Joseph Emmanuel, Paris, Sex and Love (November theme: Portrait)

On on early autumn afternoon, coming down from Monmarte, I came across this passionate man reading a book with a loud voice and pleasure. I found visual resemblances between him and the portrait painted on the wall astonishing. Not wanting to miss this fading opportunity I took the shot and little I knew what I will discover later. In the post production as I zoomed in, I noticed that the book cover is La Revolution Inconnue (the unknown revolution) by Voline and Lenin's face is on the cover. The content of the book matched the passionate reading of the young man as well as his attire. To the right side of the mural, a worn out yet readable poster can be seen with these words "Enfants de Pigalle" (children of Pigalle). Pigalle on the South of Montmartre, is notorious for being a tourist district, with many sex shops, and theatres with Moulin Rouge as its iconic face. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's studio was here. Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and Maurice Neumont are among a few luminaries who also lived here. This visual narrative of contradictions is a testament that Paris continues to be "a fascinating yet frustrating, romantic yet sleazy, welcoming yet surly, city to visit."

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.