The Louvre, Part 1

So I finally got the chance to clear out a day and head to the Louvre. This is another museum that is free for EU citizens under 25, which my 6 month visa qualifies me for. Otherwise it's a 10€ ticket, so a little pricey, but not bad if you get to spend the better part of a day there. And with three pavilions hosting hundreds of thousands of pieces, you easily will. I took up almost 5 hours, and got to see nearly all the famous works, as well as many others.

The first area I went through was the ancient Greek and Roman collection. Filled with magnificent marble carvings of mythology and funeral statues, this collection is also home to the Venus of Milo. I stumbled upon it almost haphazardly, realizing it only after I noticed the multiple tour groups circling the piece. With so many people, however, the piece was hard to enjoy, so I snapped some photos and moved along.

Le Vénus de Milo

I continued my wandering until I happened upon one of the grand staircases. That's when I saw it, a sign for La Joconde. I had no urge to see the Mona Lisa when I came here, most of my friends have previously told me how underwhelming and oversold it is, but when I saw that sign I was overcome by an undying need to see the piece. I beelined through the religious paintings, following each sign to the next, before entering a massive room. The ceilings seemed to rise forever, and the walls were covered in huge paintings; each one was 8-12 feet tall and 10-20 feet wide. I walked past a large dividing wall, and there it was. I discovered everything people had said was true. The painting is small, and is the only one on the entire wall. It's surrounded by a wooden railing and then a velvet rope one, which means visitors have to stand almost 8 feet away.

Trying to give a scale of its size...

Up close and personal, thanks to my 80mm zoom lens...

It captured my attention for only a few moments, just long enough to grab a few photos. As with Venus, Lisa was just too crowded and diminutive to enjoy. I started instead looking at the other pieces in the room.

This was the piece opposite the Mona Lisa

The piece on the opposite dividing wall was a painting that was 12 feet high and at least 20 feet wide, and there was still a good 3 feet of wall extending out on either side, however, people seemed to walk past it as if it was cheap wallpaper while simply waiting for their turn to see the Mona Lisa.

The next hall had yet more famous works. The one that seemed to stick with me most was the famous painting from the French revolution, which depicts Marianne leading men and youngsters to liberty.

A mother and son enjoying Le Liberté Guidant le Peuple

Afterwards, I meandered towards the collection from the Pacific and Americas. This hall was nearly empty, but had several interesting pieces. They also had a very cool interactive library of the hall's collection. The only option I could see was French, but it still proved very informative and fun. In addition to the quirky pieces and cool multimedia experience, they also had an impressive Moaï on display. Though tucked away toward the back corner, it was definitely a piece that commanded attention.

The Moaï watching over guests perusing the other pieces

One of my final stops on the 'famous tour' was the apartments of Napoleon III, preserved at the Louvre along with many artifacts of other kings and emperors. The massive rooms and soaring ceilings aren't quite like anything I've seen back home. Stan Hywet gardens in Akron are maybe the closest, but even though the rooms were about the same size, the soaring ceilings of these apartments are unparalleled.

A sofa on display in the apartments

The furniture was equally lavish and cushy. They had even moved the imperial throne room from the Palais de Tuileries to be displayed here at the apartments. I snapped several photos, but got admonished when I took a picture of the name plate that was describing the room. «You don't have a zoom?» the guard asked. Apparently kneeling down and holding my camera an inch over the short barrier to get a clear photo was too far for their comfort, though I would have had to wholly lean over the barrier if I had used my zoom anyway.

The imperial eagle once adorned the center of the rug in the throne room.

The throne of Napoleon I

They also had several religious items, many of which also fit the royal category. Many of them were the scepters used by various kings and emperors during their reign, most of which were ornate gold orbs heavily decorated with crosses and fleur-de-lis. There was one of some interest, though, which is the Hand of Justice. It was used in the coronations of French kings since the end of the 13th century. The thumb is said to represent the king, the index finger represents reason, the middle finger represents charity, and the final two represent the Catholic faith.

La Main de Justice sat atop the scepter used at French coronations

So that's that. Not all of the famous works, but quite a few of them. I took tons of photos though (over 700) and, as you can see in the title, this is only the beginning of posts from Louvre photos. Look forward to plenty more coming soon!