![]() Since I am the last living human yet to see or read “The Da Vinci Code” I am at disadvantage to understand the charm of the painting beyond the painting. ![]() The sole difference being the extended arm has a digital point and shoot attached at the fingertips. This is the scene at Louvre but the walking dead mumble “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa” as they limp without distraction toward Leonardo’s masterpiece. We have all seen those zombie movies where the zombies walk en masse, with an arm extended, dragging a foot, eyeball dangling, and dressed in tatters seeking their next victim. ![]() Here is an excerpt from a trip report from my last visit to Paris. Museums seem mostly dead to me, and I'm more interested in the part of Paris that is alive. The Rodin museum is okay, some of the sculptures are nice. I didn't go into the Marmottan because they wouldn't let me take my camera. I guess they want to believe that it's special, or they're afraid that if they say it's boring, people will consider them uncultured (a very common reason for people to pretend that they like fine art).Īs for other museums, the Orsay is nice, although you can't take pictures. I see people starting in rapt attention at the Mona Lisa, obviously convinced that they are looking at something magical. They are famous because they are famous, like Paris Hilton. The weird thing is that there's nothing really special about the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo. But there is so much there that you're still overwhelmed by stuff that isn't really interesting. ![]() The more you visit the museum, the more you find specific art that you like. A lot of people like the sculpture of Cupid and Psyche by Canova (Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss). There are some specific paintings that I like, including much of the work of Ingres, who did very nice portraits. I'm not a big art person, but I do find the Egyptian Antiquities collection to be interesting, especially the small objects that were used for everyday household chores and the like. I've seen people pass out in the museum during high season amidst the crowds. About the only time tourists ever leave this well-worn trail is by accident if they get lost, or if they happen to have doctorates in the fine arts.Īlthough it doesn't show in the video (except for a few people fanning themselves), most of the Louvre is not air-conditioned, and in summer it is oppressively hot and humid, with no ventilation of any kind. Most people follow the swift current of humanity flowing from the entrance to the Mona Lisa, take pictures of the painting themselves (even though there's no shortage of photographs of the painting in the world), get their own pictures taken in front of the painting by fellow travelers (very important for some tour groups from the Far East in particular), then wander back out and towards the exits, or towards the Venus de Milo if they are very much into art. In addition, there are a few minutes at the end that show some random other parts of the museum, just to show the contrast between the incredibly busy and crowded tourist path and the rest of the Louvre. This little video follows the tourist track into the museum (via a shortcut) and visits the famed painting and sculpture: About one in ten billion is interested in some of the other 250,000 works of art in the museum.įor those concerned with speed, which includes many individual tourists and just about all tour groups, it's possible to get into the Louvre, see the "greatest hits," and get back out in about half an hour, if they know what they are doing and where to go. Those who are a bit more artistically inclined sometimes also want to see the Venus de Milo. In my experience, just about every tourist who visits the Louvre does so to see one thing: the Mona Lisa.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |