Teacher Trekker

The Louvre is one of the world’s greatest museums. Originally, the site was the location of a fortress that was built in the 12th century to defend Paris against invaders. Later it became a residence of the Kings of France, and eventually in 1793 it was converted into a museum.

Today, the Louvre displays works from around the world. The list of collections is extensive. Some of them are arranged by geographic location and historical time periods. They include: Near Eastern Antiquities; Egyptian Antiquities; Coptic Egypt; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; The Eastern Mediterranean in the Roman Empire; Islamic Art; Arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania & the Americas and the Medieval Louvre. There are also a number of other collections that are so extensive that they take up large portions of the museum. They are broken down into smaller subsections according to country and centuries. They include: Decorative Art; Graphic Art; Sculptures and Paintings. There are also special exhibitions that are continually changing throughout the museum. The museum’s nearly 35,000 pieces of art will have something for everyone.

Tour Group

Our tour group met at the Arc de Triomph Carrousel just outside of the Louvre. From there you can look down the Champs-Elysées towards the eastern city limits and see the Arc de Triomph in the far distance. We walked towards the Louvre and its associated Pyramid which was built in 1989 and disliked by locals. They wanted it destroyed and even petitioned against it. That opinion changed after the release of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and the Tom Hanks movie that followed.

Now according to our guide, the Pyramid is much more respected, but I feel less about anything in relation to the story and more about the increased tourist dollars that it brings in. After seeing the Pyramid, we made our way inside the museum to see the smaller inverted pyramid below it. While attempting to take a photograph, countless people and a young child ruined my shots, but this is life. I could have stood around for ages trying to get the perfect shot, but that was not the least of my concerns.

Avoid Longest Lines EVER and Pay for a Tour

As all of this was going on, we walked past one of the largest lines for a museum I have ever seen, if not the longest. (I have distant memories of the line at the Prado in Madrid, but maybe it was just because I was 16.) When we descended to the bottom level where you enter, the line continued. Fortunately, I skipped pretty much the entire line with my tour group. We made our way to the security checkpoint. This was easily the most security I have seen at a museum, but most of the protocols were ignored. There were x-ray machines, but they just asked us to open our bags. I didn’t mind as that wouldn’t take additional time. The whole process took around 10 minutes to get into the museum. Compare that to the 2 to 4 hours that people wait in line and it’s a no brainer to spend the extra money on a tour to gain speedy entry into the museum.

Medieval Roots

The first part of the tour brought us to see the original fortification walls that were once part of the western limits of the city of Paris. King Philip II originally built a castle to protect and defend Paris with walls surrounding it. These medieval walls date back as early as 1204. Many alterations were made throughout the Middle Ages.

Excavation projects only began in the 1980’s. Our tour guide pointed out a number of symbols on stones that served as the signature mark of the stone cutters. There was a plethora of work completed by one mason who used a heart as his signature mark. As we walked past the main section of the stone defensive wall, I noticed a smaller wall in front of it. That smaller section was actually where the drawbridge would rest. It turns out the area we were walking through was once underwater. We were actually walking through a drained out area that was originally where the moat was. Eventually the use of the structure as a defensive fortification ended when Charles V converted the Louvre into a royal residence in the 14th century.

Sculpture

Following this brief introduction to the medieval history of the Louvre, our tour guide brought us to the Sully Wing. Our first stop in this wing of the museum introduced the group to a colossal sphinx. The Crypt of the Sphinx is located in Room 1 of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities on the ground floor. This was the only example of Egyptian art that we viewed during the tour.

We then made our way into the classical sculptures section of the museum. There were many statues of both the male and female form. Much of the work was a product of the Ancient Greeks. There was a large marble Athena and then a smaller Athena that the guide spoke about extensively. Short of the decorative Medusa like breast plate on one of them, I wasn’t all that impressed.

We then moved on to a male nude Ares statue. Our guide kept going on and on about how perfect he was to the point that it was rather creepy. Clearly, she loved this sculpture. Hopefully, she was demonstrating the importance that the classical Greek sculptors paid to perfecting the human form as represented in their artwork.

Next we went to view the Greek goddess, Aphrodite. She was half naked and her clothes appeared to be wet. The level of detail was astonishing. I was more impressed with this piece than the majority of the exhibit. There was an additional semi nude Aphrodite close by that our guide used to compare the two. I was losing interest and my attention began floating around the rest of the room.

Finally, the highlight of the room was the Venus de Milo. It is considered one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. It was made out of marble sometime between 130 and 100 BC. The sculpture is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty who is one in the same as Venus from Roman mythology. The sculpture takes its name from the Greek island of Milos where it was discovered.

We then made our way out of this area of the museum towards The Winged Victory of Samothrace which is located at the top of the stairs on first floor. We stood there listening to our tour guide speak about the sculpture. There was a significant amount of congestion at the top of the stairs, which required fighting crowds of people as they made their way up the stairs, as well as in and out of the adjacent hallways.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace is also referred to as the Nike of Samothrace. It was discovered in 1863. The statue has been dated to the 2nd century BC. It is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). It stands 8 feet (2.44 metres) high. It was not created to simply honor the goddess, Nike, but also commemorated an important sea battle, which is believed to be the battle of Cos fought between Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia who defeated Ptolemy II of Egypt in 255 BC. Partially because of this, art historian H.W. Janson described it as “the greatest masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture.”

Galerie d’Apollon

This portion of the Louvre was once part of the royal palace, and according to the guide is not officially part of the museum. The large hall was covered with decorations from floor to ceiling. As I looked around, it felt as if almost everything was gilded, and the level of decadence was demonstrative of the luxury and splendor that can be seen throughout French royal residencies, like the Palace at Versailles. Actually, this was the first Royal Gallery for Louis XIV. It later would serve as the model for what would become the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.

My eyes were first drawn to the paintings. They were everywhere. Some were in frames hanging from the walls. Other artwork was directly on the walls, and large pieces covered the ceiling. I loved the symbolism that I didn’t need the tour guide to mention. There were astrological signs and months of the year across the tops of the walls. Then there was imagery specific to the king. There were images of the sun and fleur de lis throughout the room that serve as a reminder of royal authority. There were also display cases in the middle of the large hall. The most notable was towards the far end of the hall. It included royal jewelry and crowns that according to the guide were once the most elaborate and expensive crown in the history of France. Today, it no longer contains the original gems, which have been stored for safe keeping. Other cases included royal dining ware and glassware including plates, cups and utensils. Finally, the room housed a number of pieces of furniture including a table that I could not properly photograph due to the reflection of the sun glaring off the marble top of the furnishing.

Italian Paintings

The tour group then moved on to the first floor of the Denon Wing to view many works of art completed by Italian masters. We first viewed a number of paintings from the Middle Ages. Art during this time period was dominated by the Catholic Church, who commissioned the vast majority of all projects. As a result, the themes of these paintings were purely religious. The art was aimed at illiterate people. The paintings were used to educate the masses and give them access to biblical stories they would not have access to otherwise.

Our group spent some time viewing and discussing the symbolism in Cimabue Cenni di Pepe’s The Madonna and Child in Majesty Surrounded by Angels. Again this was a section we could have moved more quickly through.

We then moved on to view the Renaissance paintings completed by later Italian painters. Some of the artists we viewed included Andrea Solario, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Titian, and Caravaggio to name a few. These paintings were quite different than the previous section. There were highly detailed backgrounds with three dimensional imagery. Proportions and scale were emphasized much more so than their predecessors. Many depictions of Mary and other religious figures have them wearing ornate clothing and not just the religious garbs seen in the past. The human form was more detailed and precise showing increasing levels of realism. Touring through this section allowed for the group to witness the evolution of painting techniques, but we rushed to make it to the main attraction. Ultimately this led us to the work of who many consider to be the greatest of the Renaissance era masters.

The Work of Leonardo da Vinci

The highlight of this section of the museum was the artwork completed by Leonardo da Vinci. This was the first time that I was able to see any of his work in person. Combine that with the Da Vinci Code conspiracy theory as portrayed in Dan Brown’s novel, the Tom Hanks film of the same subject and a multitude of books and television shows about the topic that I have seen in the last 10 years, and I was ecstatic to finally examine his paintings.

Outside the Mona Lisa room are two famous pieces by da Vinci. They include The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and Madonna of the Rocks. We only briefly viewed both of the paintings. I was surprised how dark Madonna of the Rocks was compared to some of the other paintings in the section and even to other works painted by da Vinci. I wish we had more time to view and discuss the paintings in greater detail, but we were clearly on a timetable that our guide was doing everything in her power to maintain.

Following this, we made our way into the Mona Lisa room. The room was full of paintings, but everyone was primarily huddled around the museum’s centerpiece. At first you can’t see anything other than a crowd, phones and thick layers of bulletproof glass that protects the painting. Our guide told us that she would be standing in the back of the room and waiting for everyone to make their way to the Mona Lisa. As she was turning off her microphone she laughed. I felt that she was really saying, “Good luck on getting up there!!!”

Honestly, I was not concerned at all. I navigate the streets and public transportation systems of NYC. I walk fast and push hard when necessary. I have gone to more concerts, festivals and sporting events, spent time in more mosh pits and crowds of angry violent people than I care to remember. I had no doubt I was going to make my way to the front of the crowd. Interestingly, I didn’t even need to use all of that first- hand experience and found an even easier way to make my way past the crowd.

Actually, I made my way to the front of the line in less than 1 minute. As I started to make my way through the hordes of standing people with their hands held high attempting to take poorly framed photographs of the oh so small Mona Lisa, I noticed a couple pushing two people in wheelchairs. I later found out it was a married couple one of whom decided to bring their parents to Paris for their anniversary. They did not speak French or even English. No one, tourists and staff were making any effort to help them or move out of their way. Such rudeness bothers me.

Once I saw them experiencing such difficulty I took it upon myself to help them. I literally started to softly push people to the sides and bump them out of the way with my book bag and backside. I asked people to move in both English and French. Most people attempted to make an effort, but some resisted like helping people in wheelchairs is not the right thing to do.

One tall American from New England started to get loud with me, like I was doing something inappropriate. Then he winked at me and whispered, “I’m just making a scene so people see what’s going on here and clear space. Let’s get these people to the front of the crowd.” It was at this point he realized that I was being helpful to the family and scheming my way to the front at the same time. He took the right side. I took the left side. We cleared a path directly to the front wooden railing that prevents visitors from getting any closer to the Mona Lisa. Security then allowed them to pass the railing and get closer to the painting. Once they wrapped up and left the other gentleman and I were standing directly in front of the Mona Lisa with an unobstructed view.

Once we were finished, we attempted to cordon off some space with our arms and began shuffling in my friend, his family and both of our tour groups. Once I was finished, an Australian guy in our group repeated this process for additional members of our tour. Everyone else was on their own. After making it to the back of the room, I noticed many people who were still in roughly the same spot they were standing in when I made my way to the front.

Sadly, if you are not fortunate enough to get as lucky as I did after performing some community service, then you must be aggressive. I’m not saying to be rude and just slam your way through people, but you need to fight your way to the front. You need to shuffle, shoulder, shift and pass many people to make it to the front. Being passive will only result in others getting in front of you. That is unless you want to stand around in the hottest room in the museum to not see the Mona Lisa.

There is no formal line or set amount of time you can spend standing in front of the painting. I managed to take a quick selfie that cut off half of my head, but I wasn’t about to be rude. Rude like the girl next to me who took probably 20 selfies slowing down the movement of the crowd, blocking people’s views and being obnoxious in general. Take your photo and keep moving. Everyone wants to get their chance to see the famous painting, so don’t think that you are the exception to the rule.

They had 6 security guards. There were 3 guards on each side of the painting. From what I witnessed, they all were just standing around and basically did nothing short of allowing the wheel chaired couple and family to pass the railing. They had no weapons, whether it be a firearm or pepper spray. It felt like the first line of defense was the easiest to penetrate. I thought I saw a soldier with an automatic weapon at the back of the room, but I cannot confirm that. I’m not saying you could steal the painting, but I figured it would have been more aggressively enforced and protected.

Finally, I would like to talk about the painting. It really is as small as everyone says it is. The painting was dark. There was also a glare coming off the glass that obstructed your view at certain angles in the room. The people in the back pushed forward making it difficult to stand around and examine the painting. Taking this into consideration, there isn’t much to look at. You sort of fight your way towards the Mona Lisa, take a quick peek and continue on. You would have a better opportunity to examine the painting out of an art history book or off the internet from the comfort of your home. However, it is an experience. I wouldn’t have done it any differently, and I’m sure if you’re reading this you feel the same way.

On the opposite wall of the Mona Lisa is Paolo Caliari’s The Wedding Feast at Cana. Barely anyone was even paying attention to it, which is astonishing. You can’t miss it! The painting covers the entire wall and stands in stark opposition to the minuscule masterpiece across from it. It’s actually the largest work in the Louvre. Our guide spoke about the painting for some time.

The painting is not a scene of the Last Supper as most people incorrectly assume. It represents an episode in the Gospel of John in the New Testament, The Wedding Feast at Cana when Christ, at the request of his mother, Mary, transformed water into wine. It is worth mentioning that this was the first of Jesus’ miracles. Also worth mentioning is Caliari’s inclusion of grumpy faced wedding partners in the bottom left of painting. Jesus Christ was the focus of the painting and the guests at the wedding. The new couple’s dissatisfaction that no one is paying attention to them at their own wedding was evident in their facial expressions. I probably would have thought that this was a Last Supper scene if it were not for our guide mentioning these points.

We made our way out of the Mona Lisa Room and continued viewing more work by additional Italian masters. There was work by Rafael, the youngest of the masters who was able to learn from his predecessors. One of the highlights was his Portrait de Baldassare Castiglione. Daniele Ricciarelli’s The Battle of David and Goliath was quite interesting. It was painted on two canvases, one of the front of the image and another of the back side of the image. Archimboldo’s painting of the Four Seasons is rare, because they’re not religious paintings that were so prominent during the era.  Last, but not least was Campi’s The Mystery of the Passion of Christ. I found the representation of the ascension in top right corner to be extremely modern and creepy, like something you would find on a heavy metal album cover. After stopping at these highlights, the group continued on to more locally produced artworks.

French Paintings

The next part of the tour began in a large burgundy room that was full of paintings by French artists. The majority of them were dark with minimal elements of bright light in the work. We saw paintings by Gericault, David and Delacroix to name a few. Although the collection was quite extensive, and we walked past much of it, we focused on two paintings in particular.

The first painting we spent some time viewing in this section of the Louvre was Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix. The painting depicts the July Revolution of 1830 against King Charles X of France. The figure of Liberty is holding the flag of the French Revolution in one hand and a bayoneted musket in the other hand as she leads the people over bodies of the deceased. She is viewed as a symbol of France and known as Marianne.

After viewing this painting, it is clear that Delacroix was on the side of the people. There were only 2 of the king’s soldiers in the piece, and they were both dead. The rest are citizens starting revolt. The boy in the painting is also said to have influenced Victor Hugo’s character of Gavroche in his novel Les Misérables. Furthermore, the painting inspired Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty design that stands in the New York harbor (and its replica in Paris).

There were also a number of paintings depicting the conquests of Napoleon. We spent some time looking at The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804, which is commonly referred to as The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. The painting which took up almost the entire wall was commissioned by Napoleon. It obviously depicts the coronation of Napoleon. The painting serves as not only a historical document, it portrays David’s mastery of the art of portraiture that includes realistic depictions of clothing, accessories and ornamentation. The painting includes 191 figures, many of whom are accurately portrayed historical figures like Pope Pius VII and many of Napoleon’s family members. The artist David even added himself to the painting. He is seated in the gallery on the far left side of the second row. One could have easily stood there all day analyzing the painting.

More Sculptures

We next made our way to view even more sculptures on the ground floor of the Denon Wing. Our guide spoke about a few pieces in the large corridor, but I chose to float around the space looking for interesting art. I found a few interesting pieces, but nothing stood out. Oddly, at no point did I remember our guide pointing out Michelangelo’s Dying Slave or Canova’s Cupid and Psyche despite being in the same room of the museum. The oddest of them was a statue of Italie who looked as if she was carved while taking a selfie. Clearly, some artists are eras ahead of their time. Honestly, I was bored of looking at additional sculptures and wondered why we weren’t headed to see the Dutch Masters and/or Impressionist Movement sections.

Odd “No Flash Photography” Signs

I noticed in a few places that there signs asking visitors to not use flash photography. This is not uncommon in museums across the globe. The only reason I am mentioning it is because I found the flyer to be rather odd. First, the star used to represent the flash was a 6 pointed star and very similar to the Star of David. Of all the stars to use why choose that one? This star was inside the typical red circle with a slash through it. Second, there is an artist in the background of the flyer with a large greying beard that reminds me of a Hassidic man. If you look quickly or scan your eyes across the room it appears as if the picture is anti-Semitic in nature. The first impression of this symbol was “say no to the Star of David and the bearded man behind him”. It took a double take to realize what the actual message was. Hopefully, this was purely an accident, but if I were Jewish, I would take some offense at the ignorance of this symbol in the flyer and the fallout it could create.

“Les Appartements Napoleon III”

We then walked to the Richelieu Wing to “Les Appartements Napoleon III”. Napoleon III ruled from 1852 to 1870 and was extremely influential in changing Paris during an urban planning project that transformed it to the city that we see today.

This residency was filled with original furnishings that demonstrate the luxury and splendor only capable of royalty. There were impressive chandeliers throughout the rooms. The Drawing Room and Dining Room were both impressive examples of decadence. The doors, furniture and fireplace were all too much to take in.

From the windows was a magnificent view of the Tuileries Gardens and in the distance the Eiffel Tower & Arc de Triomph. During moments like this I always think to myself (and quoting Mel Brooks from his History of the World movie), “It’s good to be the king!” As impressive as it was, I’m sure I could’ve made better use of this time. However, if you are a fan of decorative arts, then you will have a field day in this area of the museum and certainly shouldn’t miss it.

Conclusions

The Louvre is one of the most impressive museums I have ever experienced, and I’ve been to many of the major museums in major cities throughout the United States and Europe. Like most major museums, I could have easily spent days inside exploring every exhibit from the dawn of civilization to contemporary art. Make sure you sign up for a tour and avoid the long lines, or the majority of your day will be spent outside rather than seeing the magnificent artwork inside. If you choose to stand on line or visit without a tour group, make sure you go into the museum with a game plan so that you can maximize your time and cover as many pieces of art as possible. Otherwise, you will wander the museum for hours and only see a portion of the artwork on your list. At the same time, wandering can lead to unexpected discoveries like the perspective photo below. Plan wisely!

Looking back I probably should have told my tour guide that I would make my own way around the museum or left the group at some point right after seeing the Mona Lisa. I missed a few paintings that I thought should have been part of the tour or would be in the tour if I was in charge of it. I’m actually upset that I didn’t have the time to see the work by Vermeer and Monet in particular. I would have rather seen them than the royal residency and additional sculptures.

On any other day we would have had an hour to walk around the museum after the tour, but due to a national holiday the following day the museum was closing early. I left the museum at 5:50 p.m. since 10 minutes wasn’t enough time to look for any paintings I wanted to see. Finally, I went to the gift shop to purchase a book and a few postcards of the works I missed. If I ever go to the Louvre in the future, I will most likely book a tour to avoid the lines then explore the museum on my own.

One Last Suggestion

If you are a fan of graffiti and/or street art you should go out of your way to go and find the French classically trained artist Invader’s version of the Mona Lisa. His work was inspired by the classic video game Space Invaders.

If you want to find the piece I’ll give you a few clues. It is not on the Pyramid side of the Louvre, but rather is on the opposite side of the palace. Locate the nearby Protestant Church and a corner restaurant known for their gyros. If you follow the street these two locations form an inverted L. The rendering is at the right angled corner if the previously mentioned locations serve as it’s beginning and end. That was my Dan Brown moment. I felt inspired. Happy hunting!