Paris: Musée du Louvre

On By laurarozamundaIn Architecture, Art journalism, Exhibition, Neo-Classical, Oil paintings
A post of its own; the Louvre, the highlights, and a race to the Mona Lisa before closing!

I fell in love with the Louvre before even entering, the architecture is just incredible, and we had a lot of fun inside!

It is said that nothing ever lasts. And yet, standing tall in all its glory, is this beauty. Once a Palace for French kings, the Louvre was transformed into a public museum following the French Revolution of 1789. It later became the playground of emperor Napoleon I, who briefly named it after himself, AND it was seized by the Nazis to store stolen art in World War Two.

view from the upper levels of the Louvre, across the courtyard to the left wing of the museum

After staring meticulously at all the canvases on the first few levels of the Louvre, three hours have passed so quickly. Looking out of the windows, the sun had moved right across the courtyard, lighting the opposite wing of the palace, which glistened after the rain.

The Highlights

Below I’ve included the artworks which I spent the most time with, absorbing all those carefully placed or quickly rendered details. A brilliant painting is like a clear night sky; the longer you stare, the more stars appear.

Behind: Robert Hubert’s Le Pont du Gard, 1787, Oil on Canvas, 242 x 242cm. I’m admiring that viaduct and pastel sunset from a safe distance.
Oil on paper landscapes by Pierre de Valenciennes, painted 1e quart du XIXe siècle (between 1800 – 1825)
Joseph Ducreux, Portrait de l’artiste sous les traits d’un moqueur, c.1793, Oil on Canvas, 91 x 72cm. Ducreux painted the portrait of Marie Antoinette which was King Louis XVI’s first sight of her.
Ary Scheffer, Temptation of Christ, 1854, Oil on Canvas.
François Gérard (1770–1837), Cupid and Psyche, 1798, Oil on Canvas. In Greek and Roman mythology, and many other depictions of the story, the couple must overcome countless obstacles, until they are finally joined in a sacred marriage, through which their love transcends mortal suffering. The little butterfly above Psyche’s head alludes to the presence of the soul. In Greek mythology, and in the modern language today, Psyche is Greek for Soul. As in antiquity, the image of a butterfly represents the soul’s ability to leave the body and to transition to eternal life after death. Souls bond in sacred marriage, and here the souls deliver Cupid and Psyche to a state of eternal love.
Cupid and Psyche detail- the gentle touch. There are other scenes of this couple, but there is something so tender and passionate in the way his hand adores but doesn’t possess.
Gilded frame, and a single highlighted buttercup beneath Cupid’s feet.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 – 1905) painted The First Kiss which depicts Cupid and Psyche as children. A print of this painting hangs at the head of a hallway in my family home, perhaps why I was so drawn to Gérard’s piece above. For more of Bouguereau’s work, you must visit the Musée d’Orsay. He paints radiant skin like no other.

At the highest level of the palace, the guard sounded the last call for closing. I felt rather satisfied with the amount of colour and narratives we’d absorbed that day, but I still felt that something was missing. Had I lost my boyfriend somewhere?

No, he was by my side. Dropped my bag? Nope, that was on my shoulder, I thought, tapping it. Then it dawned on me, as the guard ushered us towards the exit, I’d forgotten the most iconic smile.

We ran through grand halls, centuries worth of artworks, and I resisted the urge to stop and stare so many times, to finally reach the lower level and La Gioconda, (the Italian name for the Mona Lisa. La Gioconda translates to ‘jocund’ (happy) literally, ‘the jocund one’, and her portrait is rendered on a 77cm × 53cm wooden panel, from the poplar tree. The poplar seems to feature often in the works we know and love; Monet himself was inspired to create many versions of the tall and delicate poplar trees which lined various stretches of the Seine river

Even ten minutes to closing, there was a queue for Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Here I noticed this masterpiece hanging opposite: Da Vinci’s St John the Baptist. In this 69x57cm Oil on Canvas, created 1513-1516, John the Baptiste gestures towards heaven, and salvation through baptism.
This piece exemplifies Da Vinci’s brilliant ‘sfumato’ technique, which lends an ethereal softness and depth to the figure.
Capturing other people capturing the famous painting, in which Da Vinci captures Mona Lisa’s captivating smile.

The lady who posed as Mona Lisa is likely to be to be Lisa del Giocondo, (1479–1542) hence the title La Gioconda, an Italian noblewoman and member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany.

Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), the original. c.1503–1506, perhaps continuing until c. 1517, Oil on poplar panel, 77cm × 53cm.
Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), digitally retouched to reduce the effects of aging.

Smile, and she smiles back
A glass ceiling lets in natural light to Mona Lisa’s room at the Louvre. The glass here is a shatter-proof display case, which maintains a controlled temperature of 43 degrees F.
Did you know?

🌟 The Mona Lisa belongs to France : After Italy’s Leonardo da Vinci’s death in Amboise, France, the artist’s assistant Salaì inherited the work and sold it to France’s King Francis I for 4,000 gold coins. (May 2, 1519)
🌟According to research, engineer Pascal Cotte discovered that the Mona Lisa did have eyebrows and eyelashes: but they were probably the one of the last things Da Vinci added to the her face, and since all the cleanings the painting has undergone, and general aging, they have faded so that they are barely visible to the human eye.
🌟 It would take you around 100 full days to see all of the Louvre, and that is if you only spent 30 seconds on each piece.


It is hard to put into words just how vast, and ancient the experience is; Exploring these hallways and galleries allows us to glimpse at past civilisations. It brings to the forefront the morals, the beauty and the values of our societies, some which have changed for the better, others which people fight to preserve.
Thank you to all those who help to preserve it; restorers, curators, janitors, security, and sales staff.

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