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We went here twice for half-days - I highly suggest this kind of strategy, as the place is just too large to do in one day (and you get too burned out on the fantastic art on the walls). Here is a link to the official Louvre web site in English. The Louvre is divided into three main sections with three floors in each section. The sections are named after famous French men - Denon, Sully and Richelieu. You enter through the famous pyramid built by I. M. Pei
The Louve entry area is full of wonderful shops, especially in the area you must pass through if you arrive by subway (make sure to get off the train at the ? stop so you can walk though the underground shopping area). We were very lucky to be visiting in December - it can get really busy at the Louvre during tourist season.
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This
is the entry area for the Louvre under the Pyramid
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On our first trip we did the medieval Louvre first - this is in the Sully section. The Louvre was originally a castle built by Philippe Auguste (1190). The short trip through some of the original walls and rooms is interesting but not spectacular.
However, we then proceeded to the Denon section for the Italian painting. The small English section on the way into Denon has a nice Tintoreto self portrait and a Turner. The Italian section was amazing. There is a whole room of Sienese paintings and three Botticelli frescoes. I saw the most amazing Da Vinci, "Portrait of a Lady of the Milanese Court," which I found simply stunning. I thought the positioning of the figure, the look in the eyes as they cast their glance towards the spectator, is far superior to the "Mona Lisa" located further down the galleries. Since we went in December, we could get right up in front of all the artwork, which helped a great deal.
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A
Portrait of a Lady of the Milanese Court by Leonardo Da Vinci, oil
on wood, circa 1485 - 1495.
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On the second day, we went to the Richelieu wing and saw the apartments of Louis Napoleon III; "better rich (BR)" as Lily Kramer says. Then we moved on to the Northern European and French paintings. There is a whole room of Rembrandt's which are quite nice. I'm surprised the Calvinists would allow the Dutch painters to paint female nudes. Saw the two Vemeers (woman sewing and man touching a globe). The collection is simply amazing! Bosch's "Ship of Fools" is on display - it is smaller than I thought it would be. It was also a little dark from age, but worth seeing. The Northern European collection is outstanding. We moved to the French collection. We saw David's "The Assasination of Mamet".
Send
email to Bob at electricbob@alephnaught.com
Send
email to Aviva at avivakramer@earthlink.net
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