France | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/france-1/RSS feed for FranceenWed, 30 Sep 2026 19:55:09 +0000An Enigmatic Chalk Drawing, Rediscovered in a Private Italian Collection, Has Been Identified as the Long-Lost Work of Édouard Manethttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-enigmatic-chalk-drawing-rediscovered-in-a-private-italian-collection-has-been-identified-as-the-long-lost-work-of-edouard-manet-180989593/The sketch of a young girl, in the red chalk characteristic of Manet’s 1860s life studies, is thought to be linked to several of the artist’s paintingsWed, 30 Sep 2026 19:55:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-enigmatic-chalk-drawing-rediscovered-in-a-private-italian-collection-has-been-identified-as-the-long-lost-work-of-edouard-manet-180989593/Two Thousand Years Ago, Julius Caesar Conquered the Settlement That Eventually Became Paris. Archaeologists May Have Just Found Ithttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-thousand-years-ago-julius-caesar-conquered-the-settlement-that-eventually-became-paris-archaeologists-may-have-just-found-it-180989569/While conducting excavations at a hospital on the Île de la Cité, in the Seine River, researchers discovered part of a wall that may have once protected Lutetia, the Gallic precursor to France’s capitalFri, 25 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-thousand-years-ago-julius-caesar-conquered-the-settlement-that-eventually-became-paris-archaeologists-may-have-just-found-it-180989569/Why Did Claude Monet Paint the Same Scenes Over and Over Again? The Impressionist Artist Was Obsessed With Capturing the Fleeting Nature of Timehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-did-claude-monet-paint-the-same-scenes-over-and-over-again-the-impressionist-artist-was-obsessed-with-capturing-the-fleeting-nature-of-time-180989563/An upcoming exhibition at Tate Modern will feature more than 60 artworks created by Monet between the 1870s and 1920s. These pieces reveal how he documented changing light and weather conditionsThu, 24 Sep 2026 15:01:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-did-claude-monet-paint-the-same-scenes-over-and-over-again-the-impressionist-artist-was-obsessed-with-capturing-the-fleeting-nature-of-time-180989563/A Rare Aztec Codex Detailing the Rise and Fall of Tenochtitlan Returns to Mexico for the First Time in Nearly Two Centurieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-rare-aztec-codex-detailing-the-rise-and-fall-of-tenochtitlan-returns-to-mexico-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-two-centuries-180989536/The artifact, among the most prized visual accounts of Aztec history, will be on display in Mexico City for three monthsMon, 21 Sep 2026 19:34:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-rare-aztec-codex-detailing-the-rise-and-fall-of-tenochtitlan-returns-to-mexico-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-two-centuries-180989536/Mysteriously Stolen More Than 30 Years Ago, and Illicitly Transported to the U.S., This 300-Pound Sculpture Is Finally Back Home in Francehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysteriously-stolen-more-than-30-years-ago-and-illicitly-transported-to-the-us-this-300-pound-sculpture-is-finally-back-home-in-france-180989507/Alfred Lepère’s hulking “Faune Chasseur” artwork is once again on display at the Musée de Picardie, in AmiensWed, 16 Sep 2026 15:03:21 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysteriously-stolen-more-than-30-years-ago-and-illicitly-transported-to-the-us-this-300-pound-sculpture-is-finally-back-home-in-france-180989507/Thieves Broke Into a French Museum and Made Off With Renoir Paintings Worth More Than $2.5 Millionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-broke-into-a-french-museum-and-made-off-with-renoir-paintings-worth-more-than-25-million-180989462/Early today, burglars stole four artworks from the Renoir Museum, in the French Riviera, only to drop two of them as they escapedTue, 08 Sep 2026 19:21:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-broke-into-a-french-museum-and-made-off-with-renoir-paintings-worth-more-than-25-million-180989462/Historic Trove of Monets, Renoirs and Other Impressionist Masterpieces Expected to Fetch Up to $50 Million on Auction Block This Fallhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historic-trove-of-monets-renoirs-and-other-impressionist-masterpieces-expected-to-fetch-up-to-50-million-on-auction-block-this-fall-180989448/More than 60 paintings from the private estate of Paul Durand-Ruel, who shepherded Impressionism out from obscurity, will be up for saleThu, 03 Sep 2026 17:16:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historic-trove-of-monets-renoirs-and-other-impressionist-masterpieces-expected-to-fetch-up-to-50-million-on-auction-block-this-fall-180989448/Some of the Earliest Automobile Enthusiasts Signed Up to Help the Allies in WWI. They Also Ushered in the Mechanization of Warhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/some-earliest-automobile-enthusiasts-signed-up-help-allies-world-war-i-also-ushered-in-mechanization-war-180989285/When the gentlemen drivers of Britain’s Royal Automobile Club Volunteer Force shipped their roadsters and racers to face the Germans, they became chauffeurs, couriers and inadvertent combatantsTue, 01 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/some-earliest-automobile-enthusiasts-signed-up-help-allies-world-war-i-also-ushered-in-mechanization-war-180989285/This American Commando Parachuted Behind Enemy Lines in Both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War IIhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-american-commando-parachuted-behind-enemy-lines-in-both-the-european-and-pacific-theaters-of-world-war-ii-180989396/A direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson, Francis Lowell Coolidge was an agent with the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor to the CIA. Read his goodbye letter to his wife, published here for the first timeThu, 27 Aug 2026 12:33:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-american-commando-parachuted-behind-enemy-lines-in-both-the-european-and-pacific-theaters-of-world-war-ii-180989396/Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatureshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tennis-matches-are-heating-up-literally-heres-how-the-court-became-a-living-laboratory-for-managing-extreme-temperatures-180989399/The sport’s hard-court surfaces can reach some 30 degrees hotter than the surrounding air. With elite players suffering heat illness on the world stage, athletes are following personalized cooling plansThu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tennis-matches-are-heating-up-literally-heres-how-the-court-became-a-living-laboratory-for-managing-extreme-temperatures-180989399/For the First Time, a Selection of Islamic Masterpieces From the Louvre Is Coming to the United States. See the Treasures Soon to Be Displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Arthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/for-the-first-time-a-selection-of-islamic-masterpieces-from-the-louvre-is-coming-to-the-united-states-see-the-treasures-soon-to-be-displayed-at-the-smithsonians-national-museum-of-asian-art-180989402/Twenty-six works spanning many centuries and regions will form the September exhibition titled "From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art"Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:00:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/for-the-first-time-a-selection-of-islamic-masterpieces-from-the-louvre-is-coming-to-the-united-states-see-the-treasures-soon-to-be-displayed-at-the-smithsonians-national-museum-of-asian-art-180989402/These Medieval Manuscript Fragments Were Reused as Parchment, Inadvertently Preserving Them for Centurieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-medieval-manuscript-fragments-were-reused-as-parchment-inadvertently-preserving-them-for-centuries-180989398/Recently discovered on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, the pages include Bible passages, poems, plays and other texts. They were repurposed as book bindings during the 16th and 17th centuriesWed, 26 Aug 2026 18:20:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-medieval-manuscript-fragments-were-reused-as-parchment-inadvertently-preserving-them-for-centuries-180989398/In France, Brutal Summer Heat Waves Are Taking a Toll on the Flowers That Inspired Claude Monet's Most Beloved Paintingshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-france-brutal-summer-heat-waves-taking-toll-on-flowers-that-inspired-claude-monet-most-beloved-paintings-180989384/The colorful nasturtiums at the artist's house and gardens have been hit particularly hard this summer as France grapples with a record 52 heatwave daysMon, 24 Aug 2026 20:06:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-france-brutal-summer-heat-waves-taking-toll-on-flowers-that-inspired-claude-monet-most-beloved-paintings-180989384/How Should the Bayeux Tapestry End? A New Competition Invites Children to Reimagine Its Missing Final Panelhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-should-the-bayeux-tapestry-end-new-a-competition-invites-childresn-to-reimagine-its-missing-final-panel-180989366/Some historians think the 230-foot-long artwork is missing its final panel, which may have once depicted William the Conqueror's coronation. As the tapestry goes on view in London, students will be drafting endings of their ownThu, 20 Aug 2026 15:50:43 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-should-the-bayeux-tapestry-end-new-a-competition-invites-childresn-to-reimagine-its-missing-final-panel-180989366/One of the Most Important Cookbooks of the 20th Century Is Celebrating 50 Years. What Made Its French Author So Special in American Kitchens?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-of-the-most-important-cookbooks-of-the-20th-century-celebrates-50-years-what-made-jacques-pepin-so-important-in-the-kitchen-180989297/With instructions and images explaining how to carve vegetables and deconstruct a lamb, "La Technique" by Jacques Pépin became a how-to guide and an inspiration for countless cooks and food loversMon, 10 Aug 2026 13:41:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-of-the-most-important-cookbooks-of-the-20th-century-celebrates-50-years-what-made-jacques-pepin-so-important-in-the-kitchen-180989297/