Museo de Louvre – WOW!

 

The Immense and Daunting Louvre Museum

On our third day in Paris we tackled the Louvre Museum – what an amazing place! Our guide on the Seine cruise said that if you took 3 seconds to look at each piece of art at the Louvre, it would take you 33 days to see it all. Despite this intimidating tidbit of information, we decided to see as much as we could before we fell into a heap.

The guide book recommended that we get there early and head straight to the Mona Lisa, which we did. The displays on the way and in fact everywhere were amazing.

The ceilings, the displays, everything about the Louvre is on a grand and glorious scale.

In spite of the fact that we rubbernecked the whole way, we made it to the room where the honest-to-goodness real Mona Lisa is displayed. It took us 15 – 20 minutes to work our way to the front of the line to take our picture. I expected it to be flat and uninspiring, but seeing it in person you can see the brush strokes, the color, the life in the expression. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.

From there we just wandered from room to room taking in the sights. There is just such an overwhelming amount and variety that I don’t know where to start so I’m just going to show you a very small and random sample of what we saw.

Paintings

Lots of people enjoying the art and atmosphere.

I enjoyed the portraits that showed expression. So many of the early portraits are so emotionless.

Still not a big renaissance fan.

Students of the arts honed their skills by imitating the masters.

We came across groups of children studying and sketching. What an extraordinary place to learn.

Another of my favorites by Antoine-Blanchard

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh – one of my favorites

What I have confirmed is that Tom and I both like the impressionists. He is a big Van Gogh fan and we both like Monet among others.

Sculpture

I really like sculpture in general and there was tons of it in the Louvre (literally). Since I started with the most famous of the paintings, I thought it only fair to start with the most famous of the sculptures – Venus de Milo.

Venus de Milo

Despite the fame of this statue, there seems to be no clear answer as to who she really is, who sculpted her, or when. It is thought that she is a tribute to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, possibly sculpted by Alexandros of Antioch somewhere between 130 – 100BC. The time is pretty accurate and I find it amazing that this piece is over 2000 years old, wow.

Okay, we gotta keep moving or we’ll never finish.

I love the smooth lines and the detail in these sculptures. I would love to be able to create like that.

I didn’t do a very good job of writing down titles or descriptions. I just took the pictures.

This guy just made me laugh – so happy, so much expression!

The Impressionist by Francisque Duret

Dancer by Edgar Degas. Degas is both a sculptor and a painter. I really like his work.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. You Kansas City folk may recognize this one. There is a replica in the Plaza.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite areas was the statue courtyard – so peaceful.

A courtyard of statuary – one of my favorite places.

The natural lighting added so much to the exhibition of the displays.

Other

Beauty and grandeur at every turn.

Egyptian Jars – dating back to 360 – 350BC

I’ll have a crick in my neck for a week from gawking at the ceilings.

The ceilings were spectacular!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last exhibit we saw was the Napoleon Exhibition – Opulence doesn’t even begin to describe it.

A sitting room in the Napoleon exhibit. The lavish extravagance was unbelievable!

Dressing table from the Napoleon collection.

One of the many candelabras that adorned the exhibit.

Over the top!

Napoleon’s Bedchamber

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It speaks for itself.

The grounds were spectacular as well.

The grounds at the Louvre were tranquil and inviting.

The Glass Pyramid in the Napoleon Courtyard is very cool.

One of the courtyard staircases – graceful and elegant.

And there you have it, Charli’s impressions of the Louvre de Paris – a truly amazing place.