PARIS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- As one of the cities in the world that welcomes the largest number of tourists every year, Paris is already full of tourists even before the Olympic Games open. People from different countries and regions enjoy the refreshing summer days of the French capital at various tourist attractions.
This is the Olympic landscape step in Montmartre (photo taken on June 29). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei
The reporter recently visited Montmartre, located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, trying to find some traces of the Olympic Games in this place with a unique artistic atmosphere and rich history and culture.
Montmartre is the highest hill in the city of Paris, at an altitude of about 130 meters. Once here, visitors can climb up to the Sacré-Coeur to see Paris, to see the art and artefacts at the Montmartre Museum, and to watch a magnificent cabaret show at the Moulin Rouge at the foot of the hill.
There is also an art community in the area called the "Painters' Village". This neighborhood got its name because of the large number of artists that gathered. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Montmartre became a gathering place for many artists, with Van Gogh, Picasso and Modigliani working in the cafés, bars and studios here
Nowadays, the names and portraits of these great artists have been made into posters and hung on the facades of cafes and restaurants, as if it were a way to attract customers – come on, just sit here and have a cup of coffee or beer, and you will have a kind of time and space connection with the famous painters of the day.
An unauthorized souvenir shop in Montmartre sells T-shirts for the Paris Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
In addition to cafés and restaurants, another place to immerse yourself in the art scene is the Place du Tertre, located in the heart of Montmartre. The square here is a perennial gathering of painters who paint, exhibit and sell their works on site.
The painters stationed today are generally older. Their works range from drawings to watercolours and oil paintings, but most of them cater to the famous sights of Paris. From a few tens of euros to a few hundred euros, the price of a painting varies depending on the size. In addition to tourists, restaurants and hotels throughout Paris are also the main buyers of these works.
From the foot of the hill, which is full of highly homogeneous souvenirs, all the way to the hill square, after admiring the painting skills that have been passed down by the painters for hundreds of years, one can feel the huge difference between industrial products and artistic creation.
Travelling around Montmartre, it's a bit of a shame that we didn't see much of the Olympic element that we were looking forward to. In addition to the "PARIS 2024" decoration on the steps of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and a T-shirt for the Paris Olympics sold in an unauthorized souvenir shop at the attraction.
If you think about it, it's not hard to understand. It's been a hundred years since Paris last hosted the Olympics, and in the past century, the churches, music, paintings, coffee and weaving of tourists have always been there to accompany the locals.
At Hill Square, the reporter met a Cambodian-American painter named Sainz. Unlike other painters who are either busy or apathetic, the 68-year-old veteran painter actively sells his works to tourists in English while painting.
The reporter (right) poses with a Cambodian-American painter named Sainz (left) and the painting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
There are not many paintings in his booth, but the paintings are all about the church and the Eiffel Tower next to it, with fine brushstrokes and warm tones.
Remembering that the Eiffel Tower is now hung with a huge Olympic rings logo, we had a whim and asked the artist if they could add the five rings to the tower. The painter refused, saying that he was unwilling to add additional work to the original painting.
After a short pause at the café next door, we returned to his stall. The old painter was about to close the stall, and when he saw that we were bothering him again, he stopped refusing this time.
We offered the painter two options, one was to paint the colorful rings during the day, and the other was to paint the pure white rings after the lights were turned on at night.
However, the painter has his own ideas. Strictly speaking, the colour he applied did not belong to any of the five Olympic rings. He said that it is necessary to consider the tone of the overall painting and not to appear too abrupt.
In the original painting we selected, the scene is viewed from the Champ de Mars to the Eiffel Tower. But in fact, if you want to see the 5th ring sign, you need to walk to the opposite Trocadero Square. Moreover, the pale yellow leaves in the painting clearly represent Paris in autumn, and by the time the leaves fall this autumn, it is estimated that the Olympic rings have been removed.
After the reporter's suggestion, the original exquisite oil painting was turned into a customized souvenir with inaccurate perspective, time and color of the Olympic rings.
The painter completed the customized five-ring Eiffel Tower at the suggestion of reporters. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
However, in the process of adding the five rings, several tourists stopped to watch and praised the idea of adding five rings to the tower to keep pace with the times. After the painting, the old painter also began to think that this was a very good idea. He added that there wasn't a single stall in the entire Place du Tertre with the Elphi Tower with the Five Rings logo, which might be a good business given the upcoming influx of Olympic tourists.
After the painting, he also deliberately added the time, place and his signature on the back. Compared with other paintings, this rather ceremonial addition seems to indicate that he is also proud of this creation.
He has been painting since 1978 and has been in Montmartre for almost 20 years. He paints the Eiffel Tower every year, selling about one or two a day. He said that there was a queue to apply for the stalls, the competition among the painters was fierce, and it was too cold in winter to paint at the stalls, so it was not particularly easy to make a living by selling paintings.
The old painter said that he didn't know much about the Olympics, but he was so familiar with the Eiffe Tower that he could sketch without referring to the real thing. He said he had no interest in looking at the Olympic logo hanging on it, and that if any more tourists came to ask for the painting of the five rings, he would definitely agree.
In the early morning of June 7, the Eiffel Tower hangs the symbol of the Olympic rings in Paris, France. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
The Eiffe Tower was completed in 1889 and the five rings began in 1914 at the suggestion of Coubertin as the symbol of the modern Olympic movement. At the Paris Olympics 100 years ago, the two crossed paths, but there was no tradition of hanging the giant five-ring logo on the host city's landmarks.
The Olympic rings, which hang today, will one day be removed from the Eiffie Tower. During this period, the combined images recorded by people using painting and photography techniques will carry a historical memory exclusive to Paris.