Seeing the unseen: Hidden art on banknotes (Part I)
2016-10-25 Tue
The wads of banknotes that you carry around and so often spend are miniature versions of art treasures! Have you ever noticed what beauties they depict? Though the banknote designs in themselves are a work of art, they also sport some famous masterpiece paintings on them. Some of them are discussed below:100 French Francs (1997): This deep brown, orange and green note has the famous French painter Paul Cezanne on its obverse. Paul Cezanne was a preeminent painter of Post-Impressionist era. Known as the "Master of Aix", Cezanne is credited with introducing the emergence of twentieth-century modernism or abstract art.
One of his famous painting “Apples and Biscuits” is depicted on the reverse. This painting is one of Cezanne’s most stunning masterpieces and symbolizes his great mastery of still life painting. This painting of 1880 hangs today in Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris, France.
100 French Francs (1978): This 100 Francs note of 1978 shown in the image has another famous French painter Eugene Delacroix and his famous paintings. The obverse sports this French Romantic painter’s self-portrait along with his very famous painting of “Liberty leading people”. This painting commemorates the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled King Charles X of France.
The reverse has the same self-portrait of Delacroix holding a quill pen and writing his famous diary set against the background of “Place de Furstenberg” a famous and one of the most charming squares in Paris, where Delacroix worked and lived at 6 Rue de Furstenberg while he was commissioned to paint murals for nearby St. Sulpice.
There are more such interesting works of art that we obliviously carry around in our pockets! For more stay tuned and keep visiting this space. Till then...dig into your pockets and explore for yourself.
Happy Collecting!
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