Le Louvre

 April 28, 2025

How visiting the Louvre has changed.  We were last here with our kids in 1995 when walking up and getting a ticket was not a problem and seeing La Joconde (the Mona Lisa) was easy to do at close range.  Today we had an entry ticket for 12h30 and arrived at noon.  The line was hundreds and hundreds of people long with the same timed ticket.  Making no attempt to see dear Lisa again we instead headed to the less populated areas including Northern European Art and the Apartements de Napoléon III - the latter having been recommended by some friends we’ve met here.

The Northern European Art was full of Van Dyke works - so many so that we wondered if the paintings outnumbered those in the Reichsmuseum in Amsterdam.  Look at this jaunty fellow by Rembrandt:

Love this classic portrait of a woman making lace - a classic:

Grape Picker Improvising on a Comic Theme - Naples, Italy

The Napoléon Apartements were dazzling.  I somehow got the impression he liked gold.  Hard to tell though as it was so understated.

Dinner for 42 anyone?

We were excited to see the French & Navarre family crests displayed (Navarre is a branch of Ed’s family).

Meanwhile my ancestors were likely growing potatoes and living in mud huts.

Asyrian art from 600 years BCE

This piece dates from 9,000 years ago, the oldest piece currently at the Louvre.  I think ultimately we all end up looking something like this really.

I could go on forever but anyone who has been here knows the entire place is filled with phenomenal pieces housed in a spectacular palace.  Wow, just wow.

(I think I did learn though that to kill anything it’s best to be a naked man with a great physique.)

Ed among the lovelies 

Lunch with the group tomorrow……so maybe no museums. 

A bientôt