Dear Subscribers,

This week I dropped my four full episodes of The French Culture Podcast to players including Apple, Spotify and RSS: something that felt momentous after almost a year of feverish work on this project.

If you didn’t get or read last week’s issue, I shared Episode 2, on the life and legacy of the painter Henri Matisse, as an exclusive for Substack subscribers. You can catch up here:

This week, we begin our two-part look at Edith Piaf, the chanteuse and performer who in many respects has come to practically embody “Frenchness” (whatever that means) for generations of fans, especially outside the US.

More than a mere diva, Edith Piaf was something of a force of nature. She had an uncanny ability to reach a wide public with her soaring, guttural voice, but also with her odd physical presence.

{Scroll down for full show notes & sources for this episode, then for a few thoughts on summer in Paris & events to beeline to}

She captivated audiences around the world with her repertoire of French working-class dance hall hits, love songs and portraits of marginalized women, from prostitutes to penniless, unmarried mademoiselles embarking on ill-fated affairs with military men.

Piaf: A Master of Her Own Mythology

In making this episode, one of the biggest challenges was sifting through seemingly endless myths about Piaf— ones Edith was a master at spinning and perpetuating herself, in many cases— to try to arrive at something like a realistic, factual and balanced (but hopefully still compelling ) portrait of a complex and brilliant woman.

In this first of two episodes on Piaf, we’ll address some of the holes at the heart of the Piaf myth, including her image as a tragic figure. In reality, she was a survivor and a master of reinvention. She was an acerbic wit with mad street smarts, an eternal vagabond with an instinct for survival and a conjoined, paradoxical instinct for self-destruction.

One thing you also won’t get from my discussion on Piaf this season is a laundry list of her lovers and romantic interests, which is how biographers have too often framed her life, even in relation to her music and the way it evolved over time. Instead, I’ll try to offer some context and background for the working-class musical and social traditions that helped to make Piaf who she was. I also want to highlight how she managed to bring this distinctive Parisian working class vernacular and culture to a global audience through her chansons réalistes— or ‘realistic songs’’.

In these two episodes you’ll also learn about some of her most important artistic collaborations, which led her to not only co-write some of her most memorable songs, but also to star in noteworthy plays and films, form lasting friendships with great composers, poets and performers, and mentor many young musicians over the years.

I also had fun learning and writing about her friendships with people like Marlene Dietrich, who she met while touring in New York in the 1950s. Rumors have occasionally swirled that Edith and Marlene, both Europeans finding their way in New York during crucial periods in their respective careers, had some sort of romantic affair— but I found very little evidence for this. It’s more likely, as I discuss in the episode, that theirs was a platonic but passionate friendship.

Finally, in this episode you’ll learn how Piaf’s early career was greatly boosted by her friendship with a nightclub owner named Louis Leplée, who (according to the mythology) plucked her off a street while she was busking, chastized her that singing in the streets would ruin her voice, and offered her a gig at his club, Le Gerny’s. Performing there would help transform her from a shabby, hard-knock street performer called “La Môme Piaf” into an ingenue of la chanson réaliste (realistic songs).

When Leplée was suddenly murdered in his apartment, Edith was questioned by the police. She was also interviewed– some would say harassed- by local tabloids like the longstanding Parisian rag Voici.

This was despite the fact that Edith had a verifiable alibi and had been let go.

In the wake of Leplée’s murder, a headline in “Detective” magazine read “Les Quatre Tueurs”, or the “The Four Killers” and misleadingly showed a photo of Piaf and three other female mourners at Leplee’s funeral. Piaf, second from left, is hunched and appears to be crying.

As I detail in the podcast, being so close to the scandal may have been an essential ingredient in her rise to fame: this was a period when the public was hungry for titillation and scandal, and there was something riveting about a chanteuse whose associations with the seedy Pigalle world of pimps, prostitution and poverty (excuse the alliterative excess) made her seem an exciting antidote to the gentility of bourgeois Parisian life.

And while Piaf would soon shed her associations with the working-class districts of Belleville and Pigalle where she had spent her early life, living most of her adult years in the tonier districts of Western Paris, her continued dedication to telling working-class stories through her music was in part responsible for her widespread appeal. And her general rejection of adornment and glamour in favor of a simple, stripped-down persona (picture the tiny but powerful woman in a Balmain black dress and a cross necklace) was also part of her distinctive charisma.

In any case, I hope you enjoy this first episode in our two-part look at Piaf— and welcome your comments and feedback.

More Perks for Donor Subscribers and “Star” Supporters

Within the next few months, I plan to release a bonus episode with some additional materials on Edith, and also go into some detail on my research process and subjective responses to Piaf’s work and biography.

If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please do consider upgrading your subscription now. In addition to getting bonus episodes and early-release materials from the podcast, you’ll also have access to our full archive of Paris and France-related news stories, reviews, editorials, travel tips and in-depth itineraries— plus have the opportunity to schedule a personal consultation with me by email to help you plan your next trip!

Not only will it help support the development of the podcast, which, let’s face it, isn’t typically a lucrative endeavor at the outset— it’ll also allow me to keep writing and publishing deeply researched features on French and Parisian culture here at Substack.

Imagine this: for less than one expensive barista drink every month, you’ll be contributing to the creation of something made by a human, for humans— not for search algorithms or clickbait.

And if you love French culture— as I assume many or most of you do— this is one good way to help more people learn about and enjoy la culture française.

If you already have too many subscriptions, I get it. I probably do too. Why not consider giving whatever you can by buying us a coffee or tea at Ko-fi? No matter how small the amount, it will make a difference, helping to fund my work, as well as that of my producer and sound engineer. You can make a one-off donation, or offer a small monthly amount if you’d prefer to choose an amount different from the subscription options here at Substack.

Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your vital support, whether it’s through a paid subscription or through telling a friend about the podcast or the newsletter.

Here are just a few places where you’ll find The French Culture Podcast, if you prefer to listen elsewhere:

• Follow on Rss.com (our host)

• Follow on Spotify

• Follow on Apple Podcasts

• Follow on Amazon Music

I’d so appreciate it if you could take the time to add a rating (hopefully a good one!) on these platforms, as this will go a long way in helping me to build an audience beyond Substack.

We also have a YouTube channel, though as I mentioned in my last post, episodes there will feature only decorative stills or slideshows, rather than show me reading the episode or interviewing guests. Still, if YouTube is your preferred place to stream audio, you can find us there too!

Show notes

This episode was conceived, written, narrated and edited by Courtney Traub. It was produced by Brendan Whalen, who contributed additional research and script editing. Additional audio editing and sound design was by Engin Hassan of Edit Fade Warp. Artwork for the Paris Unlocked Podcast was created by Mateeya.

If you liked this episode, please follow (and rate) The French Culture Podcast, then share it as widely as you can.

Follow & listen on Spotify, Rss.com, Apple Music, or Substack

Translations of original French quotes in this episode are all by Courtney Traub. All images displayed in the show notes are out of copyright and in the public domain.

The problem of fair use and music clips: As I discuss in the episode, I was unable to secure the rights to Piaf’s music, in order to play short excerpts of the songs I reference in this episode. There is no “safe” amount of a piece of copyrighted music that one can play under fair use laws, so I preferred to be cautious in this regard and include none.

Spotify playlist: Please listen to the songs referred to in this episode by going to the Spotify playlist I’ve put together. It’s less ideal than playing clips from the songs in the episode, but it’s (at the least) a way to listen . If you can, I recommend keeping the playlist open as you listen to the episode, and pausing to play the song being referenced. Of course, please don’t attempt this while driving or operating machinery!

Music credits (all music clips are in the public domain)

Intro and outro: Music by Trygve Larsen from Pixabay (“Erik Satie’s Gnossienne 1 – Classical Remix Piano and Sax”)

Music in order of use throughout episode:

• Music by Mikado Koko from Pixabay (Cool Jazz Session 8″)

• Music by u_bv0j8sxr2s from Pixabay (“Le Parrain de Minuit”)

• Music by Jakob Welik from Pixabay (“Le Cœur de Paris”)

• Music by Jean-Paul Verpeaux from Pixabay (“Bienvenue au Cirque”)

• Music by Jakob Welik from Pixabay (“Etoiles de minuit”)

• “Si tu n’étais pas là, performed by Fréhel. Sheet music published in 1935. Music composed by Gaston Claret, lyrics by Pierre Bayle. Originally published by “Editions Salabert”, Paris, 1935 (Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

• Music by Saturn-3-Music from Pixabay (“Claire de Lune- Débussy)

• Music by Jean-Paul Verpeaux from Pixabay (“Perdu dans Paris”)

• Music by Jean-Paul Verpeaux from Pixabay (“Midnight in Paris”)

• Music by VibeHorn from Pixabay (“French Paris Romantic Music”)

Sources for this episode

For this episode, we consulted a variety of print and online primary sources, including books, newspaper articles, blogs, documentaries, film clips and archival documents. They are presented in relative order of importance and/or order in which their information appears in the episode, rather than in alphabetical order. Sources are both in English and French; where available, I have also linked to the English-language version of the source.

• Carolyn Burke, No Regrets: Edith Piaf. Bloomsbury, 2012.

• David Loosely, Edith Piaf: A Cultural History. Liverpool University Press, 2015. Available online in open source: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/26016/1004069.pdf

• David Bret, Edith Piaf: Find Me a New Way to Die. Oberon Books, 2015.

• Albert Bensoussan, Édith Piaf. Gallimard: 2013 (French-language paperback)

• Robert Belleret, Piaf: Un Mythe Francais. Fayard, 2013.

• David Conley McKinney, “The Influence of Parisian Popular Entertainment on the Piano Works of Erik Satue and Francis Poulenc”, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1994 (unpublished PhD dissertation), https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/McKinney_uncg_9502709.pdf

• “Sans Amour on n’est rien du tout”, (Documentary). Arte, 2003, directed by Marianne Lamour. Available on YouTube:

• Maylis Besserie, “A la conquète de l’Amérique”, from the series “La Vie en Piaf”, Radio France, 25 July 2013, https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/la-vie-en-piaf/a-la-conquete-de-l-amerique-1947-1959-5579008

• A.J. Liebling, “Edith Piaf’s Thousand (Delightful) Ways to Bum You Out”, The New Yorker, November 8, 1947, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/29/edith-piafs-thousand-delightful-ways-to-bum-you-out

• Edith Piaf, Ma Vie, Union Générale d’Editions, 1964. Available at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/mavie0000piaf/page/12/mode/2up

• Cécile Hamsy, “Belleville Village”, France Culture (radio program), 27 September 2025, https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/les-nuits-de-france-culture/belleville-village-8393284

• “Belleville au début du XXême siecle”, Paris ZigZag, no date, no author. https://www.pariszigzag.fr/insolite/histoire-insolite-paris/belleville-au-debut-du-xxe-siecle/

• “Quelle est la tombe la plus visitée au Père-Lachaise?”, Perelachaise.com, no date, https://pere-lachaise.com/tombe-la-plus-visitee-au-pere-lachaise/

• Demi Perera, “‘It’s an archive of Paris’: Why you should visit Père-Lachaise cemetery – with Edith Piaf among famous graves”, The Independent, 11 April 2025, https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/france/paris/pere-lachaise-paris-cemetery-jim-morrison-edith-piaf-b2725908.html

• Frantz Vaillant, “Piaf? Une Enfant-Dictateur”, TV5 Monde, 10 October 2013, https://information.tv5monde.com/international/piaf-une-enfant-dictateur-20140

• Richard R. Lingeman, “Piaf. by Simone Berteaut”, The New York Times, 28 July 1972, https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/28/archives/sad-songs-of-the-sparrow.html

• Paul Morelle, “‘Piaf’”, par Simone Berteaut”’, Le Monde, 6 September 1969, https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1969/09/06/piaf-par-simone-berteaut_2432170_1819218.html?search-type=classic&ise_click_rank=7

• Susan Heller Anderson, “Piaf Remains a Mix of Myth and Reality”, The New York Times, 22 February 1981, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/22/arts/piaf-remains-a-mix-of-myth-and-reality.html

• “Edith Piaf dans ‘La Garconne’ (1936)’’. Edith Piaf (YouTube channel), no date,

• “Lundi 6 avril 1936: Louis Leplée assassiné”, Paris Visites, no date, http://paris.visites.jpkmm.free.fr/faits_divers/38_leplee.html

Summer’s Around the Corner in Paris. What to See & Do?

We’re just a few days shy of summer solstice, so I thought I’d take some time out from all things podcast to offer a few tips and suggestions, hopefully ensuring you don’t collapse into a trembling puddle from crowd stress and overheating.

Summer isn’t (in honesty) my favorite time of year in the capital, mainly because (as you might guess from above) I dislike crowds and strong heat— two things that are difficult to avoid these days. That said, the summer months can be very pleasant in Paris if you follow a few key tips:

1. Try to walk and take the bus. The metro (barring some of the newer lines, including line 1 and 14) is not air-conditioned. When heat waves strike, trying to get around the city while desperately trying not to get your head stuck under someone else’s sweaty armpit is guaranteed to cast a dystopian tone on your trip. I recommend trying to get around by foot and bus. Schedule walks in mornings and late afternoons/early evenings, when the sun is less punishing, and take the bus in between. See my guide to transport and accessibility for more on using Parisian buses.

2. Take advantage of open spaces, parks and free swimming holes. Thanks to efforts to “green” Paris over the past decade, there have never been so many verdant spaces to hang out and picnic in. Plan to spend some time in some of the city’s gorgeous parks and gardens, by the riversides, and in the Bois de Vincennes or Bois de Boulogne— massive woods that locals refer to as the city’s “lungs”.

3. Save money through free events and inexpensive summer festivals. June in particular is a wonderful time for stretched budgets. On June 21st, summer solstice, La Fête de la Musique sees hundreds of performers offer free concerts around the city. Nuit Blanche (White Night) is an all-night arts event that’s also free, and you can roam around the city taking in art installations, pop-ups, concerts, performances and free museum exhibits. This year, Nuit Blanche happens to falls this coming weekend (June 6th-7th); see more about the event here. There’s also pop-up pools, open-air cinema, jazz concerts for next to nothing— the list goes on. In short, you have no excuse to stay indoors all the time, nor to overspend if you don’t wish to. It’s expensive to get to Paris at this time of year, and lodging costs are also through the roof (more on that issue in another post)- but summer is probably one of the cheapest times for fun and merriment in the capital.

4. Get out of the city. It’s a well-known fact that urban areas are hotter and more stifling in the warmer months. Take a day trip to Monet’s gardens at Giverny, or to a nearby medieval village, or to Versailles or another 18th-century palace (though these can be hot inside; privilege a morning visit and spend the hotter hours roaming the lush gardens). See my suggestions for fantastic day trips from Paris here; most are accessible by train.

Full guide: Paris in the Summer

June 2026 in Paris: My Suggestions

Best Ice Cream & Gelato in Paris

How to Stage a Legit Parisian Picnic

Great Stuff I’ve Been Reading Around Substack

Last but not least, I wanted to highlight a few inspiring, funny and well-written pieces I’ve been reading from around Substack this past month. I’m such a fan and admirer of the work of many of the hard-working writers I’m connected to here;. they’re one of the main reasons I remain at the network for now— despite my major misgivings about Substack and their refusal to take down newsletters written by Nazis.

• I greatly enjoyed Emily Monaco’s post (and related podcast episode from “Fishwives of Paris”) exploring the “invention” of the restaurant in France. I learned a lot, including the fact that the “inn” or “tavern” may have preceded the formal gastronomic restaurant, but in a lot of ways its etiquette and format run totally counter to the modern restaurant.

• As usual, Shelby Chambers of “Franchement” made me laugh aloud with her insightful and funny analysis of the French obsession with/aversion to air. She’s put to words something I’ve always found bizarre and annoying about French culture’s frequent embrace of claustrophobia and heat, but couldn’t quite articulate.

• I’m always hungry for intel on where to find excellent set-menu lunches for prices that won’t make me want to cry, so Richard Nahem’s alluring review of Argile over at Eye Prefer Paris is one I’m bookmarking for later.

• I always look forward to updates from the luminous and talented Jennifer Steil, and her recent post (at Liminal by Jennifer Steil) on why she “overshares” made me laugh, cry, and wonder why I myself am so averse to oversharing. Maybe it’s something about being a late-stage Gen X-er who lacks the millennial/GenZ impulse to disclose my whole life online, and clings to (pathetic illusions?) of privacy. Who knows. In any case, Steil made me wonder whether I’m missing out by being somewhat reticent to disclose the darker waters in my writing.

That’s (finally) a wrap for this week, les ami/es. Watch for a post next week, when we’ll continue our look at Piaf with a second episode.

Until then, enjoy the lengthening days,

—Courtney

Dear Subscribers,

You’ve waited for months as I’ve repeatedly teased The French Culture Podcast, a deeply researched project that has been immensely fun to work on— but that has also slowed down my posting here at Substack. I’ve appreciated your patience as I trudged up a steep learning curve, in pursuit of something that’s been both intellectually rewarding and (at times) exhausting.

I’m more than pleased to say that production for the first four hour-long episodes is winding down this week, and I’m set to formally launch the podcast in early June.

And since I appreciate your continued support and readership more than I can easily say, I thought it fitting to give you exclusive, early access to our first episode of Season 1, Great French Icons of the French Century: A look at the radically colorful world (and mind) of the painter Henri Matisse.

When I chose Matisse as the first of six French icons to portrait in our debut season— alongside Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Albert Camus, Serge Gainsbourg and Louise Bourgeois— it was mostly out of intense personal curiosity. I’ve always loved Matisse’s work, but in the casual, noncommital way most people do. I never really thought about the person behind the intensely sensual and colorful landscapes, which almost, as one critic puts it in the episode, seem to come at you with their vibrancy.

I also tended to think of his work as pleasantly decorative and harmonious, rather than as radical or provocative. Our contemporary eyes don’t tend to really see how radical Matisse’s work was.

Yet many of his celebrated earlier paintings, from “Woman With a Hat”(1905) to “Blue Nude" (1907), were initially met with shock and even disgust. This didn’t make it into the podcast, but according to one source, in 1913 “Blue Nude” spurred such a furor among a group of art students who viewed the painting at a show in in Chicago that they staged a mock trial, sentencing Matisse to symbolic death. Elsewhere, the painting was also burned as an effigy.

And while Matisse is now firmly recognized as one of France’s greatest 20th-century artists, in his earlier years he was well-known but not respected by the art establishment. Far from being considered a national treasure in France, Matisse was often viewed both by earlier audiences and critics as either a trader in shock, or simply a laughing stock. His bizarrely bright colors, unrealistic compositions and focus on decoration for its own sake even offended the sensibilities of many Impressionist artists, not to mention the classical stalwarts.

And even in avant-garde circles, he too often felt like an outsider who couldn’t quite get on board with the groupthink. He wasn’t political enough; or he was too bourgeois, or he was too extreme in his use of color.

Getting to Know Henri….

In making this podcast episode, my aim was to finally understand a bit about the man behind the work, and to hopefully give you an understanding of Matisse beyond the endless commercialism of decorative prints and mugs.

In the episode, I attempt to (briefly) answer some of the following questions: how did Matisse use the irritating grain of public outrage, and the inspiration of new places, to produce such original work? And how did he go from copying Dutch and European masters in a stuffy Parisian art academy to inventing radical new ways of “feeling through” color and form, as he so often put it?

Along the way, I also explore the artist’s personality quirks, including a lifelong battle with insomnia and health problems, and an affection for collecting pretty rugs, butterflies and live birds. Oh, and the young Matisse also had a weird habit of shooting passersby with petty pellets from his Parisian studio.

No artist gets to where they are without others— so in the episode we also take a look at Matisse’s relationships with his wife Amelie and his daughter Marguerite, with Gertrude Stein and her family, with Pablo Picasso, and other luminaries of his period.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this exclusive sneak peek at the podcast. I welcome any feedback, positive or negative, and would also love to hear from you about how you’d like to see the show evolve down the line: a season on French food history and myths? (In truth, it’s already halfway in the works). An interview-based season that profiles contemporary French creators, from chefs to fashion designers? I’m more than open to your ideas: they’d be super valuable to me. This season will be, in many ways, a sort of “first pancake”— so your input will go a long way in helping me to refine the concept, and make stuff that y’all really want to listen to.

This has sometimes been a lonely endeavor, but your continued support and readership have made it all worth it. And as always, my intention is for this deeply-researched work to reach as many people as possible, during a time when AI slop is taking over the web, and we (arguably) need a slower, closer approach to all things culture.

More Perks for Donor Subscribers and “Star” Supporters

If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please do consider upgrading your subscription now. Not only will it help support the development of the podcast, which, let’s face it, isn’t usually a lucrative endeavor at the outset— it will also allow me to keep offering in-depth travel tips and itineraries, TV and film reviews, interviews and all manner of other stuff on French/Parisian culture here at Substack.

After much thought, I’ve decided to offer “Donor” subscribers and “Star Supporters” perks including bonus episodes and early access to some content, alongside personalized travel advice from me by email, and a rich newsletter archive comprising hundreds of features. Just think: for less than one expensive barista drink every month, you’ll be contributing to the creation of something made by a human, for humans— not for search algorithms or clickbait.

And if you love French culture— as I assume many or most of you do— this is one good way to help more people learn about and enjoy la culture française.

Subscribe now

If you already have too many subscriptions, I get it. I probably do too. Why not consider giving whatever you can by buying us a coffee or tea at Ko-fi? No matter how small the amount, it will make a difference, helping to fund my work, as well as that of my producer and sound engineer. You can make a one-off donation, or offer a small monthly amount if you’d prefer to choose an amount different from the subscription options here at Substack.

Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your vital support. I (sincerely) couldn’t have made it this far with this project without your help.

I hope you'll follow and recommend the podcast, whether here or on one of your favorite platforms. Here are just a few where you’ll find The French Culture Podcast:

• Follow on Rss.com (our host)

• Follow on Spotify

• Follow on Apple Podcasts

• Follow on Amazon Music

We also have a YouTube channel, though truth be told, I don’t think we’ll be doing much by the way of video features. Maybe a few decorative stills. I profoundly dislike being on camera, and I honestly don’t know why anyone would want to watch me blabber into the camera. I think it would take away from your ability to get lost in the French cultural moments and worlds I’m trying to bring you into in the show.

Still, if YouTube is your preferred place to stream audio, you can find us there too.

More from me in June…

Stay tuned for more in June, when I’ll drop three more episodes here (always with extra content for Substack subscribers). I’ll also devote some (much-needed) attention to interesting things happening in Paris these days, offer some advice on summer travel in France amid a few stressful trends, and share some compelling stuff from around Substack.

In July, I may even attempt a book review. (Spoiler alert: it’s a book that traces the (mostly fictional) adventures of a certain 18th-century French woman who would turn waxworks into a public attraction). Stay tuned.

See you in June! In the meantime, restez au frais (stay cool in the shade).

—Courtney

Show Notes

This episode was conceived, written, narrated and edited by Courtney Traub, with additional audio editing by Engin Hassan of Edit Fade Warp. Brendan Whalen contributed additional research, script editing and voiceovers. If you liked this episode, please share it as widely as you can.

And as I mention at the beginning of the episode, you can also lend your precious support to both the French Culture Podcast and to our sister website and newsletter, Paris Unlocked, by buying us a coffee– or even better, becoming a “Donor Subscriber” on Substack. You’ll get unlimited access to a large archive of Paris and France-related news stories, reviews, audio stories, essays and travel tips, as well as personalized travel advice from me.

Translations of original French quotes in this episode are all by Courtney Traub. All images displayed in the show notes are out of copyright and in the public domain.

Music credits (all music clips are in the public domain)

Intro and outro: Music by Trygve Larsen from Pixabay (”Erik Satie’s Gnossienne 1 – Classical Remix Piano and Sax”)

Music in order of use throughout episode:

1. Music by Samuel F. Johanns from Pixabay (“Erik Satie, Gymnopédie No. 1” )

2. Music by Trygve Larsen from Pixabay (Songs From the 18th Century -Belle O Brien (1895)

3. Music by Victory Day from Pixabay (La Belle Dame Sans Merci/Violin Duet)

4. Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay (marché

5. “Sardana” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

6. Music by Trygve Larsen from Pixabay (Classical piano by Debussy: Suite Bergamasque 1905-Menuet

Visuals: Artwork for the Paris Unlocked Podcast was created by Mateeya.

Sources for this episode

For this episode, we consulted a variety of print and online primary sources, including books, podcasts, newspaper articles, blogs and unpublished archival documents. They are presented in relative order of importance and/or order in which their information appears in the episode, rather than in alphabetical order. Sources are both in English and French; where available, I have also linked to the English-language version of the source.

• Hilary Spurling, Matisse: The Life. Penguin Books, 2009.

• Pierre Courthilon. Chatting With Henri Matisse: The Lost 1941 Interview. Edited by Serge Guilbault. Getty Institute, 2013.

• France Culture, “Matisse: Artiste demiurge” {podcast in French}. Episode 1, “Matisse et le bonheur de vivre”. Available at: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/la-compagnie-des-oeuvres/matisse-et-le-bonheur-de-vivre-4829837

• France Culture, “Matisse: Artiste demiurge” {podcast in French}. Episode 2: Matisse à l’oeuvre”. Available at: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/la-compagnie-des-oeuvres/matisse-a-l-oeuvre-7767927

• Modern Art Notes Podcast. “Matisse on Matisse” (interview with Serge Guilbault about the 1941 interview.) Available at: https://www.getty.edu/research/exhibitions_events/events/chatting_matisse.html

• Encyclopedia Britannica. “Henri Matisse. French artist”. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Matisse.

• Musée Matisse. “Henri Matisse and the Chapelle du Rosaire”. Available at: https://www.musee-matisse-nice.org/en/the-artist/matisse-and-the-rosary-chapel/

• Patrick Amine. “Henri Matisse: Comme un Roman”. Exporevue, November 2020. Available at: https://www.exporevue.com/magazine/fr/index_matisse.html

• Clara T. McChesn, “A Talk With Matisse, Leader of Post-Impressionists” The New York Times (archive), 9 March 1913. Available at: “https://www.nytimes.com/1913/03/09/archives/a-talk-with-matisse-leader-of-postimpressionists.html?searchResultPosition=67

• Paul Cezanne.org. “Three Bathers”. Available at: https://www.paulcezanne.org/three-bathers.jsp.

• Henrimatisse.org. “Paul Cezanne’s Impact on Henri Matisse”. Available at: “https://www.henrimatisse.org/matisse-and-cezanne.jsp.

• Artchive. “Arcueil (1899) by Henri Matisse”. Available at: https://www.artchive.com/artwork/arcueil-henri-matisse-1899/.

• Phillipe Dagen, “ Marguerite Matisse, a model daughter essential to her father”, Le Monde (English version), 8 April 2025. Available at: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/04/08/marguerite-matisse-a-model-daughter-essential-to-her-father_6739955_30.html.

• Hilarie M. Sheets. “The Forgotten Dealer Who Discovered Matisse and Picasso”, The New York Times, 29 September 2024. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/arts/design/berthe-weill-dealer-paris-grey-art-museum.html.

• Virginie Larouse, “La religion, l’idéologie, la science… : quand les maladies du « croire » mettent la démocratie en danger”. Le Monde, 11 June 2021. Available at: https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2021/06/11/la-religion-l-ideologie-la-science-quand-les-maladies-du-croire-mettent-la-democratie-en-danger_6083701_3232.html.

• Berthe Weill, “Pow! Right in the Eye! Thirty Years Behind the Scenes of Modern French Painting”. Edited by Lynn Gumpert. Translated by William Rodarmor. Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Collection.

• The Museum of Modern Art. Press Release, November 14, 1963 (announcing the museum’s acquisition of “Dance” by Henri Matisse, from Nelson Rockefeller). Available at: https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/3203/releases/MOMA_1963_0115_111.pdf

• Christie’s, “André Derain (1880-1954)”, ‘Matisse et Terrus’. Available at: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6476170

• Richard Cavendish, “The Fauves at the Salon d’Automne”. History Today, Volume 55, Issue 10, October 2005. Available at: https://www.historytoday.com/archive/fauves-salon-d%E2%80%99automne

• The New York Times (archive). No byline given. “SALON GIVEN OVER TO FREAK PAINTINGS; Ridicule Aroused by Many of the Modern Works in the Fall Exhibition. IMPRESSIONISTS OUTDONE Galleries Dominated by Works of Matiese and Van Dongen and Their Followers”, 11 October 1908. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1908/10/11/archives/salon-given-over-to-freak-paintings-ridicule-aroused-by-many-of-the.html?searchResultPosition=62

• Roberta Smith, “Matisse and Derain: The Audacious ‘Wild Beasts’ of Fauvism in a Radiant Show”. The New York Times, 9 November 2023. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/arts/design/matisse-derain-fauvism-metropolitan-museum.html

• Montmartre Artists’ Studios. “The Bateau Lavoir Montmartre Where Picasso Was ‘Born’”. Available at: https://montmartrefootsteps.com/picasso-bateau-lavoir/

• Janet Flanner, “King of the Wild Beasts- 1”. The New Yorker, 15 December 1951. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1951/12/22/henri-matisse-profile-king-of-the-wild-beasts-i

• Beverley Whitney Kean, “All the empty palaces : the great merchant patrons of modern art in pre-Revolutionary Russia”. Internet Archive. Available at: https://archive.org/details/allemptypalacesg0000kean/

• Stanley Steinberg, “Sarah Stein: The Woman Who Brought Matisse to San Francisco A Memoir: Learning about Art and the Art of Psychoanalysis”, American Imago, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Fall 2011), pp. 517-542. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305237

• Haber’s Art Reviews. “Gertrude and Leo Stein as Collectors”. Available at: https://www.haberarts.com/glmstein.htm

• Annette Rosenshine, “”Life’s Not a Paragraph” (unpublished memoir, typescript carbon). Gift of Annette Rosenshine, 1968. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale Library Digital Collections. Available at: https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/17213027

• Gertrude Stein, “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”. Project Gutenberg Australia ( uploaded 2015). First published in 1933. Available at: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0608711h.html

• James R. Mellow, “The Stein Salon Was the First Museum of Modern Art”. The New York Times (archive), 1 December 1968. Available at: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/03/specials/stein-salon.html?scp=71&sq=catholic%20museum&st=cse

• Cath Pound, “The Shocking Memoir of the Lost Generation”, BBC Culture, 27 July 2021. Available at: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/03/specials/stein-salon.html?scp=71&sq=catholic%20museum&st=cse

Further reading:

Recommended reading on Matisse & Picasso

• The Met. “The Steins Collect”: Matisse, Picasso & The Parisian Avant-Garde. (documentary, 2012). Available at:

• Baldassari, Anne. Matisse Picasso. Tate Publishing, 2002.

• Flam, Jack. Matisse and Picasso. The Story of Their Rivalry and Friendship. Basic Books, 2004.

Matisse and his Children

• Wizevich, Eli. “Meet Marguerite, Henri Matisse’s Eldest Daughter—and One of His Most Influential Models”. Smithsonian Mag, 2 June 2025. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-marguerite-henri-matisses-eldest-daughter-and-one-of-his-most-influential-models-180986684/

• Monod-Fontaine, Isabelle. Marguerite Matisse: La jeune fille au ruban. (in French). Grasset, 2025.

• Russell, John. Matisse: Father and Son. Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1999.

Matisse and the World Wars

• Gorham, Christopher C. Matisse at War: Art and Resistance in Nazi Occupied France. Citadel Press, 2025.

• Lifson, Edward. “A Wartime Matisse Full of Pain and Beauty”. Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, 13 June 2010. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2010/06/13/127745865/a-wartime-matisse-full-of-pain-and-beauty