Paris - The Orsay Mona Lisa Revealed - 7me

Plate LXIII - Revealed, Mona Lisa of the Orsay…

La Gioconda is a man.

When making an offering to this Mona Lisa the reward was not a fixed, if enigmatic smile. No! Any donor was repaid for their generosity by an impossibly slow and subtle lowering of the left eyelid - so slow that it could not be called a wink. Lasting every bit of five to ten seconds, the Mona Lisa would then return to that famous fixed stare, those eyes that follow the viewer continuing to engage and to haunt you after you had taken your leave.

I have seen many ‘mimes’ in Europe, and have previously given you my thoughts about them, but I was fortunate to see this masterpiece of them all. Quite coincidentally, a few months after my return home I was telling a friend of this experience, and learned that the artist behind the Mona Lisa of the Orsay had been interviewed on television by American talk show host Connie Chung. I caught a rebroadcast of the show, and although I now forget the details I do recall that he, for despite the shadowed cleavage she was a he, was an art student from one of the eastern Europe countries, funding his entire course of studies through this ‘performance’.

On a nearby stall with tourist brochures of Paris I spotted one with the Mona Lisa on the cover. I had not previously noticed the positioning of Da Vinci’s subject’s hands. Her right hand does rest on her left, and the accurately portrayed gap between her right index and middle fingers now intrigues me as much as that smile.

No mime will ever be the same again. The envelope please? …….

Paris - The Orsay Mona Lisa - 7me

Plate LXII - Mona Lisa of the Orsay…

Whether you call her Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, you’ll know that da Vinci’s most famous work, and perhaps THE star attraction in all of Paris, lives alone in the Louvre Museum. The most frequent comment heard when getting through the galaxy of flashing camera lights aimed at this masterpiece is dismay or even disappointment at its relatively small size. At 53 by 77 centimetres there is no real justification for this, but perhaps the scale of the only other artwork equal to the Mona Lisa in reputation and renown, Michelangelo’s statue of David, sets unrealistic expectations.

The Mona Lisa doesn’t get out much these days. Acquired for France, from the artist in around 1515 by King Francis I the portrait was presumably moved from one residence to another as the royal court set up ‘camp’ in the various palaces and chateaux in which the King chose to spend his time. Certainly, during a recent visit to Chambord it was implied she had frequent guest status there. A certain Vincenzo Peruggia, who intended returning her to Italy, famously stole her in August 1911. She was recovered and returned to the Louvre in December of 1913, and apart from being placed in secret storage during the Second World War, plus a documented visit to Washington in the New World in 1963 she has not traveled since.

And yet I was to see her here on public exhibition, in the open air square that fronts the Orsay Museum. The crowds attracted were as dense as I ever saw at the Louvre. And, beneath her frame was a small box to place one’s offerings of appreciation.

Something was amiss. Did the Louvre know?
Read tomorrow's post to find the answer.

Paris - Venus de Milo - 1er

Plate XIII - Louvre - Venus de Milo

Although there are parts of the Louvre where photography is permitted, generally it is at least discouraged. With the number of visitors passing through its doors daily the continuous popping of camera flashes can be very distracting when looking at the art. At times you’d imagine you are in a discotheque – and I pity any epileptic who ventures in. Although even I acknowledge feeling that human desire to sneak a shot, if you simply have to have a picture there is a plentiful supply of commercially available prints, slides and today, electronic media.

I also believe that protection of images of artworks is to be encouraged, and so despite the temptation to join the hordes of tourists who choose to ignore these ‘requests’ to not use flash photography I generally do comply. I have mentioned that the flash on this particular camera was of little use in any case, but I had decided (after all that sanctimony) that even I would allow myself one single indulgence in the Louvre, and even to treat the no flash rule a little like the average Frenchman treats no smoking laws. There were three prime candidates on my list. The Mona Lisa would be the obvious one; the Victory of Samothrace another; and the Venus de Milo the final possibility.

Something rather unusual made my decision for me. On the day I included the Venus de Milo in my Louvre itinerary, a team of photographers was in the museum (apparently filming for a commercial). Close public access to the statue was temporarily restricted by a series of rope barriers, and Venus was lit from almost every angle. As I authoratively made my way to the front of the curious crowd of onlookers a guard saw me, unfastened a rope cordon and waved me in. I guess I resembled one of the crew. My desire to blend-in in Paris was at its best!!! Not one to miss a chance, I approached the statue, crouched slightly, removed the camera from my pocket and had my own picture of Venus. I returned the camera to my jacket, turned and went back into the crowd, avoiding the gaze of the guard who had given me my lucky access pass.

Mine is a fairly typical view of Venus, but taken with no flash, no rules broken (I don’t think), and no (additional) inconvenience to anyone.

I felt good about that.

Paris - Louvre Denon - 1er

Plate XII - Louvre - Denon Wing and Grande Pyramide ...

Visiting the Louvre is a little like eating the proverbial elephant – it is best taken in small pieces at one time. Of course those with limited time in Paris will try to (sadly even need to) fit it all into a single visit. I pity them for the art indigestion they will suffer. Even with my having taken several trips to the Louvre in the course of my first stay, I found myself at times numbly walking through an area thinking, “Wow! - more great paintings.” I consider myself to be an art lover, and when I realised one such occasion was after an almost cursory glance into the salon containing the (Peter Paul) Rubens’ Médicis Cycle – one of the major achievements of his career – I knew it was time to quit for yet another day.

On this, my first trip to Paris, I had one major disappointment with the Louvre – the grand French master-works of the 19th century were out of the museum on a touring exhibition. I mention this, not so much in anger, but more as a cautionary – it can happen. Recently, in 2009 even the Mona Lisa had the day off, as she was repositioned in the gallery. Amongst the must see works I had hoped to view were Jacques-Louis David’s Madame Récamier (a personal favourite), Napoléon on Horseback, and Napoléon Crowning Josephine (an identical work by David on view in Versailles, and which I did see, has an enigmatic but notable difference in that one of the ladies-in-waiting wears a pink gown in Versailles, but wears white in the Louvre version). Then, there were the works of Géricault, Ingres and above all Delacroix’ iconic Liberty Leading The People. All out. I rationalised that it is good to know that the Louvre shares its treasures by doing such loan exhibitions, and of course if any reason were needed to revisit this city, this would be it. There was still so much else to see here and my first day in the Louvre was spent trying to complete the works within the Denon wing - the French sculpture in the Cours Marly and Puget, the Oriental Antiquities, the Chambers of Napoleon III and the German, Flemish and Dutch paintings. Not to mention the Decorative Arts displays. Still quite a sizable jumbo.

I could not take it all in!!