Having visitors presents opportunities to take advantage of places in your neighborhood --in our case, the Louvre. And I recently took advantage of this opportunity! I fortunately had the luxury of limiting my visit to the Egyptian and Middle Eastern collections. (I will catch the Mona Lisa another time --it's been a long time since I saw her!)
A bit of background for those who may not remember their European history survey courses! The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in the 12th century and became a royal residence for Charles V in the 14th century. Our friend Catherine de Medici was responsible for the start of the section called Les Tuileries (named after the clay tiles --tuiles-- that were fabricated close by using the available clay). The Tuleries completed the enclosure of the palace. After the eviction and execution of Louis XVI and Marie-Anoinette, the Louvre was opened as a Center for Arts under the Republic in 1793.
Various collections were added over the centuries.
During the Paris Commune in 1871 (which was another interesting, but gruesome, revolutionary event) the Tuleries Palace was burned and ultimately the ruins were removed in 1883. Thus the courtyard of the Louvre was opened to the Jardin des Tuileries.
Le Grande Louvre restoration project was started by Francois Mitterand in 1981. The glass pyramid by I.M.Pei was opened in 1989 which created a new underground access to the museum, an underground gallery of the foundations and old walls of the Louvre fortress, and a shopping gallery. (If you visited the Louvre before 1989, you may remember the dark, cramped admissions area and the poorly lit and crowded exhibition spaces) The entrance through the walk of the old foundation walls is fantastic!
The collection of Oriental Antiquities --mostly from Iraq and Iran-- date back to 2500 BC and are a testimony to the wealth, power, and culture of the region (and this was before the discovery of oil and our addiction). Wandering through the halls of these massive and awe-inspiring walls and monuments, I could not help but wonder what it would be like to walk through a Notre Dame Cathedral (or Tower of London) exhibit in Baghdad or Tehran (or Cairo) with all the most beautiful and impressive architectural elements and sculptures on display. The harsh reality is that the works in these collections would have been destroyed by radicals and wars and all of the toys of war that the world has so readily exchanged for their oil (I think the translation of the story of Adam and Eve may have an error --I think Eve gave Adam oil and he had visions of money, power, and SUV's. What would he get from a mere apple? Even the American colonists knew that the value of apples was applejack!). Had these regions not been crusaded against, colonized, partitioned, or not had oil, the outcome might be different. (I am still reeling from Hillary's statement about obliterating Iran this week.)
This massive capital is from ONE of the columns of the Temple of Darius (500 BC Iran) --can you even imagine the size of the complete building? The floor plan describes the temple....the floor plan is locate on the stand in front of the capital --at about 4 feet high.
The winged bull is one of a number of these Assyrian guardians of the gates into the palace of Sargon II (713-706 BC Iraq) discovered in 1843 and sent to the Louvre by the French consul. These archers are taken from a long wall (royal palace Iran 500 BC) called the Frieze of Archers. The wall in the Louvre must be about 30 feet high with two rows of these figures, the rows containing at least 12 of these figures. What intrigued me is that the bas relief is made of glazed bricks which had been molded so they were all identical --and in great condition (no freezing to cause spalling!)
This frieze depicts the transport of cedar logs from what is Lebanon to the Persian Empire. It is fantastic with creatures like crabs, tortoises, fishes in the sea, and the boats shown without the logs on the way there and with logs being towed and transported coming back. Again, a huge wall --each boat (with oars and cargo) is about 2 feet high.
I have always loved the style of Egyptian art. I love the hieroglyphics for their use of natural objects like birds and animals (reminds me of some of the Oriental rug patterns) and the sculpture for its "clean" and elegant lines.
It is hard to imagine all of the people who were working on these monuments and decorative arts and the volume of work that was produced. The world-wide collections of Egyptian --and Meso-American artifacts-- always intrigue me in their volume and scale --I suppose you can be more creative living in a warm climate --look at all the time we waste with seasonal changes-- putting out the patio furniture, putting it away, opening and closing the pool, raking the leaves, shoveling the snow....and my favorite --changing the clothes! See what all that oil has done to us? Would we live in these areas without heat??
And having young adult visitors is an incentive to stay out late! And we were blessed with a clear Saturday night (not so easy in Paris) and a nearly full moon! These pictures were taken after 9pm --my own impressionist pictures-- shots after dark needing a long exposure and a steady hand!
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