Monsieur Champignon

About Monsieur Champignon…

Monsieur Champignon’s given name is Antoine. His dog’s name is Napoleon. Napoleon is a gourmet dog who hails from a long line of “chiens truffiers” … specially trained dogs with an acute sense of smell to search for “truffles” – a rare fungus that is a delicacy in French cuisine.

Monsieur Champignon is a proud, middle-aged Frenchman, we believe he is a widower. He lives alone with his dog.

Monsieur Champignon is “a la retraite” (a pensioner). He used to be a clock adjuster on the French railway system, making sure the trains ran on time. The system has since switched to electronic time keeping so he was laid off some years ago.

Monsieur Champignon fortunately has a few hobbies that keep him quite occupied. To mention a few: photography, wine making, cycling, the “jeu de boules” (similar to Italian Bocce). He is also a history buff and enjoys travelling very much.

Papa Champignon was a doctor in French Indochina, Grandpapa Champignon was an aviator for the French Air Force during the Great War and had an encounter with the famous Red Baron of the German Air Force, but both their machine guns malfunctioned, so no harm was done. Great Grandpapa Champignon was a little drummer boy in the armies of the Emperor Napoleon. Hence, as a tribute, Antoine Champignon’s dog sports the name Napoleon.

A recent family tree search established that Monsieur Champignon is a direct descendant of Auguste Champignon, pastry chef for Marie-Antoinette, who, sadly, or fortunately, depending on your opinion, lost her head during the French Revolution.

As you can see, Monsieur Champignon comes from a long line of Champignons.

Monsieur Champignon lives happy and content in a modest cottage in “Les Buissons Fleuris” … a small village in Southern France, well away from the beaten path.

Enjoy the painting.