Tombeau Grosso

Tombeau de Famille Francois Grosso (1894)
Nice, France
24 November 1996

After a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais on a sunny day, so brilliant it was almost blinding, I climbed the steps of the Colline du Chateau, a lovely park that rises from the sea to a magnificent view of the Baie des Anges. On the way up, I stopped by the Bellanda Tower and tried to read what the plaque there said about Hector Berlioz but could not translate it. [However, as Werner Pfarr points out in his comment, you can read the plaque translation on the Bellanda Tower link.]

At the very top of the park, I wandered through two cemeteries. I think that one was a Jewish cemetery and the other was filled with tombstones of angels. The largest angel statue was of the famille François Grosso. The engraving on the tomb described François Grosso as a prominent civic leader (there is a Boulevard named for him) who lost two young children within a year of each other. The statue shows an angel with a finger to her lips, reminding the cherubs to not disturb the children they are carrying up to heaven.

I fussed with the color of the sky back at my hotel room until I could not take it any further, then headed out to the Cathedral Notre Dame Saveur to hear a performance of the Bruckner Mass.

Tombeau de famille François Grosso (1894), Nice, France
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
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Special edition of 5 signed and numbered $39 giclée prints

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.