How fitting that this premiere major work in Mark King's significant Series commemorating the legendary La Belle Époque period be of the most famous and historic of Paris' palace hotels. Although a century and a certain way of life were ending in the late 1890's, the youthful and dynamic participants in the dawning of the new cultural age were surely the most audacious and talented individuals ever assembled in one world capital. The seductive legend of the Belle Époque has frequently been extended to the whole of the 1890's and even into the early 1900's. It was in 1985 that Cesar Ritz created this masterpiece hotel, in collaboration with Auguste Escoffier, the renowned master chef.

Here we view the lovely chablis elegance of a times'-past sparkling spring afternoon, symbolizing the elegant and gracious living and beauty of the city in its Belle Époque. Mark King masterfully coaxes this 'tres gentil' glimpse of a marvelous bygone era onto the canvas and into the here and now, timelessly embodying the 'hic et nunc' characteristic foundational element of Impressionism.