Well, I’ve been in Paris for a few days now… we’ve tried to do lots in the city during our free time, that is, between homework and class. We went to the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night but we decided not to go up because there were too many people. So we watched it sparkle from the base of the Seine. It was beautiful! Then on Sunday, I went to mass at Notre Dame Cathedral! It was quite the experience. I followed the scriptures in my Bible and chimed in for the parts in Latin. The music was beautiful. Then we walked around the outside taking note of the flying buttresses which became very important for the stability of the building even though they were originally included in architecture for aesthetic reasons. We walked along the Seine River (check out my pictures on the slideshow) towards Musee D’Orsay, a museum with many works including lots of Impressionism. Going to so many museums in a condensed amount of time has encouraged me to develop favorites… I am loving the paintings by the impressionists! Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Manet, Seurat and others. Pointillism is so fun with all its bright colors and Degas’s Blue Dancers is really amazing in person. I also enjoy works by Austrian Gustav Klimt. Look up his paintings! Art nouveau is so enticing. I can’t wait until we go to Vienna because I will be able to see a lot of his works in a museum there.
Monday was set aside for the Louvre. Yes, nearly the entire day. We went in the morning, took a break for lunch then continued for another few hours in the afternoon. I started on the top floor to explore the French paintings. Silly me, I was actually hoping to see some Impressionism. Apparently, Impressionism is not yet considered art by the Louvre. It’s too new and has not yet proved itself. What a disappointment! And I spent all that time looking at the French paintings… I did see the famous painting of Louis XIV which is very appropriate because I am going to Versailles tomorrow to see his castle. After lunch, we saw the Mona Lisa. I saw once when I was 8 and I felt the same way this time. It is a bit underwhelming. It is roped off and people just stand around it snapping pictures and not even looking at the painting itself. I suppose the fame lies in the mystery of her expression but I am not a huge fan. Sorry Da Vinci. I prefer works that are more aesthetically pleasing or that have significance or meaning. Pilgrimage to Cythera by Watteau is really interesting because it shows an entire story and it synthesizes mythology with everyday life of the 18th century. If I must be so blunt it shows the stages of seduction or love in the depiction of 8 different couples as the progress towards a mythic boat that will take them to Cythera where Aphrodite lives. “Going to Cythera” was an idiom for making love in the 18th century. Reading from right to left, 8 couples show the different stages of love. First, a man whispers “sweet nothings” (thanks to the audio guide) into her ear, then in the next couple, the woman accepts and the following one begins to walk to the boat.
The whole experience of the Louvre was overwhelming due to the masses of tourists snapping pictures at every famous painting and sculpture. It was annoying because they would hardly pause to look at the art, just get the picture and move on. I felt as though I couldn’t enjoy the works in the busy areas. My favorite sculpture was Cupid and Psyche by Casanova. It is truly a masterpiece that suspends you in a moment of their embrace. Cupid’s wings, although made out of stone, look as light as air. Each one’s embrace creates a circle around the other and every angle is gorgeous (check the slideshow!). Overall, the Louvre felt like it was too much. It ends up seeming like a matter of pride rather than art. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and the French will keep it that way as long as they can.
I will write more about Paris soon! The Eiffel Tower at night was amazing and the Luxembourg garden on a sunny day was a definite highlight. Bonsoir!
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