Loving the Louvre

Last Friday found me at Le Musee du Louvre. On Fridays after 6:00, the Louvre offers free admission to people under age 26, so it was the logical place to be for me. I did not really know what to expect at the Louvre but I was psyched about going all the same.

Like all major buildings and attractions in Paris, the exterior of the museum is beautiful. We spent a while just wandering around the outside of the magnificent building looking at all the ornate sculptures and beautiful details that make up the building. Before it became a display for some of the world's most famous works of art, the Louvre building was home to most of France's kings. Many of the royal families put their own additions on the palace, so there are so many things to look at and each represents a different family or ruler.

The famous pyramid is also very cool to look at. If you're wondering, I did have a reflective moment as Tom Hanks did in The DaVinci Code. I've found famous museums are where I do all my best thinking, crime solving, and treasure saving. This picture shows me before I made my major world-changing revelation.

One of the first things I noticed about the interior of the Louvre was the spectacular ceiling art. The ceilings are high and elegant and many are works of art in themselves.

If the ceilings are not covered in art, chances are they have been designed to create the illusion of daylight. This photo makes it appear as though I visited the Louvre at high noon, when in reality I was there after dark. This picture was taken around 8:00 at night and it still looks as though the sun is shining brightly.

How could I be in the Louvre and not pay a visit to the most famous painting in the world? The Mona Lisa in person is incredible. If it were not for the throng of people crowding around her, it would be possible to miss this painting, however. Compared to many other canvases, Mona Lisa is quite small. The painting has a wall all to itself, though it takes up a very small percentage of it. It is, of course, protected by layers of security I can not even imagine, both visible and invisible. Surprisingly, though, we were able to take pictures.

This is an example of one of the very large paintings in the Louvre. Many take up entire walls, as you can see. It's certainly a contrast to the Mona Lisa (which was directly across the room from this painting if memory serves me) which is less than a meter high.

This is a dark photo but I like it because it gives an idea of the ornate detail that covers the Louvre from floor to ceiling. This room, which housed little goblets and beautiful things that had belonged to royalty, in particular was blanketed in wonderful paintings of Greek gods and goddesses.

Of course I had my picture taken in the Louvre. In theory, I should have found a painting with some particular meaning to me and used that as the backdrop, but really I just wanted the photo to show that I was really there. I believe the painting behind me is a Delacroix, who I have studied, so I suppose it has a meaning on a very small level.

This is another Delacroix painting which I remember studying in class last semester. It was neat to see paintings from my textbook in real life. Also, this is apparently the cover of the latest Coldplay album and I was asked to take a picture of it.

We walked around the Louvre for hours and saw many, many paintings. I loved seeing Picasso's work, though taking pictures was prohibited there. We were disappointed to learn that Monet's pieces had been moved to an Impressionist exhibit in another museum but we found other works and artists to admire. We finished off the night with a visit through the Greek Antiquities. They were awesome.

I enjoyed visiting the Louvre immensely. I saw so many things in person that I'd only ever seen in books before. It was definitely something I'll never forget.