The Louvre

I did a lot yesterday: orientation, shopping for a fan, getting a fancy Citronade at a Cafe, walking around with the class and finally (and what I’m going to write about) visiting the Louvre in the evening.

My professor offered to show those of us who were interested the original walls of the building when it was a castle. At first, we stopped at a small pile of stones that was cool because it was so old but was about what I was expecting to see. But then, my professor led us down another floor and I realized that what I had seen was only the top of the walls. The full walls were massive both in height and thickness. It’s crazy to realize something that big was buried for so many years.

After seeing the walls, I split off to see the museum with a smaller group. Of course, we visited some of the famous pieces including The Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Mona Lisa.

I’ve never felt that strongly about the Mona Lisa. We just happened to end up right next to it and thought we might as well see it while we were there. But seeing it in person, I kind of understood why the world is obsessed with this painting. For me, it was something in the colors. The colors are slightly off in every print, photograph or copy of this painting that I’ve seen. Even in the photo I took yesterday, the colors are wrong. In person, the colors are more muted and complex. They felt comforting for some reason and as my opinion of art is almost entirely dependent on if it evokes an emotional reaction, I am much more fond of the Mona Lisa now.

However, my favorite place in the museum that we visited was the Islamic Art exhibit. First of all, it was located underneath a smaller pyramid that’s behind the iconic large one (which is just cool). As we walked in, the low concrete sealings of the basement of the Louvre opened up into this space filled with natural light. The glass display cases were in the middle of the room which allowed you to walk around and see all sides of the objects. It was a less busy as well. Many of the signs had no translations unlike the busier areas. Not only was the space lovely, but the objects were fascinating from hand carved doors to pieces of floor tile. I didn’t take many pictures which was in part due to knowing that a photo couldn’t capture something so cool quite right (I have a problem of not taking pictures of my favorite art in museums for this reason).

Today the group went to the Musee de Cluny, the national Medieval Museum of France. I could see the influences of this Islamic art on Medieval European decoration a could hundred years later. As I continue in this class, I am looking forward to being able to connect what I’ve learned in different places.

Laurie