Europe 2013: The Louvre (Day 4, Part 1)

The Glass Pyramid

Out of all forms of media, art is perhaps in my top three favourite forms. I am not an artist by any means but I do appreciate art and enjoy going to art galleries and exhibits. During our fourth day in Paris, I had the pleasure of visiting the Louvre, arguably the most famous art gallery in the entire world. As was the case for Versailles, I could speak volumes about the emotions we felt upon arriving at the gallery and seeing the Mona Lisa face-to-face but, again, I will let some of the photos speak for themselves.

The Mona Lisa

We started our day at the Louvre with Leonardo da Vinci's most famous subject. As always, the Mona Lisa's mischievous and knowing smile never fails to draw a crowd: hundreds gathered before her that Monday in May and I am sure that hundreds more followed soon after that. Surprisingly, she was not my favourite work of art. However, this is not wholly unbelievable given the amount of art housed in the former palace. I would be hard-pressed to pick just one piece as my favourite but you will soon realize which ones were the top contenders. :)

'Winged Victory of Samothrace'

Once we finished playing the role of "paparazzi" with the Mona Lisa, we made our way to the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a work of art unknown to me until the planning stages of our trip. Our travel guides had suggested that we make a point of seeing her during our visit to the Louvre--I am thankful that we had listened to them.

We continued our visit with religious works of art, equally beautiful to the masterpieces mentioned thus far. Perhaps my favourite paintings of the genre are the two paintings of David and Goliath. Painted by Daniele Ricciarelli, the two paintings show two sides of the infamous fight between the weak David over the strong Goliath - literally! Now, you may be asking yourself how such a phenomenon could be possible. However, one close look at the paintings below and you will know what I mean. Seeing is definitely believing. 

They are amazing, aren't they? Countless other paintings and sculptures continued to wow us as much as Ricciarelli's paintings had that morning, including Theodore Chasseriau's painting of 'The Artist's Sisters'.

'The Artist's Sisters'

Apart from the paintings, the "artists in residence" scattered throughout the Louvre were really impressive.

An artist recreating one of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings

The Louvre also played host to touring exhibits, including an exhibit for the artist David D'Angers. Below is my favourite from the exhibit, whom I had christened as "my boyfriend" for the day. :)

'Alphonse de Lamartine' by David D'Angers

After an inspiring tour of the wing, we made our way to the sculptures at the bottom floor, where we had the pleasure of seeing two of Michelangelo's works: les captifs ("l'esclave mourant" and "l'esclave rebelle").

Captif "L'esclave mourant"

Captif "L'esclave rebelle"

Once we had seen the Michelangelo sculptures, we went back upstairs to see the Mona Lisa and some of the gallery's other beautiful paintings for one last time before lunch at the sandwich chain, Paul. Unfortunately, the names and flavours of the sandwiches escape me at this time. However, I do remember them being delicious... And that we finished our meal with a chocolate and a pistachio macaron. After lunch, we exited the Louvre to take photos with the glass pyramid outside prior to the next leg of our day in Montmartre.

All in all, we had an amazing time at the Louvre. I cannot recall a greater experience at an art gallery than my experience at the Louvre. I did not feel rushed nor uninspired. In fact, I felt the opposite. Truthfully, being at the Louvre felt like a dream where time was at a standstill so that art lovers could look at each piece and appreciate them for all of their beauty and in the absence of the stresses of time and other distractions. Although we were only at the Louvre for a few hours, my love affair for the beautiful gallery is forever and I have no doubts that I will see myself there again in the near future. <3