Louvre Museum
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- Published on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 18:14
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It’s recommended that travelers coming to see the famous museum plan to visit it over the course of several days as it is far and away one of the most popular Paris attractions. Thanks to the color coded maps in the museum, it’s quite easy to plan out what to see when. It won’t take you much effort at all to find two of the most famous pieces of art in the world, the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.
Visitors will immediately notice the spaciousness and cleanliness of the Palais du Louvre. This makes for a relaxing experience when strolling around looking at the famous exhibits. Visiting the Mona Lisa, is however somewhat of an exception in that the area is always packed with crowds of visitors huddling around making for a slightly frustrating and unpleasant experience. But, she is still worth a visit. The Virgin of the Rocks painting and Venus de Milo sculpture have slightly less people around them and could still be considered a small hassle by some, but after you get through that, you can be assured that there another thirty five thousand things for your to view in total peace. And should you get tired and need a break at any point, the Louvre museums two on-site cafes and the benches placed all around the cooling fountain around the pyramid are a nice respite.
The Palais du Louvre’s design and its multiple floors can make navigating confusing for some, but the museum is, other than that, one of Europe’s most visitor-friendly attractions. All of the exhibits are presented beautifully, are well-labeled and well-lit; the allowance of photography in the museum (except of course in the Paintings department) helps increase the enjoyment of the exhibits and eliminates an uncomfortable atmosphere of stern policing by guards.
The Louvre’s collections are divided into eight departments, as well as the Medieval Louvre (a section of the 12th-century fortress) and Primitive Arts sections. These take up three wings: Denon (south); Sully (east); and Richelieu (north) and four floors (Lower Ground through Second Floor).
The Louvre departments presently include Egyptian antiquities ; Oriental (ancient Mesopotamian) antiquities; Greek and Roman antiquities; sculpture from the Middle Ages to modern times; and paintings representing all the European schools; furniture and objets d'art and a section of the museum is devoted to Islamic art.
Universally prominent ancient works of art included in the Louvre museum are a statuette of the Sumerian ruler Gudea, an Egyptian painted stone statue of a scribe sitting cross-legged, a stele bearing Hammurabi's code, the Venus de Milo, and the Victory of Samothrace. Some of the items from outstanding later works are two marble Slavesby Michelangelo, the treasure of the abbey of St. Denis, and the French crown diamonds. Some of the important paintings include the Pietà of Avignon, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Veronese's immense Wedding at Cana (which was badly damaged in 1992 while being installed in the newly renovated galleries), and Watteau's Embarkation for Cythera.
Some small parts of the medieval fortress from which the current day palace originates have been uncovered. Restoration efforts have been taken on the Cour Carrée and the excavation which was required for the construction of the pyramid and the Arc du Carrousel area enabled the archeological digs to happen and for the various phases of occupation of the palace and its quarters to be seen. Now, the basements have been included in the tours. Thus, it is possible to walk along the moats of the medieval fortress which was under the Cour Carrée and to pass around the base of the dungeon to get to the Salle Saint-Louis(13th century). And noe one can walk along the so-called Charles V Moats on the way to the car park.
Included in the items which were discovered during the digs, one of the most notable is a parade helmet which belonged to Charles VI, which was reconstructed from the one hundred and sixty-nine fragments which had been scattered about. It is now on display in the Salle Saint-Louis (Sully Wing) of the Louvre.