I dedicated my second day in Paris to two great museums, Louvre and Orsay, because they are both free(!) on the first Sunday of each month. (What a resourceful traveller I am!)
Let me start my pilgrim to Musée du Louvre with a breathtaking panorama. (Click here if you want the original size since Flickr refused to take it.)
The famous pyramids, designed by the great Chinese American architect I.M. Pei, stood timelessly with Louvre as if they were there from the beginning.
Thousands of statues decorated the exterior of the Palais Royal.
Despite its exquisite decor, the whole building had only two colors, or three if you count the glass as the third.
An equestrian statue of Louis XIV stood in the right of the square and I had eaten my triangle-shaped sandwich under it, while watching pigeons patrolling nearby.
Inside the museum, under the pyramid, you would see this inverse pyramid, reminding me a sand clock.
Looking up, the sky was fragmented into interesting pieces.
I decided to start my visit with my favorite period of art, the Italian Renaissance. You didn't even have to check your flood plan for it: Just follow the biggest crowd.
Why? Because even the dumbest person would come to Louvre for the "Mona Lisa". My art history professor told me that if you ever come to see the "Mona Lisa", you should see it with your eyes, instead of your camera. However, due to the ridiculously feverish crowd, the museum had built a fence to keep people seven feet away from the painting. It was a big disappointment. But on the other hand, with all the people around, you could barely see the painting anyway.
But I still did my "tourist duty" of working my way upfront in the crowd and taking an awkward picture of it. By the way, I was always wondering what was wrong with her and finally I got my answer from a friend: She has no eyebrows! (Errrgh!) Why didn't I realize that for all those years?
Fortunately not everyone came here for the art. So I enjoyed a lot more Leonardo's other masterpieces, which was on display right near the Mona Lisa, but without a big crowd or a ridiculous fence.
For those who are not familiar with Christian saints, St. Anne is the mother of Virgin Mary, who is the mother of the baby Jesus. So the picture was about a happy family moment.
I couldn't help showing off my joy of being here, and my funny t-shirt!
Another great Italian Renaissance painter was the youthful Raphael. This one reminded me his another "Virgin and Child" in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. I think he paints women better than Leonardo.
Although Louvre's collection of Italian Renaissance was impressive, I don't think it was its biggest collection. The title should go to its collection of French Neo-classicism: Ingres, David and Delacroix, among others.
Many of their paintings were monumental, or larger-than-life, to say the least. The overwhelming feeling could only get from seeing it in person. Another great example of David's huge paintings was "Emperor in His Study" in, once again, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
One of the most memorable images in art, "Liberty Leading the People" was a prominent example of another great French painter, Delacroix.
What was interesting about the "Turkish Bath" was that Ingres painted the same nude in at least two other paintings, shown in the same room. It could make an interesting comparative study.
Those were by no means the only great paintings in Louvre. In fact, there were so many of them that I had a very hard time deciding which ones I would like to show here. However, there were even more to see than just paintings. The interior decors were eye-catching as well.
To preserve the frescos, the lighting of this hallway was extremely low. This was the best my camera could do. (No flash, please!)
My favorite Greek pottery was abundant, too. (What are the good stuffs Louvre does *not* have, anyway?)
The most photographable objects were the sculptures. Let us start from the famous "Winged Nike".
It was situated in front of the first stairs leading to all the other sculptures. Fortunately it was high enough to avoid posing with literally hundreds of people. You will understand what I am saying if you read on.
This was a less famous Greek "Venus" statue, which has many Roman copies collected by various museums. We would see her in Roma again.
I just thought this was an interesting photo. No offense.
How could I finish my pilgrim without visiting the famous "Venus de Milo"? But I still think she was not as pretty as the earlier one. Anyone with me?
My art history professor also told me to always look around a sculpture because the sculptor worked very hard on the back and side of the sculpture as well. Plus you would get an idea of how "over-exposed" she was.
The "Dying Slaves" were a few of Michelangelo's sculpture outside Italy. We had seen one earlier in Brugge. Rich as Louvre could only afford two of them.
I wandered into the Northern European sculpture section, where few people would even know existed. A nude statue of St. Mary Madeline caught my eyes. Although Mary Madeline was a prostitute before converted to Christianity, a nude statue of hers was almost unimaginable in continental Europe at that time. And the nudity was very artful.
By the time I finished the sculpture sections, I was completely exhausted. As much as I wanted to spend more time in Louvre, I couldn't continue without food and drink. So I went down to the entrance to get a sandwich and ate it outside in the square. It was a cloudy day but I was so happy.
Let me start my pilgrim to Musée du Louvre with a breathtaking panorama. (Click here if you want the original size since Flickr refused to take it.)
The famous pyramids, designed by the great Chinese American architect I.M. Pei, stood timelessly with Louvre as if they were there from the beginning.
Thousands of statues decorated the exterior of the Palais Royal.
Despite its exquisite decor, the whole building had only two colors, or three if you count the glass as the third.
An equestrian statue of Louis XIV stood in the right of the square and I had eaten my triangle-shaped sandwich under it, while watching pigeons patrolling nearby.
Inside the museum, under the pyramid, you would see this inverse pyramid, reminding me a sand clock.
Looking up, the sky was fragmented into interesting pieces.
I decided to start my visit with my favorite period of art, the Italian Renaissance. You didn't even have to check your flood plan for it: Just follow the biggest crowd.
Why? Because even the dumbest person would come to Louvre for the "Mona Lisa". My art history professor told me that if you ever come to see the "Mona Lisa", you should see it with your eyes, instead of your camera. However, due to the ridiculously feverish crowd, the museum had built a fence to keep people seven feet away from the painting. It was a big disappointment. But on the other hand, with all the people around, you could barely see the painting anyway.
But I still did my "tourist duty" of working my way upfront in the crowd and taking an awkward picture of it. By the way, I was always wondering what was wrong with her and finally I got my answer from a friend: She has no eyebrows! (Errrgh!) Why didn't I realize that for all those years?
Fortunately not everyone came here for the art. So I enjoyed a lot more Leonardo's other masterpieces, which was on display right near the Mona Lisa, but without a big crowd or a ridiculous fence.
For those who are not familiar with Christian saints, St. Anne is the mother of Virgin Mary, who is the mother of the baby Jesus. So the picture was about a happy family moment.
I couldn't help showing off my joy of being here, and my funny t-shirt!
Another great Italian Renaissance painter was the youthful Raphael. This one reminded me his another "Virgin and Child" in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. I think he paints women better than Leonardo.
Although Louvre's collection of Italian Renaissance was impressive, I don't think it was its biggest collection. The title should go to its collection of French Neo-classicism: Ingres, David and Delacroix, among others.
Many of their paintings were monumental, or larger-than-life, to say the least. The overwhelming feeling could only get from seeing it in person. Another great example of David's huge paintings was "Emperor in His Study" in, once again, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
One of the most memorable images in art, "Liberty Leading the People" was a prominent example of another great French painter, Delacroix.
What was interesting about the "Turkish Bath" was that Ingres painted the same nude in at least two other paintings, shown in the same room. It could make an interesting comparative study.
Those were by no means the only great paintings in Louvre. In fact, there were so many of them that I had a very hard time deciding which ones I would like to show here. However, there were even more to see than just paintings. The interior decors were eye-catching as well.
To preserve the frescos, the lighting of this hallway was extremely low. This was the best my camera could do. (No flash, please!)
My favorite Greek pottery was abundant, too. (What are the good stuffs Louvre does *not* have, anyway?)
The most photographable objects were the sculptures. Let us start from the famous "Winged Nike".
It was situated in front of the first stairs leading to all the other sculptures. Fortunately it was high enough to avoid posing with literally hundreds of people. You will understand what I am saying if you read on.
This was a less famous Greek "Venus" statue, which has many Roman copies collected by various museums. We would see her in Roma again.
I just thought this was an interesting photo. No offense.
How could I finish my pilgrim without visiting the famous "Venus de Milo"? But I still think she was not as pretty as the earlier one. Anyone with me?
My art history professor also told me to always look around a sculpture because the sculptor worked very hard on the back and side of the sculpture as well. Plus you would get an idea of how "over-exposed" she was.
The "Dying Slaves" were a few of Michelangelo's sculpture outside Italy. We had seen one earlier in Brugge. Rich as Louvre could only afford two of them.
I wandered into the Northern European sculpture section, where few people would even know existed. A nude statue of St. Mary Madeline caught my eyes. Although Mary Madeline was a prostitute before converted to Christianity, a nude statue of hers was almost unimaginable in continental Europe at that time. And the nudity was very artful.
By the time I finished the sculpture sections, I was completely exhausted. As much as I wanted to spend more time in Louvre, I couldn't continue without food and drink. So I went down to the entrance to get a sandwich and ate it outside in the square. It was a cloudy day but I was so happy.
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