M at Musée du Louvre

Paris was a dream come true destination for me. And if there are Eiffel, River Siene, Triumph of Arc, Notre Dame, Disneyland not to miss, there is undoubtedly Louvre too. What happened when M, thats me and the immortal painting Monalisa came face to face? She followed me in all directions and I just couldn’t let my eyes off her.

Monalisa, we have all read about her smile and the portrait, one of the most talked about paintings of its times and even now. The symmetry of the human figure, the smile, the following eyes and the deeper elements of art have been discussed in many forms. It has many stories connected to it and it usually makes a mention along with Renaissance, French Revolution and the artist Leonardo, da Vinci. Now, the property of government of France,  proudly hangs and attracts everyone in Louvre Museum.

But there’s much more to Musee du Louvre, its absolutely amazing. The huge, beautiful pieces of art made by famous artists of all times, displayed one after the other let not the eyes rest for a minute. I was charmed by the enormity of the collection. Each one outdid the other. Europe has been the talent house of artists, Indeed!!! Since I love to make canvases, that was one time I really wanted to take up arts seriously.

How we Reached?

We used the metro nearest from our hotel to reach the museum and got down at metro station, Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. Did I tell you that Paris has one of the best intracity rail network and it connects the whole city just perfectly, thus keep the taxis at bay. Just outside the gate, the first thing that catches attention is the lavishness of the facade of the famous museum and the huge footfall enthralling the gates to make to the ticket queue. As you enter, the famous pyramid welcomes you and one can’t let it pass without a click.

Louvre

It is a magnificent museum, four floors and three huge wings to boast off. And believe me we spent a whole day exploring the famous art pieces but couldn’t walk through it all. I was damn tired to go on and missed a few rooms. It houses close to 40,000 works of art and has a total collection of over 380,000 objects. Not just art, it displays collection from archeology, architecture and history as well. It has a new Islamic art wing too. Before being a museum, it was a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II.

 Virtual Walk-through

Louvre is situated on the right Bank of the river Seine.

Everything thats scribbled or written in bold is in French, with not much English around.

English-language guided tours and audio video cds are available in plenty but at a price.

A bullet proof glass case is around just one painting and that is Monalisa. (Room 6, 1st floor, Denon). You can be close to all but not this one. More than a hand’s distance keeps you away.

There are paintings of all sizes in the alleys, in the bay, along the walls, in the rooms, huge halls and everywhere that the eyes can reach.

Huge crowd in all the rooms and cameras clicks can be irritating sometimes.

My legs had given but not my eyes. I rested on the sofas and I remember my hubby was quick to put in… ‘ If you have seen the masterpiece Monalisa, half of Louvre is already done’  but in my opinion the museum is not just about one painting, world’s best masterpieces are housed in there.

Mother and Child, I love this painting

It was discovered broken and scattered in 118 pieces in 1863 and reassembled at the Louvre.

The Last Supper

Monalisa

With the one who made it possible for me to catch it all in real.

Facts: The Louvre Museum remained in first place among the most visited institutions in the world with 9.2 million visitors in 2013 and I was one of them.