On Wednesday Camille and I went to the Louvre! This is the largest art museum in the world and is located in a former French palace! I talked to a guy who had seen everything in the Louvre and he said it takes 2.5 to 3 weeks to see everything! So I decided to focus on the paintings, Napoleon's apartments, and the sculptures. Needless to say I only got a sampling of what was there, but I feel like I saw a lot in the 5.5 hours that I was there!
The Arch in front of The Louvre
Underneath the famous Glass Pyramid!
This is the first thing I saw in the Louvre, the famous "Winged Victory" statue!!
It was situated at the top of a grand staircase and did not have any other artwork nearby competing for viewer's attention!
I thought this paining was interesting because if you look closely, you can see that the baby is actually a winged angel, but it is hovered on the floor like a pet dog.
All of the ceilings were incredibly ornate, one could spend all day solely admiring the ceilings!!
Shortly after arriving, I saw the Mona Lisa!!! There were so many people crowded around, it was crazy. I of course, wanted to get right in the front and in the middle to get the best picture possible (like everyone else). So I braved the crowd and got so squished that my shoulders were rotated in as far as they could go, and I had bodies pressed up against me from every angle. To be honest, I kind of liked the crowd, it added to the experience! There is a protective glass over the Mona Lisa which makes the painting appear a little fuzzy and discolored in pictures. However, in person you could see the woman in her full glory!
All of the painting titles and explanations were in French in all of the museums that I visited, which at times was a bit frustrating because I wanted to know all of the titles. So I would just try to interpret them and make up stories behind the painting in my own head. Perhaps this one is of Romeo & Juliet?
Camille was so wonderful to have with me while we were going through the paintings! Unfortunately I did not study this era and style of paintings very much in high school. I knew a lot more about the art at the Musee d'Orsay. However, Camille knew so much and I loved listening to her tell stories of the paintings!
She told me that this one is incredibly famous, and is of a fortune teller who is reading a man's palm.
David looking at Goliath's head after slaying him!
Mary & Jesus
I really love this painting. The woman is riding on a centaur, half man and half horse! He lifts her so effortlessly and joyfully as she admires the sky with her dress blowing in the wind. It's such a fun and imaginative painting!
This girl was one of Camille's favorites : )
I really loved this one as well. However, I had a completely different interpretation than what Camille said the title was in French! Those pieces on the ground look like parts of a scorpion's body; so I thought that the little boy had just killed the scorpion and was reflecting on both the impact of his actions and of ending the creature's life. To me, the expression on this face portrays a bit of inner shock of realizing his own power to kill and perhaps feeling a little shameful. However, Camille told me that those were shrimp that he was eating. But I really like my interpretation so I thought I'd still add it to the explanation!
I don't know what this painting is supposed to represent (probably some historical, Biblical, or mythological story), but I think the artist did such a fantastic job capturing the lighting that is shining down on the girl.
This painting is absolutely huge in real life!! The picture below is of the focus of the painting, but it only shows about 1/5 of the paintings total content. Camille told me it is a very famous depiction of the infamous historical event when Napoleon took the crown from the church to crown himself. Normally when the king and queen are crowned, it is done by the church. However right before Napoleon's crowning, he took the adornment from the priest's hands and said "Only Napoleon is worthy of crowning Napoleon." So it was a big moment in history where the king was took away the church's power.
This is also a very famous painting as well depicting the conflict over Sabine women. The mythical story depicts Rome as a young nation Romans nation who lacked women, so they decided to steal Sabine women to ensure future offspring and the nation's growth. Three years later the Sabine men came to reclaim their women however the battle was prevented because the women stood in between in front of the Roman men whom they had grown to love.
Next I saw the Napoleon Apartments, which were so elaborate & ornate!! Since the Louvre was the former Royal Palace of France, this portion of the art museum displays what the inside of the palace used to look like. Pictures do not even begin to properly portray the elegance and splendor.
Pearl & Diamond Crown
These were my two favorite replicas of Jesus
I really fell in love with the paintings at the Musee d'Orsay that I visited the day before, however here in the Louvre it was the sculptures that I liked the most. There were so many magnificent ones!! Here are some of my favorites!
I love this sculpture, she has such a peaceful and beautiful serenity about her.
This sculpture is of a soldier giving water to a baby. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but the man's expression is so tender and kind, I just fell in love with this statue!!
Spartacus
Upon first glance, I thought that this couple were just in the throws of passion. However when I examined closely, the man is actually the devil with horns who has ripped off the woman's clothing!
I'm sure this statue has a different meaning, but since I don't know what it is truly supposed to be since the description is in French, I like to think of it as Adam attempting to take revenge on the serpent after he and Eve have eaten the apple.
Pretty Woman
This was just part of a bigger sculpture, but I love this little girl's face and her expression of awe and surprise
Again, I'm not sure what this is supposed to be; however I interpreted it to be baby Jesus holding a nail in his hand while contemplating the impact his future momentous sacrifice on the cross.
And this is my absolute Favorite piece of artwork in The Louvre!!! I absolutely LOVE this and really wish I could have it in my house. It is called "Psyche Meets Cupid" or "Cupid Awakens Psyche" and it is positively magnificent. I love absolutely everything about this sculpture... the intertwining arms, the magnificent wings, her cascading hair (viewable from the back), I could go on and on!! This statue is so brilliantly created a such a perfect manifestation of the title. I think you have to be a true genius to create such a piece of artwork!
Later that night Camille and I met up with her friend Sarah who's birthday party we went to on my first night in Paris. We went out for dinner at a Crepery! I had a chicken crepe with tomatoes, cheese, and spinach. It was delicious!
But my favorite was dessert!!!!! This is a chocolate and banana crepe that had a little rum on it that was burned off right before I it was served to me. I got to see it in flames right before my eyes. The chocolate is so warm and melty, it was truly heaven!!!
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