Paris Day 6 - Louvre (and it just keeps going)

Trying to write about the visit to the Louvre is almost as exhuasting/energinzing as being there in the first place!   I keep looking at all the photos I took, thinking about what it was that I loved about each of those paintings (or about the things I wanted to remember).  I don't think i have time to capture it while still being in travel mode.  So... here is just a straight up download of images, and i will get around to commentary at some point in the future (lol.... i hope!)

Hieronymous Bosch, "Ship of Fools"

I fell in love with Bosch when Bonnie Wyora and I lived in Belgium with Wyona and Greg back in 1985-86.

This detail from the painting reminds me of a bunch of people singing kareoke around a circular microphone.   So.... how many versions of "Ship of Fools" might I imagine them singing?

• Robert Plant? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPyPT7fb0-Q
• Greatful Dead? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iZ49s7eH5g
• Erasure? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekc_aR5LyAk
• World Party? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHh0V7UjVXI
• John Cale? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDsZ2hiCi2g
• The Doors? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75dZn_Te_y8
• Bob Seger? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDsZ2hiCi2g
• Echo & the Bunnymen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lt7sasCi7

Pieter Bruegel the Elder,  "The Blind Leading the Blind"

I have loved this one from the first time I saw it.  I can't count the number of times I have felt myself as part of just such a procession!  and when is because i am missing something (ie. metaphorical eyes), or have something that is just not working (ie. metaphorical eyes)

missing something...

vs. something not working?

I can almost hear the crows having a conversation in the distance

Joachim Beuckelaer, "Interior of a Kitchen" 

so much food here to prepare!

Again, there are lots of things going on in the background.  Up in the left corner, between the woman's head, and the hanging rooster, you get a view of a fireplace in the background.

I love her direct gaze

If you take a closer look, the scene back there is a bit ambiguous.  She is cooking, but why is the guy behind her reaching around?

uh... dude.... stop bugging her

Also, if you take a closer look at the big slab of pork laying on the table, you can see that a fly is also having a visit.

flies are part of kitchen life always?

the detail on the fly is amazing

Jan Massys, "David and Bathsheba"

David here is a real lurker, way up in the corner (you can see the guy's finger pointing up there).  Not sure who Bathsheba is talking with?   It would make sense if it were supposed to be Uriah (her husband).  This painting has the influence of Mannerism again (look at the angles, the pose, the musculature of Bathsheba... who is undoubtedly gorgeous).  There is such beauty in the feathers, the skin, the dog, the fabrics...

can never go wrong with feathers and pearls!

the fabric?!

what a glance! love her hair accessories

check out the dog's collar

Hans Seihald Beham, "Painted Table with scenes from the Life of King David"

There was also a lovely table, which was also painted with scenes from the life of David (with again a focus on his obsession with Bathsheba... and shall we say his murder of her husband?).

Wtewael's "Perseus Rescues Andromeda".

Another one in the Mannerist style.  Having spent so much time reading Rick Riordan books to the boys when they were young, it is always fun to spend time with greco-roman characters/stories.  

I am not sure that Andromeda is really in so much need of rescuing, but... there you go! It was fun to spend time sketching again (a good way to rest!). It let me spend some time in quiet contemplation (including questions about how the heck one actually draws a horse, or a sea monster, and what is the difference between them).  

more sketching fun

Also, I could better see how much attention was paid to all the shells at the bottom of the painting (so much detail, and the colours are lush.,. and maybe echo the pearliness of her skin)

And at this point, my audioguide told me it was running out of power, and i had to trade it in for another.   

This meant a long walk back to the beginning.   

waaaa. Ah, well.  I did the walk, and then stopped for some refreshment! Happiness!  Loins regirded (thank you soup a l'oignon!), I plugged the headphones in and continued the tour...

The view from the Cafe Angelina in the Louvre

(to be continued)