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By Raoul Dufy (1877-1953)
Oil on canvas
Musée National d'Art de Moderne in Paris, France
[See notes on the painting below the lyrics]
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"La Vie en Rose"
I recently heard Edith Piaf's lovely song "La Vie en Rose" on the radio, with Louis Armstrong singing it in his inimitable voice. He sings mostly in English but endearingly tries a little French along the way, mostly in the refrain "La Vie en Rose" where his rose sounds more American than French. Another "Armstrong" variation is when he adds the letter "n" in the French "en" and pronounces it "en" as in "end" without the "d" (the correct pronunciation of "en" is at the 1:06 spot in this French pronunciation video).
Below are videos of Armstrong and Piaf singing "La Vie en Rose" (Armstrong also plays the trumpet):
Lyrics to La Vie en Rose:
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l’homme auquel j’appartiens
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d’amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C’est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie
Et dès que je l’aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat
Des nuits d’amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Les ennuis, les chagrins s’effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d’amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C’est toi pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie
Et dès que je l’aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat
About painting above, "Trente Ans ou La Vie en Rose" by Raoul Dufy:
Trente Ans ou La Vie en Rose (30 Years or Life Through Rose Colored Glasses)Critique of the painting:
Raoul Dufy took thirty years to paint ‘Trente Ans ou La Vie en Rose’, hence the title for this composition. The painting is also known as ‘La Vie en Rose’ which can be interpreted as “The Rosy Life” or “The Sweet Life”.
Flowers, flowers everywhere! The small bouquet that sits in a vase on a corner table is somewhat replicated in the painting that hangs behind it. The walls seem to scream sweetness and happiness with their varying wallpaper designs, two of which are flowers, the whole in soft and hot pink tones, including the baseboards. Dufy’s inspiration for the wall décor most likely comes from his experience in fabric design and interior decorating.
The artist’s intention, with regard to this painting, was to depict all the good things that life has to offer, ignoring any pain or strife that often interrupts its flow, as implied in its English title, ‘Life Through Rose Colored Glasses’. The overall aspect of ‘Trente Ans ou La Vie en Rose’ appears simple, yet it is intricate in its meticulous details. Dufy added the title, his name and date at the bottom of the canvas.
The artist adapted the creative use of color and drawing exemplified by Henri Matisse and the Fauve movement, but added a heightened ambient light to achieve the brightness that became an integral element of his work.
– W.Scott Bailey U.S.A. Today
On Dufy:
It was only after the war that he (Raoul Dufy) found his own personal style, producing rapid but precise drawings of frequently plunging perspectives, to which clear colours are applied with a kind of casual freedom. His favourite subjects are regattas, casinos and palm trees, race courses and orchestras, but his representations of the southern towns of Avila and Caltagirone are imbued with equal charm.
- From “ART20, The Thames and Hudson Multimedia Dictionary of Modern Art”