valeria Borsani in the 60's. Mustard yellow velvet and an aluminium structure. The oil painting is by Charles Lacoste (1870-1959). The bronze sculpture is by Will Horwitt (1934-1985). Born in New York city, Will was a monumental sculptor influenced by Brancusi.

A laminated chair by SHIRO KURAMATA (1934-1991) . He's known as one of the most famous "industrial designers" in Japan. He's one of the most expensive designer of the 20th century .

A chair by the Australian designer MARC NEWSON one of the word's foremost designers. He worked for many commercial brands such as Ideal Standard, Samsonite, Tefal, Alessi, Ford, Quantas, Magis , Cappellini. His work is among the highest selling in auctions.

The Illusion of the blank page

2008-08-26T11:21:00.000-04:00

This child's dress was made in the 18th century. The colors of the embroidery are so vivid that it seems almost new. Today the same fabric would cost about $2000 a yard. In the 18th century this kind of fabric was even more expensive ( the value of clothes was often an important part of the estate , especially when you compare it to the value of real estate in the 18th century).

The next piece was designed by Christian Lacroix. He has a very extensive knowledge of the way antique fabrics were made as you can see.

Drinking with style

2008-08-23T05:17:00.000-04:00

If dishwashers existed in the 18th century they would be few if any beautiful engraved glasses like these left. They were probably made in Holland or Germany. In spite of the fact that many wine lovers think that engraved glasses are not the most appropriate to the wine’s robe, I don’t mind them for drinking Roederer Cristal champagne.

Theres are no straight lines in nature

2008-06-16T09:47:00.001-04:00

Each year roses try to climb to the top of the roof of that 18th century house in Burgundy, France.

Nature is running amok , taking over the " Museum du Quai Braly" designed by Jean Nouvel , The 2008 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate.