A very strange affair

Nearly 40 years ago I went to a piano recital at Château Montal, just outside of St. Céré, in an area of south-west France where I would later come to live. Little did I realise then, that this château nestling among the honey-stone villages in the valley of the River Dordogne, had been home during the war to thousands of priceless art works evacuated from the Louvre in Paris to keep them safe from bombing and out of the hands of the Nazis.

And only today, did I discover that among them was probably the most famous painting in the world, Da Vinci’s “La Joconde”, better known as the Mona Lisa.

The discovery was made when J and I attended an exhibition in the nearby town of Vayrac, which included the screening of a documentary on the subject. But an even greater surprise lay in store.

For the property next door to us, purchased by my daughter Carol, was used as overspill storage for those works of art which could not be accommodated in the château. Specifically, the apartment above the double garage, which I am currently converting into my new workspace. Not only did the documentary film feature photographs of the exterior of the building, there were pictures taken inside of the dozens of paintings, secured in wooden packing cases, stacked one beside the other.

Among them were world-famous works including Les Noces de Cana by Veronese, Le Sacre de Napoléon by David, Napoléon sur le champ de bataille d’Eylau, and Napoléon visitant les pestiférés by Jaffa.

The whole story of how the contents of the Louvre were moved around Free France, just one step ahead of the Nazis, to end up, literally, in my back yard, is an extraordinary one. And, I must confess, with one more book left on my contract it has given me more than a little food for thought.

My main pic, part of the exhibition, shows how the Mona Lisa was transported around France.

My Extra is the apartment above the garage next door, which I am currently converting into my new work space - the same space occupied all those years ago by those priceless paintings.