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 | Paris Louvre Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 866 |  |
 | |  |  | Louvre: Richelieu - Paintings of Northern Schools. | Tip Rating:  |  |  | |  |
As soon as you reach the Second Floor of Wing Richelieu by the main escalator you will see the large Gallery Medicis with 24 large paintings (1622-1625) by Rubens(photo 5). These paintings ordered by Queen Marie de Medicis glorify this famous Queen of France (wife of Henri IV and mother of Louis XIII).
From here you may visit about 40 smaller rooms with a large collection of Flemish, Dutch and German paintings from the 15th to the 17th century.
The highlights of this collection are from the Flemish School (Flemish Primitives):
Jan Van Eyck "La vierge du Chevalier Rolin" (1434), Rogier van der Weyden "L'Annonciation" (1435). Room 5 shows six paintings of Hans Memling (photo 4) what makes of Le Louvre the second museum outside the town of Brugge to have so many Memling's. From the 16th c. is shown the famous painting "Prêteur et sa femme" (1514) from Quentin Metsys (photo 1) and a small Pieter Bruegel "Les mendiants" (1568).
The Dutch School is very well represented by two Vermeer's "La Dentellière" and "l'Astronome" in room 38 (photo 2). I was pleased to see that tourists, mainly from Asia, have now discovered the existence of these two Vermeer's at the Louvre; on my previous visits I was nearly alone in that section, no more now. Nearly all famous Dutch painters of the 17th c. are on display here: Rembrandt with "Bethsabée au bain" (1654), Frans Hals with the excellent "la Bohémienne" (1666) (photo 3), Pieter de Hooch, Van Ruysdael, Wouverman and many others shown in small cabinets.
The German school is present with great names such as Dürer, Cranach and Holbein with a famous portrait of "Erasmus" (1523).
Even the tourist on a 1 day visit of Le Louvre should not omit to spend some time on this 2nd Floor of Richelieu Wing. Address: Richelieu wing - Second floor.Directions: Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre
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| | | | Louvre: Géricault "Le Radeau de la Méduse". | Tip Rating:  | | | | |
Congratulations; you followed my tip "Mona Lisa in the crowd" and thanks to your height over 1.90 m, weight of 100 kg and your practice of rugby or football you were able to approach "La Joconde" the goal of your quest for the "Holy Grail".
After the immobility of Mona Lisa you might like to discover the movement of the 19th century with the Romantic school as expressed by Théodore Géricault and his famous large painting (5 x 7 m.) "Le Radeau de la Méduse".
The terrible story of the wreck of the French frigate "La Méduse" is a real one (1816) and Géricault put a lot of realism in his painting.
From the 150 man on the raft only five survived and it was said that there was cannibalism!
No doubt that Géricault expressed a paradox: how to make a strong painting of a hideous motive, how to reconcile the art and the reality? He refused the constraints of the classic standards and looked for a more free way of painting. He used morbid, macabre colours, illustrating the death. Unfortunately, for the conservation of this painting, Géricault used dark pigments based on bitumen which don't dry well and, by passing through the paint layers, cause cracks and a general darkening effect.
The horror of this subject fascinated and divided critics when it was shown at the Salon of 1819 as well as it does now in contrast with the placid Mona Lisa.
For the full story of the "Méduse" I recommend (in French):
www.paranormal-fr.net/dossiers/radeau-de-la-meduse.php Address: Denon wing, 1st floor, room 77.Directions: Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre
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| | | | Louvre: ART, ART, and ..... MORE ART !!! | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The LOUVRE Museum is HUGE... and never-ending!
Plan on getting lost several times and spending a minimum of five hours just to cover the basics!
BUT... if you are REALLY into Art, as I am, then my best advice is to give yourself a good 3 DAYS to really go through this bounty of ART thoroughly ... and at a pace that won't fatique your eyes and brain too much.
At the information desk beneath the glass pyramid, select the things you absolutely don't want to miss, and then take a map, available at the desk, and ENJOY!!!
What boggles the mind is that as much as is currently displayed at the Louvre, is also in storage!
Once a king's palace, the Louvre started life more simply as a fortress in 1190 to protect Paris against Viking raids.
King Francois I replaced the original fortress with a Renaissance-style building.
Thereafter, four centuries of French kings and emperors improved and enlarged the Louvre.
Approach the Louvre from the main entrance beneath the glass pyramid.
From here, corridors radiate out to each wing of the museum: Oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities.
You, along with 50,000 other daily visitors, will be waiting in line just for the pleasure of getting lost for the rest of the day.
A half-hour wait to enter the building is normal, so be patient. It's worth it!
You can use this time to look through your guidebook and plan your assault.
Better yet, buy a museum pass, which gives you the right to go to the front of the line.
Want a sneakier tip? There is an entrance directly across from the Metro Palais Royale that has a thin waiting line, if any.
Or try the entrance at the Passage Richelieu.
One last tip: WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES!!!
The museum is open daily, &iexcept Tuesdays and certain public holidays, from 9am to 6pm.
Evening openings until 9:45pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Note: Sale of tickets ends at 5.15pm (9.15pm on Mondays and Wednesdays). Leave a Comment Address: Rue de Rivoli, Paris 1Phone: 01 40 20 51 51Directions: GOD...YOU CAN'T MISS IT !!!Website: %cbwww.louvre.fr/
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| | | | Louvre: Tapestries "the Hunts of Maximilian". | Tip Rating: | | | | |
When you are in the Richelieu wing on the first floor which shows the decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the 19th c. you must visit the large room 19 of the Renaissance section.
Here are hanging 12 of the most beautiful tapestries in the world called the "Hunts of Maximilian". Archduke Maximilian of Habsbourg, later emperor of Austria was the brother of Emperor Charles V (Charles Quint born in Gent, Belgium) who in that time had his palace in Brussels. He liked to go hunting in the forest of Soignes (still existing) just outside Brussels. The 12 large (about 5 x 7 m) tapestries show scenes of hunting at the 12 months of the year.
The picturesque, realistic and detailed landscapes show, in the back ground, the still existing abbey of Rouge Cloître, the village of La Hulpe and the town hall of Brussels.
The inspiration is from the Italian renaissance, the technical mastery is that of the painter and cartoon designer Bernard van Orley and the weavers from Brussels (ref. my tip on Brussels tapestries at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Cinquantenaire, Brussels).
They were manufactured between 1531 and 1533 probably by Guillaume Dermoyen.
Although ordered by the Habsbourg, in the 16th c. they belonged to the French Ducs de Guise, then Mazarin and King Louis XIV. These tapestries contain gold wire but fortunately escaped the destructions of the French revolutionaries.
The French Manufacture des Gobelins made a number of copies of the original tapestries around 1700.
These 12 marvellous tapestries are very well presented in the large room 19.
It is sad that so few visitors of the museum stop here to really look at them. Address: Wing Richelieu, 1st floor, room 19Directions: Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre
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| | | | Louvre: Le Grande Louvre | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Former royal palace, Louvre was transformed into a museum in 1793, hosting today one of the richest collection of paintings, sculptures, art in the world.
The museum, recently renovated, has three wings: Richelieu, Sully and Denon, each of them being accessible from the entrance under the Pyramid.
Among the most important item, not to be missed when visiting Louvre, are:
Lower Ground Floor:
- Richelieu wing: Horses of Marly and Milo of Crotona (French sculptures), Pyxis o al-Mughira and Baptistery of Saint Louis (Arts of Islam)
- Sully wing: Medieval Moat (Medieval Louvre)
- Denon wing: Christ and Abbot Mena (Coptic Egypt), Cycladic Idol (Pre-classical Greece), Woman’s Portrait (Roman Egypt) and St. Mary Magdalene (Italian sculptures)
Ground floor:
- Richelieu wing: Tomb of Philippe Pot (5th-18th French Sculptures), Code of Hammurabi (Mesopotamia)
- Sully wing: Seated Statue of Ramses II (Pharaonic Egypt) and Venus de Milo (Greek Antiquities)
- Denon wing: The Dying Slave and Psyche and Cupid (16th-19th Italian Sculptures)
1st floor:
- Richelieu wing: Napoleon III Apartments and Gnome with a Snail
- Sully wing: Seated Scribe and Amenophis IV (Pharaonic Egypt)
- Denon wing: The Winged Victory of Samothrace and Monalisa
2nd floor:
- Richelieu wing: Rubens Room
- Sully wing: The Turkish Bath (19th C French Paintings)
The collection is impressive and it needs a lot of time to see it all. We spent around 7 hours in Louvre, but at the end, due to exhaustion and the late hour, we had to become very selective. Probably the best way to see Louvre is to visit a wing per day.
The entrance is free with Paris Museum Pass.
A free plan of the museum is available at the entrance.
Opening hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m..
Closed on Tuesday. Directions: Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre
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| | | | Louvre: CLAUDE LORRAIN Ideal-Landscape paintings | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Once you have seen a painting of Claude Lorrain (real name Claude Gelée, 1600 Lorraine-France - 1682 Rome) you can't miss his works in any museum over the world.
His paintings are so typical with ideal landscapes and a poetic rendering of light. His landscapes contain classical ruins, often a coastal scene with boats in a seaport. It are idealized harbour scenes flanked on one or both sides with palaces. Tall ships ride at anchor. Light, however, is the key feature of the seaport pictures. Its source is often a visible sun just above the horizon or sometimes hidden behind a vessel or building at dawn or at sunset; his paintings are illuminated by the orange, gold shining sun. Claude Lorrain for the first time in art used the sun as the means of illuminating a whole picture. This use of light from the sky above the horizon enforces the effect of recession in depth.
In the 17th c. landscapes were a minor art in Italy (on the contrary of the Netherlands); prized subjects were religious or mythic scenes. To feed the need for noble themes Claude Lorrain included mythological or biblic personnalities but they are small, almost lost in the landscape which was his main interest.
The Louvre shows 9 paintings in wing Richelieu of the 250 which reached us. 2nd Floor, room 15. Address: Le Louvre, Aile Richelieu, 2nd floor, room 15Directions: Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre
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| | | | Louvre: Louvre | Tip Rating: | | | | |
And then I was there.... at the Louvre! A Mecca for art lovers; an amazing complex, huge, overwhelming, intriguing, irresistible, but at the same time so intimidating....
When planning my Paris trip, a visit to the Louvre was on top of the list. Of course I had to see this! So much artwork; this would be a dream come true! To see the Mona Lisa, the Venus of Milo, and all the other famous and less famous works of art. But slowly doubt started to creep into my mind: I would never have enough time to see it all! It would be impossible to enjoy the art to its fullest when spending here a whole day. So I had to choose; but what to see? Or better said: what NOT to see! Sigh, I just couldn't choose...
And now I am here, standing on the outside, slowly walking around it. And even that was already so impressive. But in the end I never went inside.....
I wonder how many people have this same thing. A place like the Louvre is a dream come true for all who love art. But then again it is an overkill, it is too much, it is too big. If I would live in Paris I know I would visit this place at least a few times a year, dividing it up into little sections, taking parts of it in and enjoying those to the fullest. But on my short visit to Paris, I decided not to go inside. Am I stupid? Probably yes. Am I regretting it? in a way: yes. I still want to see the Louvre!!! So in my mind I am secretly keeping my fingers crossed that my next visit to Paris I will at least have one rainy day. And that day will be my “Louvre-day”....
My visit to the Louvre wasn't a waste of time though; I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the whole complex from the outside. The beautiful buildings and its architecture; but more about that in the next tip.
If you are planning a visit to the Louvre, I can really recommend taking a look at their website. Here you can find all the information you need about the works of art, opening hours, and other practical info: The Louvre museum Leave a Comment Directions: Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du LouvreWebsite: http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en
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