paula1470

I am leaving this week for my trip to London and Paris. Thanks to all who helped me select my Paris hotel. I have done searches for my Louvre questions but still would like a little more information.

First is the Mona Lisa exhibit open every day of the week? I looked at the Louvre website but couldn't quite tell. Second, we are only going to be in Paris on Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday obviously is out because the museum is closed. Because of our short visit, we (my daughters and I) would like to only spend several hours at the Louvre. I was interested in seeing the Flemish painters and this exhibit is closed on Mondays. This only leaves Sunday afternoon. I know Sundays are crowded but we would probably be there at the end of the day. We will buy our pass at the Metro and use the underground entrance.

My question is whether it would be better to go Sunday afternoon or just go first thing Monday morning and not worry about the Flemish painters. I heard the Ruben room was amazing but we can't do everything in such a short trip. We definitely want to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and then other exhibits as time will allow.
Thanks for your help

elaine

Mona and Venus are 'at home' every day, unless there's some renovation project going on, but that would be a special exception.

If you want to see the Flemish paintings and the website says that area is closed on Mondays, then go Sunday. Sunday afternoon might not be so bad. If you can do without the Flanders lot, then Monday. I don't think someone else can decide this for you. I'm not that much of a Netherlandish or Rubens fan myself, there are many other treasures in the Louvre that I enjoy much more.
The Leonardos other than Mona are wonderful, and your girls might like
the George de la Tour paintings--he did wonderful things by using light to illuminate faces.

Have a great trip.

artlover

Rick Steves' book Mona Winks may be very helpful for you here as he has a map of the Louvre and it's helpful to know where things are before you go so that you can save time.

Now, this is just my take, but while Mona is certainly an incredible painting, there are several paintings in the category of "genius" that will not have the "traffic" and "congestion" of Mona, so that you can do and see more. IMO the Rembrant's were simply amazing...AND I had the room all to myself! (Well, DH was there, too.)

Have a great trip.

(Another Paula)

paula1470

Elaine thanks for your reply. Thanks for the George de la Tour recommendation. What other artists do you recommend beside the Flemish?

Artlover (another Paula) - I had also heard that the Rembrandt's were amazing and uncrowded but it seems they are closed on Monday.

We will probably play it by ear depending on how we feel when we get to Paris.

Underhill

Go on Sunday, but call the Louvre first to ask whether the Flemish paintings are really closed on Mondays. You never know.

Besides the Dutch and Flemish paintings (good choice, especially the Vermeers and Brueghels)there's an Impressionist collection on (I think) the ground floor of the Sully Wing. The paintings were given specifically to the Louvre, not the Orsay, and make a nice change of pace. For French art, see the Napoléon III rooms in the Richlieu Wing for sheer opulence and the David painting of Napoleon's coronation.

For me the highlight of the Louvre is always the Winged Victory as you look up at here from the bottom of the stairs. Breathtaking.

paula1470

Underhill, thanks for your reply. I will check with the Louvre about their schedule. I was already considering the Napeleon III rooms and had forgotten about the Winged Victory but definitely want to see that also. We are not obsessed with seeing the Mona Lisa and if there is a crowd will just move on to something else. However, if we are there at the right time, it would be nice to see. My older daughter just spent 5 weeks in Italy and saw the "Pieta" and would also like to see the Venus de Milo.

jsmith

There are one or two other works that might be worth a visit: Bathsheba at her Bath (Rembrandt), Liberty Leading the People (Delacroix), The Grande Odalesque (Ingris), Boy with a Club Foot (Jose de Ribera), Durer Self Portrait, Coronation of Napoleon (David), The Rialto Bridge (Canaletto), Four Seasons (Poussin).

For three demensional art you can look for Michaelangelo's Slaves, The Tomb of Philippe Pot, Winged Assyrian Bulls from Iran, The Marley Horses.

If you find The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (La Tour) when you return you can visit the Kimbell in Fort Worth for Caravaggio's The Cardsharps. But as long as you're in the Louvre find Caravaggio's The Fortune Teller and The Death of the Virgin. These last two are on the left wall about halfway down the gallery to the Mona Lisa.

Underhill

The best time to see the Venus de Milo is in the evening--when we were there no one else was around. The evening hours also give you the best shot at the Mona Lisa; otherwise you mostly see people taking flash photos of the painting. If that's the case when you're at the Louvre, just go look at the other Leonardos.

shellio

Paula, if you're a Rubens fan, you should make an effort to see the massive series of paintings in the Galerie Medicis on the second floor of the Richelieu Wing.

If you'd like to "preview" in order to help you plan your Louvre visit, go to http://www.louvre.fr/ and click on "Visite virtuelle". You can see a lot of the museum's treasures and map your route ahead of time.

Go on Sunday. Who knows, you may want to go back on Monday to see more.

paula1470

jsmith-Thanks for your suggestions, I will definitely take them into consideration. Not sure about the reference to the Kimbell in Fort Worth (I have been to Fort Worth but I live in Southern California!!)
Shellio - The Louvre website is great. I have already done their virtual tours of some of the exhibits. It really helps for planning purposes. We willl probably go ahead and go on Sunday afternoon to make sure we see all the exhibits. Thanks for your help.

twoflower

Watch for a small blue denim cap at the feet of the Mona Lisa. Probably looking somewhat disshevilled by now, after being kicked and trodden on by the feet of a thousand tourists.

jsmith

paula1470, the Kimbell in Fort Worth is a gem of an art museum and anyone visiting Fort Worth should visit the cultural center.

If you look at the two sites following you will see why seeing the two paintings is suggested.

http://www.abcgallery.com/C/caravagg...avaggio12.html

http://www.abcgallery.com/L/latour/latour43.html

The abcgallery website is one of the most comprehensive collections of art I'm aware of.

elaine

I don't want to hit you over the head too much with George de la Tour, but this website has excellent photos of some of his works in the Louvre, click on the small pic and it enlarges

http://www.christusrex.org/www2/art/Latour.htm