I have a fun Parisian scavenger hunt for people who read this blog. If we are successful it could mean a great deal of money for us and believe me I need the money because butter cookies don’t grow on trees. That is the one mistake that God made- no butter cookie trees.

As you may recall, I've been a little obsessed with Modigliani. I've always felt that anything worth doing is worth overdoing so I've been studying his life and his work in the library when I should be writing the next mediocre American novel.

Interesting Fact
Modigliani moved from Montmartre to Montparnasse in 1909. He was broke and had taken a break from painting to sculpt. Since he had no money, he had to steal his materials to work. It is not a coincidence that all his narrow, rectangular wooden figures are the same dimensions as the oak sleepers on the train tracks.

Background
In 1913, near his home in Montparnasse, Modigliani spotted blocks of stone on a building site. In the evenings he would sneak onto the building site and chisel away on one of the larger blocks. When the statue was nearly completed the workmen placed the chiseled stone into the foundation where it belonged. Modigliani made a scene but was run off by the workmen.

The Mission
So, somewhere in Montparnasse, in the foundation of a building that was begun in the summer of 1913, there is a Modigliani waiting for adventurers like us to discover/steal. Come join me- you know you've always wanted to quit your damn job and move to Paris to be involved in a caper. that's right- I'm talkin' about a caper.

Nothing To Do With The Mission
I've added a new Paris blog to my favorites called Musings.