Thursday, March 27, 2008 Into the Iron Pyramid By Jinggoy Salvador
HOW does it feel to plunge into a sea of fine art? It's a whole new world, for sure, but skip the mermaid song, it's a "please observe silence" in this area.
I am talking about the most famous museum in the planet, The Louvre Museum. It was officially the first day of spring when I finally made my museum rounds. I had an early start since I have to cover as much museums as I can with my One-day Museum Pass. You can purchase one for 15 euros (2 and 3 day passes also available) from any metro ticket counter. It will definitely come out more economical than paying each time you enter a museum.
So the rush is on. I was out of the house before nine in the morning with a map of the city on hand. There was a long list of museums that you can visit, flash them the card and you get in for free. By lunch I was at the Louvre. The Japanese Architect Pe did a fantastic job of adding a touch of modernity to the old-world architecture. The transparent pyramid with its iron trusses that sits on the center of the square has now become the symbol of the museum. Photo of course. I dished out my famous line once more..."Excuse me, mind taking my photo please?" ...works wonders...
Words of wonder from Ana Breton, my mother in Barcelona, "You should know what you want to see in there, rush to it, look, take pictures and move to your next artwork. If you take your time and admire each artwork, you will need more than a day". I took her word for it. So it was the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and The Winged Victory of Sarmothrace for me. It would be great to meet and make acquaintance with these lovely women.
Louvre's collection started with 12 paintings from Italy, works of Titian, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. The royal collection grew by the reign of Loius XIII and grew larger with each ruler. The Musee de la Republique opened to the public with 2,500 pieces of art and objects, which was then only for the private pleasure of the Court. Napoleon increased the collections vastly, taking from the countries he conquered (some would say he looted them...controversial subject... tsk, tsk). But some were returned after Waterloo.
After it became the property of the state in 1848, art acquisition continued with a devoted annual budget. Today, the treasures of the Louvre lists nearly 300,000 works and I'm pretty sure it will grow by the year.
Now you understand why Ana advised me to see what I really want to see. With so many artworks, I will spend a lifetime if I take my time to appreciate each and every piece. Any art teacher will have a fit, faint or die if he/she would see me speed by an important piece. Passing by them like billboards on a freeway...
Easier said than done, I just cannot resist stopping each time I see a work I like. Stop, click and go. I just wish I could sit and view every piece as long as I can, but given this lack of time, five blinks plus a photo will have to be enough.
I was still able to manage to visit the three sections of the museum even if was unacceptably and unforgivably sinful fast pace. The Ricehlieu wing houses the French Sculptures, Islam Art, 17th-19th century paintings from Netherlands, France and Holland, and the Renaissance art room. The Sully wing houses Napoleon's crown jewels, Greek ceramics and antiquities and Pharaonic Egypt.
In this week, you will find the remains of medieval Louvre. Lastly, the Denon wing houses Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities, the large format French paintings as well as 13th to 17th Italian paintings.
It was dusk when I finally left the museum's ground. It was a visit of a lifetime, I have seen historical treasures and on the record, I will come back and take my sweet time to admire these works the next time. So my stay in Paris would be, give and take, a century. By then the collection would double in number. Nice.
