Journey To Holiness: The Louvre

Growing up, I don't remember an appreciation of art in the form of the greats. I knew nothing of Monet, da Vinci, or Michelangelo. Our home didn't have any pieces of "art" of known artist. On the walls, we did have my aunt's pieces. Mom also displayed two of my string art pieces that I had done at youth group. I do remember loving the stained glass window at church of Jesus praying in the garden. I also loved the crucifix at the local Catholic Church. My cousin fascinated me with how she could draw, but I had no talent. I also loved watching my friend Joe do a piece in class.

I began taking note of art when I was hired at the Ben Franklin Frame Shop. Seeing the pieces come into the store, I studied the local artists of Montana and around the United States. I was determined to have some good pieces in my house. I have a few outdoor scenes and religious pieces. None are of "known" artists. I also have a piece of my aunt's art. The entertaining part is by the time I could start collecting I decided I really prefer my own photography. But I do love to go to a good museum.

The Louvre originally was built in the late 12th to 13th century as a palace and fortress by Philip II. In 1682, the Palace of Versailles became the residence for Louis XIV. The Louvre housed the royal collection, including Greek and Roman sculptures. Over the centuries, the palace developed into the art museum of today. There are approximately 38,000 objects in 782,910 square feet museum. I only saw a small fraction and it was magnificent.

The day started out questionable. I messed up and bought the wrong tickets. The problem was we were so confused when they turned Madelle and I away, but they let Jerry through with his ticket. Madelle panicked and wanted to just go back to the hotel. She only does well with Jerry and he was on the other side of the ticket area. I waved him back. Seeing panic in your child's eyes is a tough situation, but I wasn't going to let her miss out on The Louvre. I told her she would not be going back. We went to sit down while Jerry went for the right tickets. She turned her back to all the world and regrouped. Once he returned with the tickets, she had gathered herself and we made it into the museum. The first sculpture grabbed her attention and she was enjoyed herself.

Because of the panic, we didn't get headphones to learn or a map to guide us. We just wandered. Jerry worked at reading the French signs. Madelle insisted we stick together, so I didn't get to engross myself in the art like I normally do. Instead, I watched her and snapped pictures. Really, the experience was overwhelming in its magnitude of people, space, and beauty. I would love to go again by myself to take notes and learn.

A few of my favorite sculptures.

As we went through the Christian paintings, I marveled at the Crucifixion pieces. We saw them on a Wednesday and in two days we would be remembering the event since it was Good Friday. I loved that we visited and saw these great works during Holy Week.

Part way through this section, Madelle turned to me upset. "They aren't even stopping to really see the art," she observed. I began watching the people. The majority of them just walked through with a glance left and right. A handful of people actually stopped and looked at the artwork. "I am kind of glad though," I commented, "this way we get to appreciate it more without the crowds keeping us from the art." She liked this thought and we continued on looking.

Finally, we came to the room with the Mona Lisa. People were stopped here. The room was huge and it was shoulder to shoulder. I worried Madelle would get anxious. "Do you want to go up front?" Her eyes had grown large with wonder and she nodded. We put her between us and went forward. She did wonderful and was delighted to see the beautiful lady. I loved her as well.

After seeing one of the most famous paintings in the world, we escaped the chaos and found the gift shop. We picked up a couple of things. Madelle was finished with the museum. Jerry wasn't, so we found some stairs and went down to the lower level and found a section with hardly any people. This was my favorite spot. The display was a lot of sculptures of scenes from Jesus' life. We spent a little time in this area and then made our way out of the museum which wasn't easy. There is a huge mall in one section, but Madelle was done.