Art I

The last day and a half have been chock full of intense sightseeing - yesterday Max and I went to the Louvre and the Musée d`Orsay, then had dinner and wandered up to the Sacre Coeur in our own neighbourhood for sunset (it`s just up the street from our hostel). The Louvre was, of course, majestic. Walking from the busy street into the courtyard was like entering another world, one where the traffic was completely muffled and the buildings covered in almost confectionary decoration. Among the flowers and scrolls that adorned the pediments and doorways it is possible to see a number of Ns peeking out, a legacy of Napoleon`s ego popping up all over the exterior.

The pyramid that caused such a scandal when first built wasn`t unpleasant to my eyes - it provides a welcome contrast to the exuberant architecture that`s all around, as well as creating a beautiful, light main hall from which to access all the galleries. I don`t have my list of highlights with me right now, but I can say that my favourite exhibits were those of Medieval painting and sculpture, as I continue to be fascinated and inspired by the way the artists depicted figures, and an interesting melding of modern art with Renaissance painting from Northern Europe. The artist Jan Fabre was invited by the Louvre to choose a gallery and integrate new and already created works of his own art in with the permenant exhibit. The result was appealingly jarring as a new, weird dialogue weaved itself through the staid old paintings hanging (perhaps a little nervously?) on the wall.

The confrontational nature of Fabre`s contribution was introduced from the get-go. When I got to the top of the escalator, I was shocked to see what appeared to be a man squashing his face directly into an Old Master (a painting, not the master himself). It took more than a few moments to notice the blood pooling at the man`s feet, then (with relief) the fact he was actually a dummy, a model of Fabre himself set up to look as if he`d shoved his face violently into the painting, giving himself one hell of a nosebleed. His strange creations were placed throughout the gallery, and I found they encouraged me to not only take a closer look at the new works, but to spend more time on the Renaissance materials, trying to figure out exactly how he was trying to form connections. I actually think I`ll go back for another look tomorrow, as I didn`t get quite as much time as I would have liked (we bought these Museum Cards that give us unlimited access to various museums until tomorrow night - very good investment).

I seem to be running out of time (this is a strange Euro-keyboard and I type much more slowly than usual), so the Orsay and today`s adventures shall have to wait until this evening. Until then!