Word: french
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...Napoleon's massive theft of artworks all across Europe. One problem: Mona Lisa had never been part of the Napoleonic plunder. Though Leonardo had begun the painting in Florence in 1503, he took it with him to France 13 years later when he resettled at the court of the French king François I. After his death there in 1519, the painting passed through several hands until an eager François bought it for the modern equivalent of around $10 million...
Wassily Kandinsky could have ended up a law professor. Born in Moscow in 1866, Kandinsky studied law and at the age of 30 was offered a professorship at what is now Tartu University in Estonia. Luckily for us, he had been inspired by an exhibition of French Impressionists the year before. He turned down the university job and moved to Germany to study painting full time. "Kandinsky," a major retrospective at Paris' Pompidou Center until Aug. 10 and then at the Guggenheim in New York City from Sept. 18, tracks his journey over the ensuing decades, both geographically and stylistically...
Losing one's job can make enjoying the last few benefits more difficult, of course. Jim, an American communications executive in Paris, began studying French on his company's dime last fall, and in February upped the frequency of lessons from two to four days a week after learning he would be let go in May. "It's pretty hard to stay motivated when you're facing a total blank in two months," he says. But at least now he can add language skills to the résumé he'll be passing around. With reporting by Bruce Crumley...
...shippers can outgun young men fitted out with the best the Somali black market has to offer is a risky bet. The best solution is likely to be military, based on inspections, exclusion zones, rapid reaction and deadly force. That is how our partners are beginning to view it. French commandos retook a yacht on April 10, killing two pirates. (One passenger was killed.) Last November, the Indian navy sank a pirate "mother ship" off Yemen. Favoring multilateralism over unilateralism often means favoring talk over action; maybe last week's operation is a sign that Obama is not so easily...
...Harvard students studying in France may face the loss of a semester of education in the midst of a revolt that has gripped several of the nation’s universities since February. Schools in France have been forced to cancel classes and scramble for order while discontent with French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s handling of a bold higher education reform program has erupted into strikes and walkouts. For some of the 12 Harvard undergraduates who, according to the Office of International Programs, are currently studying in Paris, the situation has posed difficulties. French professors have used classroom...