SOME OF OUR READERS’ QUESTIONS!

Would you tell me a little about the chandelier that was the inspiration for this story?

The chandelier at the Getty has a large blue enameled globe with gold stars. A gilt-bronze band with the twelve signs of the zodiac wraps around the globe. It has gilt-bronze scrolled branches with rooster heads,  and griffins to hold eighteen candles, and strands of glass drops. Below is a glass bowl, with a gilt-bronze rim that has eagles and garlands. And it’s big — over four feet high and three feet wide. It was made circa 1818-1819 by Gérard-Jean Galle.

Chandelier; Gérard Jean Galle (French, 1788 – 1846); about 1818–1819; Gilt bronze; glass; painted copper; gilt tin; iron armature; 119.5 × 99 cm (47 1/16 × 39 in.); 73.DH.76; No Copyright – United States (http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)

Get a closer look with the Google Art Projecthttp://Get a closer look with the Google Art Project

Do goldfish really live in the chandelier?

Although there aren’t any goldfish currently living in the chandelier at the Getty, the chandelier’s real maker, Gérard-Jean Galle, did indeed design it to hold water (eau) and goldfish (petits poissons rouges). He called it a lustre à poisson, or fish chandelier.

Was the chandelier really made by Gérard-Jean Galle for a patron like Madame Marie?

Galle made and exhibited the chandelier in the Exhibition of French Products of Industry in 1819, and then he offered the chandelier to King Louis XVIII of France in 1820.  Politically and economically this was a difficult time in France and the king declined, fearing public criticism for spending money on what was considered a luxury object.

What materials were used to make the illustrations in the book?

Gary used pencil, pen, watercolors, colored pencils, and an image editing program called Photoshop. Go behind the scenes with Gary and see how he creates his illustrations.

I saw the chandelier in Auntie Mame! At least, I think I did . . . . Did I?

We hear this a lot. It isn’t exactly the same, but we love Auntie Mame ‘s version, too. Have a look, and better yet, drop everything and go see this great movie.

Do you have questions? Find more readers’ questions in the book, The Goldfish in the Chandelier.