Day Four in Paris: The Louvre

A few months ago, I had a dream that I went to the Louvre and nobody was inside. Some guy that I guess I was dating in the dream took me there so he could propose. When he was in the middle of his shpiel, I told him that if he wanted to propose, he would have to wait because I had art that I had to see. The dude sighed and said that he would find me when I was done. I explored the museum and had the most incredible experience. 

I saved the Louvre for Wednesday since the museum had extended hours; I told the girls that I would be going to the Louvre alone. Almost every time I've gone to a major museum, I've gone with people who haven't wanted to stay and see absolutely everything (with the exception of some of the times on the study abroad). 

I took the subway to the Louvre and waited in the line; security was a breeze and before I knew it, I was inside the museum. 

When I typically go to a museum, I try to trace the walls, but it was impossible to do so in the Louvre. It is MASSIVE; it is one of the largest museums in the world. So I started by going to the things I wanted to see first then I traced the walls to the best of my ability.

This is the Winged Victory of Samothrace/Nike of Samothrace. It was discovered in the town of Samothrace, hence the name. Research suggests this sculpture was intended to commemorate a naval victory. It was done in a Hellenistic style (that means it is more expressive, revealing, emotional, dynamic). During World War II, Hitler was raiding museums and notable homes in order to steal works of art for his own museum. After the Nazis started their raids, the people at the Louvre noticed what was going on so they tried to save as much of the art as possible; there was no telling that they would see the art again if Hitler got his hands on it. They had to disassemble this sculpture in order to save it. A documentary called The Rape of Europa notes this major art heist and shows images of the Louvre being completely empty. Knowing this history made this sculpture mean so much to me.

I figured it would be easier to try and see the Mona Lisa by da Vinci in the morning rather than fighting larger crowds later in the day; what a good decision that turned out to be. When I walked into the room, this was my view.

I worked by way up to the front and saw Her. She is pretty small, not much to call home about. She is under maximum security, though, because some fools tried to vandalize Her. Earlier in the 20th century, She was stolen by a dude who though that Napoleon stole her when he had his major art heist in Italy. Not the case! da Vinci painted it but never gave it to the people who commissioned it; he liked it too much. Ultimately, da Vinci gifted it to the current king of France which is why it resides in the Louvre.

This is da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks. I really like this painting because it shows da Vinci's brilliance. All the plants painted in this work can be identified!

This work of art was so exciting to see; this is Gros' Pest House at Jaffa. 

When Napoleon was doing his Egyptian campaign, the Black Plague broke out. Napoleon was in complete denial that this was happening. He couldn't believe it! He went into the house where everyone with the plague was stashed away in and he still wouldn't believe that the Black Plague was here. He tried to lift people's spirits and help out. Since an enemy army was on their way, there is some controversy about how they left things. It is suggested that Napoleon left a lethal dose of some medication that the dying soldiers could take while he and the rest of his troops ran for safety. 

This is a portrait of the Empress Josephine by Prud'hon. It exemplifies the clothing styles of the day; Josephine made scarfs and shawls vogue as well as inspired women everywhere to get empire waist gowns.

This is The Raft of the Medusa by Gericault; it is a Romantic painting of a historical event.

There was a ship which crashed and didn't have enough boats for everyone to get to safety, much like the Titanic. The elite were able to get away while about 150 people were left to fend for themselves. They built a makeshift raft out of the remains of the boat Medusa. Over the span of 13 days, many people died and about 15 people survived; people died from exhaustion, starvation, and dehydration while the survivors had to resort to cannibalism in order to survive. The survivors were found by another government ship; the people on this ship didn't even know that there were people in need of help! This was a major scandal for the French government.

Gericault interviewed a few of the survivors and examined bodies in the morgue in order to create a life-like depiction of the events. It was entered into the 1819 Paris salon where it received mixed reviews. Some people commented that they were supposed to see beautiful things, not a thing of horror. When it was finally hung in the Louvre, under the painting, they wrote, "the only hero in this poignant story is humanity." I think that's interesting, because I don't think there was a hero in this story; it's missing.

This is Liberty Leading the People by Delacoix. It was painted in response to the 1830 revolution, with the figure of Liberty calling the people of France to action. The figure of Liberty is considered a deity; this can be seen in the symbolism of her one covered shoulder. When a figure has one shoulder covered, with a shawl or something, it is suggested that they are a deity, or god-like figure.

Napoleon was known for never wanting to sit for a portrait. This is one of the few examples of him sitting for a portrait.

I saw this painting and I thought it was funny. A man made of plants and fruits!

This is the Fortune Teller by Caravaggio. He made scenes like these popular across Europe.

This is the Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio. This was a controversial painting because the standard for painting the death of the Virgin Mary was to not paint her dead at all; it was best to paint her being twinkled up to heaven. This painting shows her very dead and not twinkled at all; her body is all swollen from being dead. Like I said, controversial.

By this time, I was pretty hungry and needed to grab breakfast. Luckily there was a little cafe in this wing of the Louvre so I got in line and ordered my food in French. I got a pan au chocolat, jus d'orange, and a macron (chocolate croissant, orange juice, and a french dessert).

From this point on, I tried to just see everything. I still didn't have a map at this point, so it felt pretty hopeless. Unfortunately, I didn't know a lot about what I was seeing, but I sure did like what I saw.

Look at how pretty this is!

This is an expressive male torso. There is a great focus on the musculature of the form.

This is the Venus de Milo. She is considered to have "the perfect proportions for the female form." I do thing that is a load of poop but whatever. She's cool, I guess.

 I really loved the Egyptian wing of the museum. Here's some of the things I saw.

Sarcophagi

An interesting head

This is another piece within the Egyptian collection.

AND A MUMMY. I was so excited to see this; I love mummies (and my mom). 

This is a sculpture by Michelangelo Dying Slave. It was exciting to see more art by my boyfriend. It is very expressive.

 These are a form of column called caryatids; that means they are female forms that are like a column. Pretty cool!

This is part of the original Louvre; the Louvre was originally a palace!

After a while, I started feeling like I really hated art. It turns out that I don't hate art, I was just hungry. I went to the restaurant inside the Louvre which turned out to be more expensive, but I really needed food so I got a table for one. They gave me the best seat in the house!

I ordered Eggs Benedict with Salmon. When I get this dish in the states, they always give hash browns or house potatoes. It was kind of a bummer when those didn't come with it but at least it was delicious! It ended up filling me up anyway. If I had potatoes, there would have been no way I could finish it.

For dessert, I ordered a Mont Blanc; apparently that is this restaurant's specialty.

After eating, I felt refreshed and was able to look at art again.

Here's some more art that features Napoleon.

This is the throne of Napoleon; it is featured in a lot of works of art. I loved seeing it in person!

Obviously, I was really excited to see this.

Here's a self-portrait of Rembrandt!

Supposedly this was Hitler's prized work of art. The Astronomer by Vermeer was one of his favorites in his stolen art collection.

 This is Peter Paul Ruben's The Arrival of Marie de' Medici at Marseilles. It was part of a massive series of paintings used as propaganda because the public didn't really like her. The propaganda definitely did not work, but nice try. I don't really like it; I think it is too busy and it's the stuff of nonsense. It's really important in the world of art history though, so we've talked about it a lot in my classes.

Here are the three scariest things I saw in the Louvre. This one has maggots and bugs crawling out of her stomach

It looks like a funeral procession and I do not like it at all!

Isn't this terrifying?

At the end of the day, I was able to ask some strangers to take my picture in front of the Nike of Samothrace. This really was so incredible to see in person. She is the Angel of the Louvre.

Did you know that the Louvre has an inverted pyramid? I didn't!

In the end, I spent almost 11 hours at the Louvre; I could have spent more time there, but several rooms were closed for restoration which is a bummer since many of those works of art featured Napoleon! The Oceanic section was also closed which was just too bad. I learned about Oceanic art in my Non-Western class and I was excited to see it in person. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a big collection of that as well, so I guess I'll just have to head to New York soon.

The Louvre did not disappoint! Well, I guess I didn't get proposed to but that's not the worst thing. The food there was just incredible and I loved what I saw. My only regret is that I don't know everything about every piece of art ever made. Art is so much more meaningful when you know what it's about as well as its backstory. For those that want to go into the Louvre, I recommend studying up on the top things you want to see because 11 hours at a museum is just too much. Find your top works of art and learn about them! 

I personally recommend seeing Nike of Samothrace, Mona Lisa, Death of the Virgin, the entire Rembrandt wing, Pest House at Jaffa, Raft of the Medusa, The Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Oath of the Horatii. The last two were on my list but they were under restoration.

It was an incredible day which left me totally exhausted. Luckily, I was able to meet up with some of the girls after the museum so I didn't have to go home alone. What good luck! We grabbed some french fries for dinner and just hung out at the AirBnb the rest of the night.