How can I describe a day like today....AMAZING! Today all my childhood (and adult) dreams came true! Sorry to sound a big corny there. I have been a pretty big Art and Art History fan since I did a project on Leonardo da Vinci in 9th grade. Ever since then I have been enamored by his work, and especially by the Mona Lisa. I never really thought I would be able to see her in person, so you can imagine my excitement today upon visiting the Louvre Museum. We started out our tour today by seeing the Venus de Milo statue. I sort of forgot that this piece was at the Louvre and I was surprised by how I reacted to seeing it. I was a bit awestruck at seeing my first true internationally famous piece of art. The Venus de Milo definitely caught my attention, and I found that many of these famous works you could find yourself staring at them all day...hoping you never have to leave. The Venus de Milo is a statue of the goddess Aphrodite (supposedly) with her arms missing. I really enjoyed the display they set up for her, and I especially enjoyed the architecture of the interior of the Louvre. The Louvre has had many architects work on the galleries inside, and I found it funny to watch my classmates who are all clearly architects with their cameras pointed at the ornate ceilings and walls while the other tourists quickly took pictures of the pieces of art. The museum was a bit overwhelming at the amount of artifacts and pieces of artwork they have on display. The museum itself is actually a collection of about 4 museums total inside its massive structure. So we started off by seeing the Venus de Milo, then moved on to learn about the Winged Victory sculpture. The Winged Victory sculpture is beautifully displayed atop a giant staircase leading up to it, recreating the conditions in which she was originally meant for...a Greecian hillside. Next we moved on to see some pieces of Leonardo da Vinci's work. We started off by talking about The Virgin and St. Anne. I was surprised by seeing about 4 or 5 paintings done by da Vinci all in a row...and also very disappointed I didn't have more time to look at them considering I was with my class. I was very awestruck by all of them. We then turned to go into a different room and suddenly I saw the Mona Lisa in the distance. I found, and yes I am a very big geek for thinking this, that she had almost her own presence. You could feel her watching you. And yes, I was the only one in a group of architects totally geek-ing out as we entered the room. She was situated on her own wall surrounded by a sea of tourists. Although the group surrounding her was very deep, my teachers had said that it was about half of what they saw the last time they were there. I waited patiently, and pushed as well, to the front of the group so I could have a front-row view. Behind bullet-proof glass was the Mona Lisa...one of the most, if not the most, famous pieces of art in the world. I cringed to think that she rode on a soldier's lap in a car when they evacuated the Louvre during WWII. Although I wanted to stay and stare at her all day, or at least make everyone else leave the room so I could see her in peace, we had to continue on with our tour. We then continued on to see several Neoclassical pieces and several Romanticism pieces as well before being left to wander by ourselves. I really enjoyed just wandering throughout the Louvre on our own and stumbling upon great works of art, including many sculptures done by Michelangelo. I was so tired and my feet hurt so bad, but I was very glad I had the opportunity to see so many pieces of art. But, yet, my day was not done! We then traveled to the Opera Garnier, which was used as the setting for The Phantom of the Opera book. I enjoyed this visit very much because not only was it extremely grand and ornate, it was a great piece of architecture as well, as I learned from my teacher. The interesting thing I found about this Opera House was that the main attention was put on the many lobbies it had. In the time it was made, the Opera was were the wealthy went to see and be seen, so naturally the architect placed emphasis on its many ornate and complex lobbies. Although I must say, the actual theater itself was very beautiful as well, but it does surprise you at how small it actually is. Tomorrow is our first experience learning about a post-modern piece, which will be a big shift from the places we have looked at so far. We will be touring Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, which is one of the most important pieces in post-modern architecture...and you probably have not heard of it. And I didn't either until I went to Architecture school, but now its all I ever hear about. So I am excited to be able to say that I have been there. Aur Revoir!
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