Last Paris

The Louvre started out as a royal defense of Paris and even had a moat.  Nowadays, it hosts gobs of art.  "Time changes everything" - King Phillip II

Paris made me realize how much history I never learned or have already forgotten.  I had no clue the Louvre was once a palace and the seat of empires, or that the collection started out as royal plunder and braggery.  I concede, this is probably not important information for the common american, but I was nonetheless intrigued to learn this as part of my audio-guided-tour of the Louvre.  The building is absolutely beautiful, and the art isn't half bad either.

This was the pearl of the museum, the Mona Lisa:

Well, it's just the crowd, which wasn't that bad.  We had plenty of time to stand and stare- time spent trying to figure out why this is the ultimate painting of the world.  It was very nice, but I think almost every other painting in the room was more appealing.  If only I would of taken art history instead of musical appreciation.

The audio guides were really cool- I would say a must for this museum (and I think for all museums).  The audio guide brought the paintings, the building, and the contextual history to life for us.  This is Kyndall looking at the largest painting in the Louvre:

The painting is of the last supper, but the artist chose to make it fit into the style of the modern French Aristocracy.  We renamed it "Fancy Jesus with Friends."

One of the cooler audio guide explanations was of this roof:

The ceiling was commissioned by ... one of the Napoleons?... to convey that all art and beauty was derived from the power and rule of great leaders- a kind of "trickle down effect" if you will.  Each of the four scenes has the great politicians and leaders of the time closest to the center. Below and around them are all of the great artists and composers of the time.  Below them are gods representing virtues or something.  This was all meant to show that without the leaders, Paris and France wouldn't of blossomed culturally.

The explanation of revolutionary symbolism, and the controversy around making these paintings, was interesting:

Don't forget to look up!

I believe this is the VIP entrance:

This was a cool double sided painting of David attacking Goliath.  The artist was trying to break the limitation of time by painting two consecutive instances in time from opposite angles.  If you walk around a couple times you realize that David advances on Goliath in the second picture:

Painted on slate... that's a big piece of slate.

This was a great painting for the audio guide to explain.  At first look, it is the happy coronation of Napoleon- don't be deceived!

This piece was commissioned by Napoleon, who asked for the painter to re-write history a little bit.  First of all, Napoleon's mom refused to come to the coronation because she disagreed with his right to the throne (or something). Napoleon had her painted in at the seat of honor.  Second, Napoleon was crowning himself in the first draft- which just looks bad.  They decided to paint over the first layer and have him crowning his queen, which is less crazy.  Then, patrons of Napoleon were painted in to the audience so they would know they were important. And also the Pope and a bunch of Bonapartes.

Here is a small portion of the painting:

From the paintings we went on to ancient sculptures:

This is the head of one column from a palace that had... a large number of columns (I think around 64.... I should of written this last month):

I think the Louvre and the London Museum decided to split some of their loot, this guy looks familiar...

Law of Hammurabi:

Thanks France:

Best sculpture ever:

This sculpture actually looked like the lion was ripping into this mans flesh- it was incredibly realistic.  The combination of the man twisting and the lion wrapping around him give the statue a lot of energy.

Then I went to the Museum of the Army.

First stop, tomb of famous French people:

Sunburst on a tomb... classic. I was 1 bejeweled Staff of Ra short from re-enacting Raiders of the Lost Arc:

The big fish himself:

Napoleon Bonaparte

The Museum of the Army is fairly large and I was on a short schedule.  I decided to run through the WWI and WWII exhibit before I met my lunch appointment.

I wish I would of had 2 hours to go through the exhibit.  It was very interesting seeing a WWI and WWII history from the perspective of the French.  In the US museums and history books, the events within Europe before US involvement are not heavily emphasized.  It was interesting seeing about the quality of life and the political situation within the French empire at the outbreak of the war.  It was also interesting seeing more about the Africa and Middle East campaigns, because these arenas are more dear to French history (imperialism) than to American.

P.S. The Museum was as neutral in its diction as you'd imagine a country that refuses to print anything in German would be; the museum explained why this sentiment exists.