Vincent Van Gogh’s ’s Colorful Goodbye Present To All Of Us

As we all know, Vincent van Gogh was a tormented soul. This makes his last painting the more remarkable.

"Green Wheat Fields, Auvers" has been in private hands for more than half a century, and was only recently exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Art historians were excited since it is the last masterpiece that Van Gogh completed before his tragic demise. He died in 1890 at age 37 in his beloved France.

The oil painting was owned by the late millionaire Paul Mellon. His father Andrew Mellon founded the National Gallery of Art in 1937. The painting graced the walls of Paul Mellon’s home until his wife  Rachel, donated it to the museum in 2013.

Mary Morton, curator of French paintings at the museum, stated "Here in the gallery, it needs nothing. It is incredibly powerful."

The painting is quite large, measuring two and half feet by three feet, and does not feature any persons or objects; just landscape. It depicts the northern French countryside with light green wheat fields, pale flowers, and a large blue and white, cloud-filled sky. The bright colors are interesting considering that towards the end of van Gogh's life his other works are quite dark and bleak.

According to Ms. Morton "He [Vincent van Gogh] was soothed by nature, feeling these incredible waves of joy."

Needless to say, this is pure speculation. We just don’t know what went on in the soul of this tortured genius. All we can do is feast our eyes on his brilliant painting and enjoy. All in all not a bad legacy!

France and the rise of the e-book

France has an interesting law that bars heavy discounting on books. The law passed in 1981, and prohibits the sale of books for less than 5% below the cover price. A publisher typically offers bookstores a profit margin of between 30% and 40%. The idea behind it is that shops will be able to compete with large chains. Booksellers now hope that it will also protect them from a new threat: the electronic book.

In the US, independent bookstores and small publishers are subjected to the market forces. The UK is the only large European economy that allows retailers to discount books freely, according to the Federation of European Publishers.

"France has long believed that a book is not just business," said lawmaker Hervé Gaymard, who has published research on France's fixed book prices. "It's a cultural identity."

But small French book businesses fear a repeat of the price war that erupted when e-books arrived in the U.S. for reading on computers, e-readers like Amazon's Kindle and, eventually, tablets like Apple's iPad. Trying to compete with e-books, big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target allowed shoppers to buy printed books at steep discounts. Prices at smaller bookstores, already struggling against big chains, were massively undercut. Publishers, meanwhile, worried that the low prices undervalued their books.

French Senator Jacques Legendre has proposed a new law that would allow publishers to set the retail price of e-books. His bill will be debated in Parliament next month. It will face criticism, since it’s difficult to determine what regulations apply to e-books. France's competition authority therefore recommends waiting two years to see how the market for e-books will evolve before implementing any laws.

E-books are fastest growing, but are still only less than 1% of the $2.2 billion book market in France (according to French Booksellers Union). Electronic readers are also not heavily promoted yet.

Hachette Livre, France's biggest publishing house, supports Mr. Legendre's proposed law - quite likely in an effort to have control of the pricing of their books and keeping a vast network of bookstores in operation is in their interest. Hachette Livre, a unit of Lagardère SCA, recently signed a deal to sell about 8,000 French books through Apple's store for e-books. Amazon doesn't yet sell French e-books.

French lawmaker Mr. Gaymard is proposing another law that would reduce the value-added tax on e-books. France currently taxes e-books at 19.6%, like most other consumer products, while printed works are taxed 5.5%. This proposal would partly offset the effects of Mr. Legendre's anti-discounting law.

Booksellers are afraid that an anti-discounting law isn't going to save them. Some independent bookstores are banding together to create their own website, 1001Libraires.com, which is scheduled to start selling printed books and e-books at the end of next month.

No matter what, France will have to face the rise of the e-book.

Dress for success - the French way

It’s not easy being a powerful woman. Ask any of us in higher management positions.

Apart from performance pressure, we are also judged on our looks and outfits. Our male counterparts can show up in the same boring business suits day after day, growing beer bellies and losing their hair – but not us! We have to be “representative” without being “provocative”.

It’s the female powerhouses that get the most heat: Oprah has been ridiculed for her weight swings and fashion sense, while Dr. Phil Phony can be shabbily dressed and pudgy. Hillary Clinton is made fun of due to her trademark pantsuits, while Obama can drape his lanky frame with the same old, same old boring suit – go figure.

So I admire women in power that don’t give a damn and do as they please, especially if they are politicians with non-stop media scrutiny.

In the US, Condoleezza Rice is pushing the envelope in contrast to first lady Laura Bush.

In Europe, the only country where female politicians have this “je ne sais quoi” is not Italy (the Mecca of the Alta Moda), but France.

The most glamorous of the bunch is Rachida Dati (yes, that’s IS her real family name!) France’s Minister of Justice who, in her early forties, flatly refuses to go dowdy. When criticized for her addiction to designer rags, she replied that as the high-achieving daughter of poor immigrants, she had earned her Dior dresses. Way to go, amica!

Let’s face it, if Robespierre cum suis would have been female, they would have added “élégance” to liberté, égalité and fraternité (and less well-coiffed heads would have been severed).

Ms. Dati is the darling of her boss, French president Sarkozy who refers to her as “ma beurette” (French slang for a female immigrant from the Maghreb region -Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and not for “my little buttercup”).

But she is not the only glam puss - Christine Lagarde, France’s Finance and Employment Minister favors Chanel for state events, while the Senegalese-born Human Rights Minister, Rama Yade, likes to be decked out in Yves Saint Laurent.

And trust me; all of them are taken seriously!

We all know that clothes maketh the man – just take a look at the rigid power dressing code in ancient Rome. And the same applies to women – just ask Angela Merkel when she was running for Prime Minister.

For now, we less high-profiled women have to keep the delicate balance at work between excelling at our job while dressing as we please.

I just wish I was a French cabinet minister…..and being able to borrow haute couture!