When I look through the window of Miss Manon, a well-known bake shop in the Marais, the sight is an invitation to the senses, as breathtaking as any museum exhibit. Color, shape, texture – all layered in rich and subtle hues. Garnished, gilded, glazed, glossy, and geometric. Confection or works of art? People in Paris stand in line for both. Antoine Vollon’s painting, Mound of Butter (1875-1885), looks so real that it might have been painted with butter and a butter knife. The pastries displayed in my local bakery on the rue Saint Antoine are so beautiful they could have been created with brushes and paint.