0807052030 “Parisian Buying Jambone“

0807052030 “Parisian Buying Jambone“

The Louvre Museum in Paris have knowledgeable tour guides that can tell an hour-long story for every picture, statue and artifact for each of the museum’s thousands of exhibits. I have been getting used their style.

This is one of my pictures of the day, I call it:

“Parisian Buying Jambone“.

What the camera cannot convey here is the delicious aroma of the ham, potato salad, olives and fragrant Mediterranean fare. It is the welcoming waft that accompanies a happy family reunion at Christmas.

Our scene depicts a distinguished Parisian gentleman dressed in clean comfortable smart attire that suggests he is not wanting for the necessities of life. The style of his clothes suggests that he may have a military background and has planned to visit the local markets for his regular casual and relaxed search for a satisfying meal at a bargain price. The picture shows him stopped at a colourful, vibrant delicatessen arrayed with a bewildering selection of summer salads from all over the world. The wide range of products on offer is typified by the ox tongues in the foreground. The green reflection on either side of the ox tongues highlights that this particular item is different, out of the ordinary, they certainly belong with the other fine products but are considered different. They are shown escaping their boundary, spilling out of their tray as if they choose to behave in a manner contrary to the order around them.

Our Parisian gentleman is shown leaning forward in eager anticipation of receiving his hefty handful of exotic Jambone. We can see his aged, chubby finger pressed so hard that the last joint of his finger is pushed out of alignment as it is forced against the cold hard glass in an effort to indicate to the shopkeeper that he would really like that, no that, exact piece of ham. His gaze is fixed upon the object of his desire, while his expression shows a mild concern, perhaps impatience. The dutiful shopkeeper skilfully balances the order of exotic ham in one hand while calling upon her years of experience to efficiently estimate its weight.

The shopkeeper is wearing a plain white pinafore of starched, crisp cotton indicating efficient, almost ruthless cleanliness as does the spotless glass of the display cabinet while the glass reflects the summer sun over Paris giving the scene an airy light ambiance. The shopkeeper’s jewelery is modest and yet conveys that she, and by association her delicatessen, have good taste and traditional refinement.

There is a mutual respect between the two that is indicated by the framing of the picture - our subjects are framed so that one is neither above nor below the other - they are framed as equals. There is a bond or an affinity between the Parisian customer and the shopkeeper. They both have wise worldly experience, an understanding and a passion for the delightful fare on display.

The picture is balanced on one side of the counter with our robust and rounded Parisian against the several disproportionately large wholesale-sized cured salamis on the shopkeeper’s side.
The delicatessen disappears into the distance towards the left indicating that this is a typical routine that is ‘endless’ ongoing and timeless.

This is the style of explanation delivered by the wonderful tour guides for every exhibit the Louvre.