Wednesday, September 28, 2011

More than the Mona Lisa

"I long ago stopped counting how many times I’ve seen the Mona Lisa. The most visited work of art at the Louvre is, alas, at the top of the must-see list of every houseguest on a first visit to Paris.
"Mona is surprisingly small (30 by 21 inches), dark and hard to see behind the barriers and bulletproof glass. After a while, she gets — dare I say it — boring. So do the Winged Victory of Samothrace (No. 2 in popularity) and Vénus de Milo (No. 3)."
Elaine Sciolino writes about "The Louvre Less Traveled" in a recent New York Times article.

What does she recommend? --
  • Michelangelo’s two marble nude Slaves
  • Samuel Van Hoogstraten, “View of an Interior or the Slippers” (shown at right)
  • A collection of paintings donated by by Victor Lyon in honor of his wife, Hélène Loeb -- including works by Monet, Degas, and other artists you wouldn't expect to see in the Louvre
  • Charles V’s gold scepter
  • ... and quite a few more
I always found many surprises on my visits to the Louvre, and this article makes me want to go back there, despite the overpowering size of the space and collections.

1 comment:

Jeanie said...

OK, you have till October 9 to do this. Go to Grand rapids now. Do not pass "GO," Do not collect $200. Go to the Grand Rapids Art Museum Art Prize section. Look for The Mona Lisa project by Rizzo Pizzi -- a huge collaborative exhibit. I'm doing a post on this but it won't be up for another week. MAKE TIME. The guy is a photographer. 12 female artists sat for him in the Mona Pose. Then they transformed the prints according to their vision and chosen discipline to reinterpret the portrait. AWESOME.