 |
| Venus - Goddess of Love |
 |
| Inlaid stone tile |
Today the Louvre is the world's most famous - largest - most visited museum. It has 600,000 documented pieces of art - mostly paintings and sculptures. They display about 35,000 of them at any one time. We spent most of the day there. We tried to gain entry using our teachers' cards - but they said only art teachers can come in for free. We paid the 15 euros admission. Due to the virus and the lack American visitors - the attendance was low by any standard. You could see whatever you wanted - stayed as long as you wanted. Also - they have a Friday night free plan.
It seems that everyone rushes off to see The Mona Lisa. It is darker and smaller than you expect. People do que up
to see it - the line moves quickly. Everyone is turning around to have the next person take their picture. A video of that would be more entertaining.
The Venus de Milo - even without arms is more impressive - as is Winged Victory - without a head. Countries still argue over who owns what. In England - they have the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles from the Acropolis. Napoleon seized many of these works of art during his reign of terror. France is still trying to get back art from when Hitler's panzers swept into Paris in 1940.
The palace itself is a work of art. In the plain and fancy world - this Italian Renaissance architecture is very fancy. Although I prefer plain for myself - I admire all the work that goes into this ornate decoration. I loved the inlaid tile floors. Years of people walking has sanded down the tiles - and the marble steps. It is amazing it all holds up.
We had lunch there. The cafe occupies balconies that overlook the giant courtyard. What a splendid setting to snack.
We took bus 69 - both ways. Lulu stopped to pick up things to make for supper on the way home.
 |
| Entrance is the pyramid. I remember bring in this courtyard packed with people. |
 |
| Winged victory |
 |
| Ornate ceilings |
 |
| Crowds were mild |
 |
| Mona means Madame. Madam Lisa Gherardini. La Gioconda in French. |
 |
| We waited in line about 15 minutes for this shot. |
 |
| This was taken with my iPhone. |
 |
| We had lunch out on the balcony. |
 |
| IM Pei designed the pyramid entrance. |
 |
| Joachim Murat - King of Naples |
 |
| Napoleon in his 20s |
 |
| Putting down a stone courtyard |
 |
| Venus having a tryst with Mars |
 |
| Mother Mary at Calvary |
 |
| Venus |
 |
| Ares - god of war |
 |
| Note the decoration on arms |
No comments:
Post a Comment