A few days ago, I was at Musée d’Orsay, where I went to see this stunning exhibition that has been on for quite a while. I have always been interested in masks!

Masques, de Carpeaux à Picasso

I can’t really show photos as they were forbidden inside the exhibition. But they have collected all sorts of masks, mortuary masks, mascarons, carnival masks and all sorts of decorative items. Really interesting.
I had the surprise of finding this particular item that I remembered and had photographed at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Taken at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, based on Le Silence

There was its original, at Musée d’Orsay, part of a sculpture by Antoine-Augustin Préault, aptly named Le silence
I went twice as I really liked the show.
The second time, I also went to the upper floors and was intending to take photos from there but realised I didn’t have the right camera with me. These days, I tend to take only a small camera along and leave my Panasonic at home.
And while I was standing there, looking down,

Lurking at Musée d’Orsay, a photo taken in 2006

and looking at a man who had been there for quite while, clad in a wet raincoat, looking down like me, I overheard a museum attendant explaining to what turned out to be the house detective that this particular man had been standing there for over an hour and that she found him suspicious.
He walked towards Raincoat Man and asked him if he was alright, saying that he was worried, seeing him up there for such a long time. Raincoat Man drew a card out of his pocket and explained that he was on a job, watching a couple down there. House Detective smiled, shook his hand and walked away. You could feel that they belonged to the same world.
I was sorry I hadn’t taken a photo of Raincoat Man. He was so intent on what he was doing that he wouldn’t have spotted me.