Two Glimpses into Society Past

Days having past since the last post, for reasons of travel and of a slight laziness (at least in the last two days since I have been back to this place), I thought that I would start off again ranting about the nature of Society (that of a certain type of people, a certain class, but not necessarily exhibiting Class), and what better than with two portraits that reveal quite rigorously and viciously but yet with such subtlety the distinctions of such a tribe?

Albert Guillaume, Les Retardataires.

Henri Gervex, Une Soiree au Pre-Catelan (1909)

These were on display at the Musee Carnavelet in Paris, situated in the hallway which led up to Marcel Proust's (reconstructed) bedroom, and it was fitting (though sad) to see the movement of time (as the museum chronicles the history of Paris), but then again, is not time (or Time in the absolute sense) always moving by and past us, swept up though we sometimes are (or feel) in its currents and sometimes drowning in the undercurrent?

Alas, is that not time?  Time, time, time.