Show89
The Matisse that’s stolen/copied appears to be Le Tabac Royal circa 3/1943. In the early 40s, Matisse was recovering from cancer surgery. He advertised for a nurse. A student nurse named Monique Bourgeois responded and was hired. Later she was hired to model for a number of Matisse works, including Le Tabac Royal. Bourgeois later entered into Holy Orders as Sister Jacques-Marie. She died circa 2005 at about 84. For more information, read here. For an idea what it looks like, see here. Submitted by billp, 2/22/2009.
+ The painting shown at the episode’s beginning is similar but not identical to Le Tabac Royal. For one thing, the guitar and the woman are on the opposite side, and they are quite different-looking besides (and so are the backgrounds). See this painting. The painting in the show seems to be completely fictitious. Submitted by gracenote, 11/26/2011.
The museum director’s office has the same ceiling fixture as in Perry’s office, but in chrome, not black. So what’s with the mysterious woman copyist with the glasses? DOD 09/03/19
One of the most intriguing musical interludes is the jazz played over Perry discovering the body. An amazing piece, more like what one would have heard in "77 Sunset Strip." cgraul 6.1.12 //
Time Tunnel: Original viewers may have heard "Theme From A Summer Place" & "Sink The Bismarck" that week (# 1 & 5 on the Top 10 Songs, resp. takemeback.to site). Mike Bedard 7.28.16 //
The Vacant Chair: At 27:54 one cannot help but notice the way the camera stops moving and lingers for a very long time on a vacant chair in the front row of the spectators. I believe that this is a double reference to the arrest and absence of Bill Talman. As all camera movement ceases and we are faced with the vacant chair, the substitute District Attorney says, "The state has not yet accused the defendant..." which may be be a comment on the fact that Talman was never brought to trial. The vacant chair itself is, i believe, a clear reference to the lyrics of a famous song from the Civil War, "The Vacant Chair," by H.S. Washburn and George F. Root. The first verse is as follows:
We shall meet but we shall miss him.
There will be one vacant chair.
We shall linger to caress him
While we breathe our ev'ning prayer.
When one year ago we gathered,
Joy was in his mild blue eye.
Now the golden cord is severed,
And our hopes in ruin lie.
Mr. Talman did have mild blue eyes, and the lingering shot of the vacant chair silently expresses the deep feelings of loss felt by his loyal fellow-actors and the stage crew. Submitted by catyron, 11/26/2017.
Clearing Things Up I've decided to list this under Comments, rather than as a "Goof" under Trivia - since I'm not 100% sure - but I don't think Perry's dramatic revelation is technically accurate (or even possible): water soluable paints are such only until they've dried (latex paint as used on houses is a common example); once they've dried, they behave much as any other paint...and even if if there was some dissolution, it wouldn't be that dramatic. Any artists out there ??
Notcom 113017.
+ Since the object was to recover the original art at a later date, the overpainting had to be done with paint that was completely removable. Does any such water soluble paint even exist? added by TerryS, 12/28/2018.
++ Not certain, but water color paints might work as shown. There is a similar scene in the 1999 version of “Thomas Crown Affair” - spoiler alert! - in which a museum’s sprinkler system does the job. DOD 09/03/19
+++ Watercolors are certainly still soluble after drying, but they are also transparent and would not obscure what was underneath. I believe tempera paint mixed with water would act as shown; tempera mixed with egg is much more permanent, especially when painted onto wet plaster. I'm pretty sure that's what both the Sistine Chapel and The Last Supper were painted with, egg-based tempera. OLEF641 1/28/21
+ I take it that by "transparent" you mean "not quite opaque". Transparent paint wouldn't do anyone any good. :-)
And, it seemed to me that the painting Perry starts to clean is not the same one that he finishes off cleaning. It looked to me that the cherub was more square, the Matisse more rectangular. Clothears 12-May-2021.
++ Acrylic paints are soluable using denatured alcohol. jfh 17Apr2024
I thoroughly enjoy this episode...except for having to look at those hideous, trashy cherub paintings! They hurt my eyes! Can't believe ANYBODY collected them, as we are supposed to believe. Submitted by JazzBaby, 8/26/2019.
So true of any episode set in the art world - so many laughably, painfully bad pictures! DOD 09/03/19
+ This is one of my favorite episodes, primarily due TO the cherub paintings! I'm particularly drawn to the "cherub using the telephone" in the Robey gallery. Precious. In reality, however, why would a cherub need to use a telephone? Nonetheless, precious. jfh 17Apr2024
Richard Harkens asks Perry, "What makes a man out of step with those around him?, to which Perry replies, "Perhaps he hears different music", which is, of course a reference go Henry David Thoreau's Walden (1854), "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." jfh Mayday2024
Extraordinarily careless that the Richard Harkens character would be smoking around expensive paintings. Even in the 1950s or early 60s, I doubt they allowed smoking in an art museum.
At 22:22, Paul Drake finishes his conversation with the security guard, patting his shoulder, smiling, and saying "Thanks." As a general rule in most episodes, Perry himself seldom is shown having a friendly encounter with the person who will eventually be revealed as the murderer; but it seems that Paul is not subject to that code of conduct. Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 15 Sept 2012.