The Louvre

We went to the Louvre on All-Saints day, which in many European countries is a nationally recognized holiday. Once again we locked ourselves into the Paris metro system, and rode the line down directly to the museum. The building itself is enormous, stretching on for hundreds of feet parallel to the Seine. We walked under one of the arches leading into the square that we identified as a good route, as we could see “The Pyramide” from across the street. The line appeared to be moving already, and we took our place behind the many hundreds of people already queued. The wait was short, and in no time we filed passed the guards (who held automatic rifles) into the great lobby beneath the glass of the Pyramid.

The scale of this museum is evident as soon as you begin walking around in it. There are four levels, situated in two great wings that despite their linearity still offer plenty of forks, nooks, crannies, and walls to confuse you during your trek. Just ambling into the gallery you wish to see requires nautical skill or an orienteering merit badge, and I say with no sarcasm that a GPS would be useful in there. It is impossible to scan the entirety of the Louvre in even one week, so as European residents we decided we’d spend one day at the Louvre during each of our trips to Paris, and view only two sections per trip to allow ourselves time to really view the art and get acquainted with an area.

I chose the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan sculptures and antiquities section, and Judi chose the Flemish, Dutch, and German paintings section. We went into the classical area first, and were greeted on arrival by the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue, impressively framed by a domed wall and reflected lighting. From there we saw ancient Greek and Roman statuary, pottery, terra cotta figurines, jewelry, sarcophaguses, and an assortment of tools, idols, and decorations. The one section took several hours, after which we were ready for lunch. We ate at one of the indoor cafes overlooking the courtyard and pyramid outside, which was actually reasonably priced and had excellent food. From there, we set off to another several hours in our second section.

The Flemish and Dutch masters produced some amazing work, and really seemed to perfect realism. I find it hard to believe such paintings could have even been made hundreds of years ago, without modern technology. There are many famous examples of paintings from the masters, but it was very interesting to see the recurring themes in the works that aren’t really represented in the “textbook examples” of the lowlands. Dogs are very common in the paintings, in almost every kind of scene- working dogs that were ubiquitous back then, I suppose. There are many scenes with a catch of game fowl or rabbits, and many specifically of baskets of birds and other game. It’s kind of like the modern still life painting stereotype, only instead of fruit it’s a bunch of dead birds and conies on a string, hanging from a tree. We saw the famous De Kantwerkster (The Lacemaker) by Vermeer, which was indeed quite impressive to see. I also liked Jan Victors Jong meisje aan het venster as much (Young woman at her window). We also saw Rembrandt and Seghers self portraits. Of course we also went into the Reubens room, the vaulted chamber dominated entirely by the massive flats painted by Peter Paul Reubens, which were extremely grand in scope.

We crossed the street and had coffee and dessert; a lemon tart and a something-or-other with vanilla ice cream that is apparently a French national dessert. We ended the day by hiking to the Cathedral of Notre Dame- a fitting end to a Halloween/All Saints Day trip we decided. It is an easy walk from the Louvre. The gargoyles were quite awesome, and the building is much more impressive in real life than in pictures. A definite neck-craner. We finally caught the train back to Lille and then home.