PARIS-LOUVRE(3)- A VISIT FOR THOSE IN A HURRY
Jack
The Louvre being today one of the biggest museums in the world, here
is an itinerary of about 4 hours who will take you trough the 7
sections of the museum : Antiquities (oriental, greek, etruscan, roman
and egyptian), Paintings, Sculpture, Art Objects.) The numbering on
your plan wills help you to situate yourself.This 4 h circuit is a
"fast food" for the very hurried. A serious visit, without any
exegesis, takes at least 2 days. For them who want to visit the
galleries at their rhythm, i will post next time a much more detailed
description. Of course, certain works may have been transferred in the
meanwhile. My readers will understand and forgive me ! ( i hope ;-))
(1) From the hall Napoleon, take the Richelieu aisle to admire the
cours Marly and Puget. Cour Marly, take the stairs of the Ministre and
go to the first floor ( apartments Napoleon III), come back on your
steps and take the escalator to the second floor. Go to the galerie
Medicis where the admirable and immense compositions Rubens painted to
the glory of Marie de Medicis are exposed.
(2) Go back to the escalator and take the " french circuit" who
continues in the Sully aisle. After the Rotunda where you can see,
passing by, "Les Quatre Saisons" by Poussin, go to Sully 4 and admire
"Saint Thomas" by Georges de la Tour. The apostle is now more
expensive as a rock-star ! Bought for 32 million FF thanks to a public
subscription.
(3) Pass trough Sully 4 and 5 towards the gigantic "Batailles" by
Lebrun representing the story of Alexander. These paintings belonged
to the personal collection of Louis XIV who liked to be compared to
the antic hero, even if he conquered only the Alsace....
(4) The circuit of French Paintings continue in 36 halls dedicated to
the 18th and 19th century. You can see the "Pelerinage a l'ile de
Cythere"and the "Gilles" by Watteau.
(5) Conclude the French painting circuit ( cour Carree until the hall
73), make a half-turn to reach the Henri II or Henri IV stairs.
(6) Join the section Louvre medieval at the mezzanine, where you find
the "Scribe accroupi". His eyes are encrusted with crystal and
alabaster. Sitting as a tailor , his plumpness is a sign of
prosperity, and he listens very carefully to what his master has to
say : he was probably not member of any workers union ! :-). I've been
told that it is possible that this painting returned to the newly
opened Egyptian Antiquities section in December 1997. I'v not been
lately in the Louvre to check.
(7) You can also admire, always at the mezzanine, the " trenches of
Louis Philippe, the dungeon and the "salle Saint-Louis ( open every
day until 10 pm) Extraordinary ! You are plunged in the sources of the
history of the Monarchy and the Middle ages. Excavations revealed the
remains of the old fortress Louvre. You go along the ramparts build by
Philippe Auguste in 1200 to enforce the protection of the city. Later,
Charles V transformed the fortress into a Royal dwelling. On the walls
of the fortress you can still see the different signatures engraved by
the stone cutters: hearts, stars.....
Further, the imposing dungeon was first used as a prison before
protecting the royal treasure, financial heart of the kingdom. From
the dungeon the visitor accesses the "Salle Saint-Louis". We still
ignore the exact function of this room and the exact date of building,
but the architectural decor can date it during the reign of
Saint-Louis ( 1214-1270). In the room, the helmet of Charles VI, who
was totally mad ( the helmet might be a cause....), and different
objects found during the excavations at the cour Carree.
(8) At the exit of the Louvre Medieval, take the Henri II stairway to
join the " salle des Cariatides". At the end of this hall, make a left
and stop in front of the "Venus de Milo" ! Admire the finesse of the
drape and the marble of Paros.
(9) Return on your steps and stop at the landing in front of "The
Victoire de Samothrace". She represented the bow of a ship.
Go to the opposite stair-head and you are at the entry of "Les salles
Rouges". The first salle , " salle Daru, shows the "Sacre de Napoleon"
by David. The whole Napoleon family is gathered here, very satisfied
of themselves and very proud of the success of the " little last", who
really made it ! Then in the salle Molien, see " Le Radeau de la
Meduse" by Gericault.
(10) Go back again on your steps, in the salle Denon, an access at the
left leads you to the salle des " Etats", where you can not miss the
"Noces de Cana" by Veronese. Immense painting recently restored and
sparkling. You will finally see the "Joconde" ( department of
Paintings), portrait of Mona Lisa, spouse of a noble Florentine, a
work that old Leonard himself considered as a masterpiece. He never
delivered it to the husband who ordered the painting, and took it with
him to Amboise when Francois 1er asked him to come to France.
(11) Come back again and turn left. The first part ( east) of the
great " Galerie must be open now. See the "Slaves" by Michelangelo (
sculpture department). A genius homosexual, he had the tendency to
undress more male than female models.
( 12) You will reach the exit by descending to the mezzanine and
arrive under the pyramid.
I hope my walk, count 4 hours, will pease you and give you an "apercu"
( summary) of this huge museum. for those who want a more detailed
visit, i prepare a suite of 5, 6, 7 posts ?? There is so much to see!!
Jack
David Gascon
Jack wrote:
>
> The Louvre being today one of the biggest museums in the world, here
> is an itinerary of about 4 hours who will take you trough the 7
> sections of the museum : Antiquities (oriental, greek, etruscan, roman
> and egyptian), Paintings, Sculpture, Art Objects.) The numbering on
> your plan wills help you to situate yourself.This 4 h circuit is a
> "fast food" for the very hurried.
>
> Jack
>
>
Just the thing for a short Paris stop on my next trip to France -
thanks!
Oanh Dang
Could someone repost or mail me a copy of this itinerary?
Thanks,
Oanh
David Gascon (gpadavid/desp...@worldnet.unspamicize.att***.net) wrote:
: Jack wrote:
: >
: > The Louvre being today one of the biggest museums in the world, here
: > is an itinerary of about 4 hours who will take you trough the 7
: > sections of the museum : Antiquities (oriental, greek, etruscan, roman
: > and egyptian), Paintings, Sculpture, Art Objects.) The numbering on
: > your plan wills help you to situate yourself.This 4 h circuit is a
: > "fast food" for the very hurried.
: (snip)
: >
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| |/ | / |/ | |/ \ _| |/ | / |/ | / |
\__/ \_/|_/ | |_/| |_/ (/\___/ \_/|_/ | |_/\_/|/
/|
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tincup
In Denon 9, you find on the mezzanine level, northern sculptures of
the 12th to the 16th and Italian sculptures from the 11th to the 15th
century. At the GROUND level continuation of all sculptures until the
19th.. The famous "Slaves" of Michel-Angelo are visible in the gallery
Mollien ( Denon 9, GROUND level). A few troubling pieces not to miss :
"Psyche" by Canova and the pretty "Nymph with scorpion" by Bartolini.
The French sculptures are housed now at the ( let's call it)
"rez-de-chausee" in the Richelieu aisle ( 2 , 3) in and around 2 large
covered courtyards. In gallery no.20 called crypt Girardon, you can
access the courts Puget and Marly at their lowest level, which gives
you the opportunity to have a complete view of the monumental
sculptures.
---on the right, the "cour Puget", with numerous open air sculptures
of the 17th to 19th century.. At the medium level, the "Milon de
Crotone" by Puget, where Milo, presumptuous athlete, is imprisoned in
the bole he wanted to split...
---on the left, the "cour Marly", with the "Chevaux de Marly" by
Coustou, whose copies stand at the entrance of the Champs-Elysees at
the Place de la Concorde.
---go to the upper level of the cour Marly, and make a left. The
chronological itinerary starts in the vestibule. For the medieval part
( rooms 1 to 10) each gallery is organized around one work or one
theme. ( Virgins and child, retables, recumbent effigies on tombs)
---the galleries of the modern times are organized around a sculptor
and his work : Jean Goujon, Germain Pilon. From gallery 21 on, the
itinerary continues around the cour Puget and you have to pass again
the crypt Girardon. You can see sculptures of Pigalle, Houdon,
Chaudet.
The collections of the department Art Objects are divided between the
aisles Richelieu ( 2 and 3, on the first floor), Sully ( 4 and 5, on
the first floor) and Denon ( 8 on the first floor)
Certain galleries could be closed for renovation ( ?) and will open
with a new presentation in 1998. Maybe they have already. You will
have to find out.
A few things not to miss, if possible. In the first galleries, the
vases of Suger and the Virgin of Jeanne d'Evreux in gilded silver.
---Gallery 9 : the tapestries called "Mille Fleurs" ( the rarest are
the ones with the pink shine)
---Gallery 11 : an admirable selection of 16th century Limoges enamels
. The "Resurrection" of Leonard Limousin is in gallery 22.
---Galleries 19 and 20 : two very famous hangings are well presented.
"Les Chasses de Maximilien" ( 12 pieces illustrating hunting episodes
for each month of the year) and " l'Histoire de Scipion" ( 8
tapestries of the Gobelins)
---Galleries 27 and 28 : treasure, hangings, coats of the ordre du
Saint-Esprit)
---Gallery Mazarin ( at the junction of the Sully aisle) : sumptuous
collections assembled under the regency of Anne d'Autriche. See the
fine work on the golden chest.
The 18th century ( Sully 4 , 5 galleries 35 to 65) ar(t objects
section was in full rearrangement in 1997
--The 19th century and the Napoleon III apartments are back in the
Richelieu aisle, on the cour Marly side.
---See, in the galleries 67 to 73 the room of Mme Recamier, lately
acquired by the Louvre. the "Jewel box of Empress Josephine and a nice
porcelain collection gallery 71.
---The Napoleon III apartments are the highlight of the visit. Reign
of gold and illusion for this Louis XIV style palace, characteristic
of the second Empire.
The introduction gallery ( 80) leads to the "salon de famille" and "
salon de theatre". The " salon de famille" serves as transition to the
great and small apartments ( galleries 83 to 88) . The widest and
richest room is still the "Grand Salon" or "Salon d'Angle", who could
be transformed into a genuine theater for 265 spectators. Notice the
splendid hanging chandelier in Baccarat crystal, the ceiling painting
by Marechal. Room 75 is a small dining-room with a charming still-life
deception.
---To finish the visit of the art objects, you can pass, occasionally
when you visit the Italian painting section, the "Galerie Apollon
(Denon 8, first floor, gallery 66) . Ther you can see the hard stones
collection of Louis XIV and the Crown Jewels.
Next and last post about the Louvre. The Oriental antiques and Islam
Art
Jack
tincup
Let's continue with the painting sections of the northern schools.
Since their settings were moved to the second floor of the Richelieu
aisle, we have a whole new way of viewing these collections.
Galleries 1, 2, 3 are common with the circuit of French and Flemish
pictures. To continue the Flemish section you have to turn left after
gallery no.3. The way of posing the ceilings as inclined panels,
imagined by architect Pei, gives a zenithal lighting particularly
adapted to the northern paintings.
---Galleries 4 to 6 :after a common way with the French school of
international gothics, you will discover the enchanting and incredible
primitive painters of the Flanders ( now a part of Belgium). See the
tryptic "Famille Braque" by Rogier Van der Weyden and the admirable
"Vierge au chancelier Rolin" from Jan van Eyck; Notice the luminous
and exquisite landscape in the background. The artist was the first
ever to use oil paint. Move on to see the serie of Memlinc ( the
master of Brugge) with the "Portrait d'une Dame agee" and the very
famous "Nef des Fous" by Hieronymus Bosch.
---Galleries 7 to 16 : the Flemish painters from the 16th until
beginning 17th, and a collection of drawings, pastels presented by
rotation.. Several master works "The Beggars" by Pieter Breughel the
Elder, "The card Player" by Lucas van Leyden, Also the German school
with Durer, Cranach....
We arrive now at the large transversal spaces.
---Galleries 17 to 19 : the great formats of the Flemish of the 17 th
century. Don't miss the new display of the gallery Medicis with 24
works of Rubens narrating the life of Marie de Medicis
---Galleries 21, 22 ( after the sumptuous Le Fuel stairway) : other
masterworks of Rubens. "Kermesse", the portrait of his second wife
"Helena Fourment" and numerous sketches. After Rubens we discover his
talented pupil Anthony van Dijk, as Rubens a citizen of Antwerp like
your poster Jack :-), "Charles the 1st", "La Vierge aux Donateurs" and
David Teniers, another Antwerpian, specialist in rural and rustic
genre , "Interior of a cabaret", "Hoquet players".
---Galleries 31, 32 : dedicated to Rembrandt and his followers. I like
the "Autoportrait a la tete nue", " the Meditating Philosopher, " the
Holy Family", " Les Pelerins d'Emmaus", the unforgettable " Bethsabee
au bain", and in a different style " Le Boeuf Ecorche".
---Gallery 38 : VERMEER!
To finish with the painting sections just a few words about the
italian paintings.
In june 1997, they opened " le salon Carre", " la salle des Sept
Metres", the first part of the Great Gallerie ' ( eastern part), Denon
8, 1st floor. Italian paintings of the 13th, 14th and 15th century :
it's a first station of the new chronological circuit in new
galleries, totally refit and climatized. The Salon Carre presents now
the Florentines Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Uccello, Boticelli...
On the northern wall of the Great Gallery, we find Perugin, Leonard da
Vinci, the young Raphael. On the opposite wall, Antonello da Messina,
Mantegna, Bellini. I the gallery " des Sept Metres" , the smaller
formats, Pisanello, Piro della Francesca, Sasseta. The suite of the
circuit is foreseen for late 1998. In the " Salle de Etats", dedicated
mainly to the great formats of the Venetian school, of which the "
Noces de Cana " by Veronese, the curator displayed temporarily
the "Mona Lisa" of Leonardo da Vinci.
Next post will be about the sculpture sections and the art objects.
Jack
tincup
The last section we will visit is the Oriental Antiques and Islam
section.
----At the mezzanine level of the Richelieu aisle, which is accessible
by 2 escalators. The works are varied : tapestries ( of which the
persian tapestry called " de Mantes", gallery 11) , textiles, arms,
miniatures, ceramics, glasswork and art objects.
----At the rez-de-chaussee level, around the cour "Khorsabad"
galleries 1 to 6) the Mesopotamian works are displayed, and further
on, the Iranian ( galleries 7 to 10). In october 97 the Sackler aisle
opened with the Oriental Antiques ( Sully 4 and 5, rez-de -chaussee).
Also opened 13 new galleries as a suite of the Iranian circuit ( who
starts in the Richelieu aisle) with Iran from the iron age and
Achememide Iran, the countries of the Levant, Arabia before Islam,
Cyprus, etc... The must of the Oriental Antiques is the statue
discovered at Ain Ghazal ( Jordania), dating 7000 B.C. It was lend to
the Louvre for 30 years by the Hachemite kingdom. Hight 1.05 meters,
she is characteristic of the neolithic pre-ceramic culture. Funny :
she presents a modern attitude, relaxed, cool, hands in the pockets, a
slight irony in the expression.
The summum of the visit is in the cour "Khorsabad" where the entry of
the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II is evoked. Two original
bulls guard the passage. Notice! They have five paws. You can look at
them as well as face to face as from profile! The 3 others ( one
original, one copy of the 19th century and one 1992 moulding, the one
whose head is turning right) give an idea of the bas-reliefs who
decorated along 105 miles the interior and exterior walls of the
palace.
Around the cour Khorsabad, objects dating 2000 B.C. ; the "Vulture"
stele, numerous small statues of Goudea, the statue of Ebih-II with
eyes set with lapis-lazuli, a basalt stele where the first laws of
humanity were engraved: the Hammourabi Code.
This finishes my Louvre visit.
What do you want next? I covered practically all areas, but whet do
you think of a visit of the Pere Lachaise? Or are there other ares i
forgot to talk about and that you'd like me to a see if i have
something about them?
Make a pick.
Jack
tincup
We left at gallery 62 with Delacroix, Corot. The last galleries are a
little particular because they present works of donors.One of the
conditions of these donors was that the paintings should remain
together. Which explains the heteroclite character of the
presentation, when all the other galleries are homogeneous ! One good
thing :these collections propose a lot of Corot, which gives us some
more to see of this genial precursor of the Impressionists.
--- The Beistegui collection is housed now in Sully 4. 21 works of
portraitists of the 18th and 19th century. Don't miss the "Marquise de
Solana" a masterwork of Goya.
--- For them who want to make a connection between this panorama of
the 19th century paintings with the very large works of the same
period, go now to the red galleries ; gallery Daru 75, gallery Denon
76 and gallery Mollien 77 in the Denon aisle ( 8,9) at the first
floor. These galleries propose, among others, the immense French
paintings from end 18th and beginning 19th. They need large volumes,
indispensable to obtain the most room to move back possible.
"Murat, roi de Naples" and " Les Pestiferes de Jaffa" by Antoine-Jean,
baron Gros. The famous " Radeau de la Meduse" by Gericault ( 1819).
The artist worked 16 months on that painting. The public was deeply
shocked by the realism of the bodies and the greenish colors. From the
149 saved and sheltered on the raft after the shipwreck, only 15
survived. Extraordinary dramatic tension rendered by the exhausted
bodies rising progressively from the left to the right, when sighting
the saviors ship. Then the famous Delacroix paintings : "Dante et
Virgile" , "Le Massacre de Scio ", "Femmes d'Alger" , "La Liberte
guidant le Peuple" , " La Prise de Constantinople " , and my favorite
" La Mort de Sardanapale". The end of the Assyrian king who
slaughtered all his wives and horses by cutting their throats, before
committing suicide ( what obligingness ! ) is evoked here with a
fantastic violence and voluptuousness, thanks to the red, golden,
brown and black tones and the maelstrom of curves and roughnesses
who literally take the painting away !
Two paintings from Ingres :" Jeanne d'Arc", hard to believe it's from
him, so academic ! The second one is much better "La Grande
Odalisque". Ingres looks here for perfection ( he was obsessed by
Raphael). An expert who looked very closely, found out the presence
of three supplementary vertebras what adds more lasciviousness to the
pose. . It's not a back, it's a grand piano ! We are beyond the real !
Follows " Oedipe" and "Mademoiselle Riviere". From David " Madame
Recamier" , the conformist " Serment des Horaces" and the very, very,
famous "Sacre de Napoleon".
End of the French paintings section, what i know about anyway.
Next will attempt to give you an idea of the Flemish and Dutch and
Italian schools.
Jack
tincup
-If you have an urge for a little bite, you can always go to the
Universal Resto at the Carrousel. Sympathetic and cheap. Note that the
Cafe Marly, accessible by the cour de la Pyramide is the new trendy
place. The decor is very agreeable, and the cuisine, not good not bad,
is acceptable and doesn't oblige you to great financial sacrifices...
The museum keeps his geographical division in three aisles: DENON,
SULLY, RICHELIEU, corresponding to the 3 directions departing from the
hall Napoleon( under the pyramid)
Each of the 7 departments of the museum is symbolized by a color you
can find on several levels: Oriental antiquities,( of which Islam
art), Egyptian antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities,
Paintings, Sculptures, Art Objects, Graphic Arts. The medieval Louvre
and the section of history of the Louvre are separate.
The museum is also divided in 10 arrondissements, which makes the
locating much easier. The distribution is as follows: aisle Richelieu
has numbers 1,2,3 ; Sully has 4,5,6,7 ; Denon 8,9,10.
The halls are numbered and have a name. This name is mentioned on a
"hall panel" who indicates also the contents of the hall.
Each visitor receives free a small guide-map ( disposable in 7
languages) who gives you the directions for use of this descriptive,
as well as the " address" ( zone, arrondissement, color) of each
collection. The name of each of the 3 aisles are written in giant
letters above each of the 3 escalators who connect the hall Napoleon
to the concerned part of the palace. Hence the visitor knows exactly
to which aisle he is going.
Note that the Louvre has the luck to be one of the only museums in the
world to have several hundreds windows looking outside on the street
or Seine river. This way he gives the visitors 3 exceptional
orientation indications : the Seine, the Pyramid and the rue de
Rivoli.
Next post,a visit for visitors " in a hurry", an itinerary of about 4
hours, giving you the opportunity to visit the essential of the 7
departments of the museum.
Jack
tincup
If somebody remembers my very first posting on Nov 5 1997 it started
like follows :
around the Palais Royal lies a very contrasted quarter. Super animated
and bustling with life during the day with the crowd of office
workers, employees of the government departments, travel agencies,
clients of the Banquet Nationale, banks,...a.s.o.
and...............practically deserted at night. It keeps nevertheless
some very pretty "promenades" in charming streets and old fashioned
passages.
1. The Grand Louvre. A very big and long subject. I will describe all
practical and visit information in a special posting with only the
Louvre as subject. If people reading this one are not tired of all my
fastidious descriptions.:-)............... (END OF OLD POST)
Before i start about the Louvre let me tell you i visited the Louvre
already in 1962 in his old settings, several times, an that since the
new great Louvre was set up i visited it again several times.But my
latest update is from August 1997, so i didn't have the opportunity to
walk along the new sections of Egyptology opened lately.
By any means i don't have the pretention of giving an exhausted
description of every hall and object. I 'll start, like usual with a
little bit of history. Next posting will give you some practical infos
about getting in and how to visit .
In 1981 president Francois Mitterand decided that the Louvre should be
totally consecrated to culture and art. So what happened first is that
the department of Finances, who was installed in the north wing of the
Louvre, had to move out and went to Bercy. A glass pyramid spout out
of the ground to cover the new entry and give access to the different
sections of the Grand Louvre in 1989, and the Richelieu aisle opened
in 1993. The curators of the museum exult : the spaces recently
occupied by the Finance officials liberated a surface of 22000 square
meters, that's about 83 % of the total previous collection surface.
The project will also rearrange certain parts of the palace ( aisle
Sully and Denon), what could lead to temporary closing of some
halls.The Grand Louvre project should be complete in 1998.
Some day, somebody put the Obelisque in the middle of the Place de la
Concorde.... Why not erect a glass pyramid in the heart of the Louvre?
Very disputed and criticized at the moment of planning and building
but ( for me) so beautiful in her transparent purity, the pyramid of
Pei, Sino-American architect, has the enormous merit to diffuse the
daylight. The glazing is a real technological feat of strength: the
fabrication of a totally colorless and non reflecting glass , the
manufacturing of this glass being stopped since years. Thanks to that
absolute transparency, the stones of the surrounding palaces, seen
from the inside of the pyramid, keep their honey color. Her cost--75
million FF-- makes it the most expensive roof in the world. The
cleaning of the windows was done by high mountain guides in the
beginning. Not any more, it seemed that it was to dangerous. A robot
replaced these courageous men.
A little bit of history? Ok?
In ancient times, the Louvre was only a fortress to protect the right
bank of the Seine. Since, it never stopped transforming.
Everything began end 12th century, when Philippe Auguste, in the
purest tradition of the conquerors, decided to offer Jerusalem to the
devouts of Christ. But, carefully as he was, before leaving on the
crusade, he wanted to assure the defense of the areas of the right
bank and therefore build walls and a huge fortress around the dungeon.
The place soon turned to a luxurious place for the aristocracy. In the
14th century, the court had to leave several times to permit
cleansing works. Indeed, the odor of the putrescent waters in the
trenches of the Louvre made the air unbreathable. Then came Francois
1er who tore the dungeon down. Catherine de Medicis contributed to the
building of the Palais des Tuileries and her junction with the Louvre.
A long time will pass before the Louvre will see her attribute her
first artistic dimension, wished by Marie e Medicis and Henri IV.
Louis XVI was held at residence by the Assemblee Constituante (
legislative assembly of the French revolution). In 1793 the Museum
Central des Arts is created. The Museum will be constantly enriched by
the Napoleon conquest wars. The Paris Commune in 1870 gave the Paris
history one of the most astonishing architectural perspectives : La
Voie Triomphale ( the triumphal road). A view without any obstacle
from the statue of Louis XIV by Bernin and the Arc du Carrousel
to the great Arche de la Defense passing by the Obelisk of Concorde
and the Arc de Triomphe. How did the Commune do that: simply by
burning down the Palais des Tuileries ( standing in the way of the
view).........Her stones were dispersed all over France, even to the
United States.
The end of our century will finally give, but with 4 centuries delay,
what Henri IV always wanted for the Louvre: her exclusive use for
artistic purposes.
Next post about practical infos for the Louvre visit.
Jack
tincup
Tour of the French paintings start in the Richelieu 3 aisle, second
floor to continue ( always on the 2nd floor) all along Sully 4, 5, 6,
7; Then on the 1st floor Denon aisle 8 and 9, the great formats of the
19th century.
200 works, from the primitives to Poussin, are visible in the 18 new
galleries of the Richelieu aisle, imagined by I.M.Pei.
---Gallery 1 : Portrait de Jean le Bon, painted about 1350. First well
kept French portrait of the 14th.
---Gallery 4 : the famous " Pieta of Villeneuve-les-Avignon"
---Gallery 6 : French painting seem to resuscitate middle 15th,
through important regional schools. First influences of the
Renaissance.
---Galleries 7 and 8 :the 16th century portrait painters represented
by Clouet . portrait of Francois 1er, drawed by pencil, seen full face
and small format.
---Galleries 9 and 10 : the arrival of Italians in France ( Leonardo
da Vinci, Rosso, il Primatice) shakes up the French genre who passes
from the medieval style to " mannerism"
---Gallery 11 : in reaction to the excesses of mannerism, the
generation of Vouet, Valentin, Poussin will turn to the naturalist
movement issued out of the art of Caravaggio.
---Galleries 13, 14, 16, 18 :a quarter of the work of Nicolas Poussin
is present at the Louvre, so we can follow the evolution of that
"philosopher" artist of the 17th. : his early years of Roman influence
( les Bacchanales) to the mature works ( Autoportrait) and the end of
his career ( The Seasons, Apollo and Daphne). A splendid octagonal
gallery ( 16) was specially imagined for Poussin's "Les Quatre
Saisons".
---Gallery 15 : another inspired master with light effects :Claude
Gellee, said Le Lorrain, with "Port de mer au soleil couchant"
--Gallery 17 : A REST GALLERY ! Yes, yes ! They foresee your most
secret wishes :-)
The circuit goes on in the Sully aisle.
---Gallery 28 : the marvelous light effects of Georges de la Tour
(most of his works are now on display at the La Tour exhibition in the
Grand Palais) . "Madeleine a la veilleuse", Adoration des Bergers",
"Saint-Thomas", " Le Tricheur" etc;;;
---Gallery 29 : the brothers Le Nain, " reality painters" of the 17th
known for their sincerity and their skill of observation. "La Tabagie,
" La Forge", " Famille de paysans dans un interieur".
---Galleries 31,32 : religious paintings of the 17 th.
---Gallery 36 (Salle Watteau) : with the famous Pierrot portrait
called " Gilles", " Nymphe te Satyre, " Pelerinage a l'ile de
Cythere". Then Nicloas Lancret, De Try and the court painters of Louis
XV, Van Loo, Boucher. " Louis XV" nice pastel of Quentin de la Tour
--Gallery 46 ( Salle Boucher) : with "l'Enlevement d'Europe", " Les
Forges de Vulcain" ( refreshing and cheering charm)
---Gallery 48 ( Salle Fragonard) : i don't present him anymore. Also
Vigee-Lebrun, who realized a superb portrait of Hubert Robert ( with a
vigorous and expressive stroke). Hubert is that artist who painted
mostly ruins. You see works of him in this gallery. A Greuze with a
moralizing message " La Malediction Paternelle" and the logic effect
"Le Fils Puni".
---Gallery 51 ( Salle Greuze) : in the face of "l'Oiseau mort" you can
already see how Renoir will paint 120 years later.
---Gallery 60 ( Salle Ingres ) : the famous " La Baigneuse " and
"Louis-Francois-Bertin", symbol of the sitting and triumphant
bourgeoisie. He greatly worried about every detail ! Notice the
reflection of the window on the back of the chair !
--- Gallery 61 ( Salle Gericault) : " Scene de Deluge and "Officier de
chasse a cheval" full of lyrical impetuosity, of flamboyance. A lot of
horses in the works of Gericault ( no wonder he died falling off of a
horse ! ) . From Horace Vernet " La Barriere de Clichy" a painting
afflicted by the 3 major sins of painting in the 1st half of the 19th
century : academism, conservatism and obsolete patriotism.......
Quick, quick, the romantics and impressionists !!
---Gallery 62 ( Salle Delacroix ) :as for Gericault, his major works
" Femmes d'Alger", " La Liberte", etc. remained at the first floor of
Denon. Nevertheless here you find " l'Assassinat de l'Eveque de
Liege", the famous "Autoportrait ", "Frederic Chopin ", " Noces juives
au Maroc" etc..
Then the Ecole de Barbizon : " Botteleur de foins " by Millet.
Incredible ! In 1850, this gentle painting scared the hell out of the
bourgeois !They accused him of being a socialist painter. Certain even
saw here an appeal to revolution ! How cracked you can get....
-- To finis, about a hundred paintings of Corot, i hope they are in
now after traveling over several exhibitions.Masterworks : "Zingara au
tambour Basque", Jeune Fille Grecque a la fontaine, Souvenir de
Castelgandolfo ( sweet and agreeable Italian light), "Femme a la
Perle", "Souvenir de Mortefontaine" (beautiful, slight touch,
quivered, vaporous ambiance). One can imagine that Corot was already
influenced by the first photographic cliches, who were mostly blurred?
One of my favorite, " La Dame en Bleu", i like the natural of her
posing. A few elements in the brushing announces the Impressionism.
The last galleries of the French paintings will come in next posting.
Jack
tincup
In my " rapid " visit i developed the great majority of the
departments, by only retaining a few pieces, maybe the most
interesting. I will not try to establish an exhaustive catalog of all
the works, tedious work, useless and why force yourself to enumerate
artists that nobody likes? Of course, a few amateurs of the Italian
manierists or the official, academic French painters ( first half of
19th) will be angry, but they will understand.....
Here is the order of our visit : Antiquities of Greece, Etruscan and
Roman, Egyptian Antiquities ( opened December 1997 and yet not all
visited by your humble writer), French paintings, Paintings of the
Northern School ( Flemish, Dutch), Italian and international
Paintings, Italian Sculptures, Nordic sculptures, French sculptures,
Art Objects and finally Oriental Antiquities and Islam Arts.
GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND ROMAN ANTIQUES
______________________________________
Opened in June 1997: salle des verreries, Sully 1st floor, Daru high
and Denon. In December 97 : Daru low, Denon mezzanine, gallery
Campana, halls Charles X and Henri.
I use for the descriptions of a few new halls i didn't visit yet, the
notes of a friend who just gave me a list of the objects and items in
the different sections that i adapt a little to make it a readable
post. Anyway, a lot of the objects i have seen already in precedent
years, even in the pre-Grand Louvre before 1985.
GROUND FLOOR ( Denon 8, Sully 7) :
if you want to do the circuit chronologically, a new access: Denon
mezzanine, lower Daru gallery.
-- La Rotonde ( salle 5) : first of all notice the wrought ceiling
(old apartments of Anne d'Autriche).
-- Salle du Parthenon ( no.7) admire the "Panathenees". A part of the
frieze of the famous monument ( 400 B.C.) where young noble girls make
a sacrifice to Athena. All the rest has been pinched by the English!
The art of sculpture rises here to a very high level. In the next
halls (14,15,16) other original masterworks ( 4th and 5th century
B.C.)
-- Hall 12, the Venus of Milo. I don't present you the miss anymore ,
discovered in 1820 in the island Milo. Symbol of sculptural
perfection.
-- Salle des Cariatides ( no.17). This hall was richly decorated by
Jean Goujon and was used for marriages of princes and royal feasts.
Some amusing anecdotes happened here: Henri III ( the homo) ordered
that 120 pages should be whipped cause they mocked him. During a ball,
that same year, in front of the whole court, he provoked a scandal and
insulted his sister, the queen Margot, for her immoral behavior. In
1610, the people paid their respect to their dead king, and 100 masses
a day were said. In 1658, Moliere played for the first time in front
of Louis XIV; It's one of my favorite rooms. For his superb setting,
then for the quality of works displayed here. The most significative
pieces are " le Gaulois blesse", "Artemis" ( ditto Diane de
Versailles), " Les trois Graces", "Silene portant Dyonisos enfant",
"Hermes attachant ses sandales". But my love at first sight goes to
the curious and troubling "Hermaphrodite endormi" ( sleeping
Hermaphrodite), of whom the almost perfect small of the back revives
a lot of phantasms.
-- Back to the apartments of Anne d'Autriche, after the Rotunda. Halls
22 to 29, Roman period. Sculpted sarcophaguses. The rooms 18 to 20 are
about the Etruscan period : urns in alabaster of Volterra, sarcophagus
in terra-cotta, funeral monument of Chiusi, mirrors in engraved
bronze, vases with red figures, , ceramics with black faces,
remarkable little bronzes, jewelry, etc... In the middle, the famous
sarcophagus called " des Epoux".
-- Hall 21, don't miss the magnificent Kabr Hiram (Lebanon) mosaics.
In the display-windows, nice terra-cotta vases, glass work, gold
jewels, silver ewers and vases ( one has the shape of a horse)
-- Hall 30 : numerous Roman mosaics, also frescos from Pompei. Nice
mosaic of Daphni ( near Antiochus) with her birds, rams and fishes.
-- Cour du Sphinx ( hall 31) the apotheosis with the mosaic of the
"Seasons" ( coming from a villa of Constantine, in North Africa).
Notice the nice interior facade of Le Vau.
FIRST FLOOR (Sully 6,7)
Continuation and end of the Greek Antiquities with the "treasure of
Boscoreale". At the end of the great staircase the world famous " " "
"Victoire de Samothrace", statue of the 2nd century B.C., discovered
in the island of Samothrace. She symbolizes probably a naval victory.
-- Hall of the antique Glass works: opened in 97. In the old great
king's cabinet, presentation of the collection of Greek and Roman
glass works that we had never the chance to see until now. Sober
museology to emphasize all manufacturing techniques. : blown glass
during the whole Roman period.
-- The treasure of Boscoreale ( hall 34). Prodigious discovery in a
villa destroyed by an eruption of the Vesuvius ( 79 after J.C.). A lot
of superb silver objects forming a unique ensemble.
--The Bronze hall ( 32) I like the presentation of the objects
(granite back part, discrete lighting) emphasizing them remarkably. A
lot of Etruscan mirrors ornated and engraved. Don't miss the adorable
little group with Bacchus, a satyr playing the flute and dancers.
-- Gallerie de Campana : reopened in December 1997. New presentation
of Greek vases ( 4 chronological halls, a thematic hall and a study
hall) New display also for the Greek and Roman terra-cottas in the
Charles X halls. Jewelry newly displayed in the hall Henri II
Next post about French paintings. I still have to visit the Egyptian
collections so i'll postpone that to another date .
Jack