The Musée Grévin is a waxwork museum in Paris along the lines of Madame Tussaud's in London. The Chat Noir was a famous nineteenth century cabaret in Montmartre, immortalised in Theophile Steinlein's poster.

The Massacre of the Innocents was painted twice by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), once in c.1611-12 and once in 1636-38. The earlier version was lost in the eighteenth century and only rediscovered in 2001; therefore Swann is probably thinking of the later one.

These are works by Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506), an Italian Renaissance painter, the son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.

The Swiss Guards are the traditional guards of the Pope, and can be seen on duty in the Vatican. Their uniform was designed by Michelangelo.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) was a Spanish artist whose work spans the transition from the 'Old Masters' to the modern era of painting.

Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) was an Italian artist, known primarily as a goldsmith. He worked in France for Francis I, and wrote an autobiography which is considered a classic, and is still in print today.

Aubusson is a town in Central France, in the Limousin region which, from the fourteenth century onwards, became famous for producing tapestries.

L'Orfeo is one of the earliest operas. It was written by Claudio Monteverdi (1567 -1643) in around 1607.

The Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) wrote Saint Francis Preaching to the Birds in 1880.