A trip to Paris is not complete without a visit to one of the world’s largest museum, the Louvre. The Louvre is known for its collection of fine Italian and French art. Its most notable piece is Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
Despite us visiting fairly early there were still huge crowds. This was no surprise because the Louvre is always crowded but the crowd made it difficult to take good pictures.
Pyramids Inside the Louvre
Pyramid
Inside the Pyramid
I found Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s paintings to be very intriguing. His Four Seasons series caught my attention. The portraits were made entirely of fruits, vegetables and flowers. I had never seen this before. Taught it was totally awesome.
Four Seasons by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Winter (top left), Summer (bottom left), Autumn (top right), Spring (bottom right)
After visiting the Notre Dame I was excited to see The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. The painting depicts Napoleon’s coronation in which he crowned himself Emperor in 1804 with the pope in attendance.
The coronation of Napoleon
Mona Lisa!!! Mona Lisa!!!The superstar of the Louvre is Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa is the most famous painting. There are poems, books and songs about the painting (My favorite Mona Lisa song is by Nate King Cole). There are also many mysteries behind the painting. Many disagree Mona Lisa’s sex and whether or not she is actually smiling.
Crowd leading up to Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
The second superstar of the Louvre is statute of Venus. It is the most famous work of Greek art.
The bottom or basement of the Louvre contains the ruins of a fortress.
Basement of the Louvre
Me with the courtyard of the Louvre in the background
Courtyard of the Louvre
Louvre
The Louvre by itself should be a separate trip. It is so massive that I needed a few days or even weeks to walk through and examine each painting. The museum by itself is beautifully constructed with the courtyard and the pyramids in the middle. The paintings and sculptures are amazing. Even though I was only able to see the highlights of the museum it did help me to develop a greater appreciation for art. I had seen a few of the paintings and sculptures in textbooks or books but it was great to see the original (especially the Mona Lisa :))Yes, Mona Lisa looked at me lol!!! Didnt’t get to take a selfie with her because of the crowd but that gives me reason to return.
anywherethewindblows14 