Le Louvre

Since I didn't get the chance to write about Paris while I was in Paris, I'm going to try to alternate between Annecy and Paris. Today is Paris.

Our second day in  Paris we walked to the Louvre. I'm sure most of you know of the Louvre, or have seen a picture of it. I swear it is the biggest art and artifact museum in the world. It took a long time to build, since it was started in the Middle Ages and modified by Napolean III (that's 1200's to 1850's). It has three floors and a basement (among other things), and literally miles of hallways. And they're all filled with art--paintings, statues, and objects from Ancient Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, and a smattering of things from other places. I didn't see half of it in the four hours I was running around inside (at times literally, being late to meet up with my group). It was magnificent. It was there, looking at paintings I had seen in a culture class by artists I had heard about since I could read, that it really came home where I was. For those of us without hundreds of years of history laying spread out on our doorstep, I think it takes a second before we realize the gravity of something, so simple and material, which has been an icon of a nation for hundreds of years. Or that the men (and women) who constructed these masterpieces have been revered by thousands for centuries.

Entering the Louvre is simple enough. You wait in line to enter the glass pyramid (inaugurated on 15 October 1988), walk through security, and down a spiral staircase into the smaller basement level comprised mostly of a huge reception area. From there, it's wherever you want to go. I started with a group who went to the Greek area first, and then the Egyptian. The Greek area had some really cool small glass pots, along with an explanation of how they were made and from what. There was also the famous Venus de Milo, the one without the arms.

Most of the objects in the Egypt section display were artifacts from daily life: makeup spoons, jewelry, pots and farming implements. Near the end there was a section on temples. I learned from one of the information plaques that the temples weren't meant for the people, but for Pharaoh to impress the Gods. A big difference from Catholic cathedrals. But they are different religions.

After losing my group in the Egyptians section, I just kind of wandered. I went to see the winged victory, the Mona Lisa, and the Code of Hamurabi. I did a quick run through of the French painters, and ran through the section on sculpture on my way back to meet my group. It was a lot to take in.

If you want to know something, feel free to ask. I can't think of everything you want to know.