Louvre--Final Finds

Our last stop in the Louvre is full of items from all over the museum's many galleries and buildings.

First, the Apollo Gallery is home to the crown jewels of France, including some of historical regal items.

Entrance to the Apollo Gallery

Inside the Apollo Gallery

Displayed in cases are some of the royal crowns of France. This crown was made for Empress Eugenie in 1855 for the Universal Exposition that year. It is made of gold with 2,490 diamonds and 56 emeralds by the jeweler Gabriel Lemonnier.

Crown of Empress Eugenie

Also on display is the court sword of Louis XV (1710-1774), the handle made in London and the blade in Paris.  The crown on the right is Louis XV's, was especially commissioned for his coronation. The crown contained 282 diamonds, 64 colored stones (including 16 rubies, 16 sapphires and 16 emeralds) and 237 pearls. It was then sent to the abbey of Saint-Denis. Later on, the precious stones were replaced with paste copies.

Crowns and sword of state

In the Richelieu Wing (a separate but connected building), Guillaume Coustou's Marly Horses are on display along with some other French sculptures. The Horses were commissioned for the horse pond at Chateau de Marly in 1739, but were moved to Paris during the Revolution to protect them from the destruction of the Chateau.

Marly Horse

The other Marly Horse

Horse by someone else

Other statues and patrons  (note another backside)

One part of the museum I missed was Napoleon III's apartments. After so much wonderful art I was rather tired and didn't want to see what I imagine is a bunch of furniture. Plus, we all know threequels are usually disappointing (like Godfather III or Spider-Man III).

Some other little bits include a cool sphinx and an unfortunately self-harming fellow.

Sphinx from Egypt

Ouch!

Thus ends this visit to the Louvre. Maybe when the kids are older (and have more endurance for such things) we will take them there and see even more of the wonderful art housed inside and outside.

Louvre--Mesopotamian Menagerie

The Louvre includes many antiquities, the most striking to me being the artifacts from Mesopotamia. These massive winged bulls with human heads were part of the entrance to Sargon II's palace. They represent genies called shedu or lamassu and were meant to protect from enemies. They date from the 8th century B. C. and were found in Khorsabad, Assyria.

Welcoming entrance

Profile of the winged bull human headed sculpture

This statue of the lion dates back to the second millenium before Christ. The exact purpose is unclear but he does seem like a playful lion. He was found in a temple dedicated to the "king of the land" in the excavations of Mari, Syria. It reminds me a little bit of those mystical dogs at the end of Ghostbusters.

At first I thought it was maybe a frog--whoops!

The star attraction is the Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, made from basalt around 1792-1750 B. C. It is culturally significant as the first written set of laws, predating even the Bible. Nobody, including the king, could say, "Hey, the law really says this!" since it was written down. Even the back was used for writing down the laws (and you know how I love backsides!). I should note that it is not a code of law as we think of it today, but a set of legal precedents that should guide the ruler to make wise and just decisions.  As they explain on the Louvre's web site:

The legal part of the text uses everyday language and is here simplified, for the king wanted it to be understood by all. However, the legal decisions are all constructed in the same manner: a phrase in the conditional sets out a problem of law or social order; it is followed by a response in the future tense, in the form of the sanction for the guilty party or the settlement of a situation: "Should an individual do such and such a thing, such and such a thing will happen to him or her."

Code of Hammurabi (front)

Code of Hammurabi (backside)

The text also includes a bit of the history of Hammurabi and a list of all the towns and territories under his jurisdiction.

Next up on our tour is the art and artifacts that don't fall into a neat category, so they will be the last bits of the museum.

Louvre--Paintings Potpourri

The most famous painting in the Louvre is Leonardo's Mona Lisa from 1504. The French title is La Joconde (or in Italian it's La Gioconda), after her husband's name, Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine nobleman. In the 1980s the painting was attacked, so now it is behind bulletproof glass, which doesn't allow for good pictures. People were taking snapshots anyway, often trying to get themselves in the picture with her. The painting is surprisingly small.

Mona Lisa, without me stinking up the picture (follow the link for better pics)

Leonardo brought Mona Lisa with him when he was invited by Francois I to live and work in France. Leonardo arrived in 1516 and died three years later.

Opposite the Mona Lisa is Les Noces de Cana by Paolo Caliari, better known as Veronese. He lived from 1528 to 1588 and painted this in 1562-1563 for the refectory of the Benedictines in San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. The painting depicts Jesus at the wedding in Cana, where He turned water into wine. Veronese took the liberty of depicting the feast as a contemporary Venetian wedding party. The painting is surprisingly huge, an enormous contrast to Leonardo's little painting.

Les Noces de Cana by Veronese (click to enlarge)

Jacopo Robusti (1518-1594), known as Tintoreto, painted this Crowning of the Virgin in Heaven in 1580. It was part of the decorations of the Grand Counsel Room in the Doge's Palace in Venice.

Crowing of the Virgin in Heaven by Tintoreto (click to enlarge)

Also in the halls is Leonardo's other great work, John the Baptist.

Also protected by glass and not easily photographable

The brightness of this next painting caught my eye. It is the Virgin and Child with Two Angels, Saint Rose and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, attributed to Pietro Vannucci, also known as Perugin (1450-1523).

Virgin and Child by Perugin

Another famous painting is the Consecration of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). The scene is Notre-Dame, where Napoleon took the crown from the Pope and put it on his own head, crowning himself emperor. He then crowned Josephine as Empress. The canvas is enormous, taking up the entire height of the wall.

Consecration of Napoleon by David (click to enlarge)

A ton of French and Dutch paintings hang in the Louvre but I was not able to see them all. Sometimes it's better to concentrate on highlights rather than try to see everything. Every person's highlights are different, I suppose. These were mine.

Next up, we are off to Mesopotamia, neatly found inside the Louvre!

Louvre--Roman Relics

On our way from Greece to Rome in the Louvre we discover that it's more like all of Italy, not just the Eternal City. First, we meet the Croatian Apoxyomenos, a statue discovered just off Croatia (which, yes, is neither Rome nor Italy, but he wound up here, sorry) 45 meters deep in the Adriatic Sea in 1996. He's an athlete with a well-developed torso, more so than his legs, indicating he's a wrestler. The statue was mostly intact, missing only eye insets, the left little finger, and the strigil in his right hand, which athletes used to scrape oil and sand from their bodies. The statue is assumed to be from 4th century B.C., or at least a copy of one from that period. Two nearly identical (though not nearly complete) statues have been found, one in Ephesus and another in a 17th century A.D. Venice family's collection. The connection between the three was made by the detail work in the hair and the nearly identical size.

Croatian Apoxyomenos

The emperor Augustine ruled from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. and brought much peace to the empire. The imperial head of this statue was attached to a much later body, probably during Hadrian's reign in the 100s A.D.

Caesar Augustus

Two emperor's heads are situated by each other. Hadrian (of the Wall fame) is on the right looking over at a bronze version of himself.

Hadrian admires himself

Further on is matching thrones dedicated to Bacchus, but from the Vatican collection.

Bacchus Throne

Bacchus Throne

The Romans also have a hall dedicated to their statuary. Featured is a statue from the Collection Borghese's salle egyptienne, or Egyptian Room. She is Woman in prayer between two Ionic columns, made from red and white marble.

Roman hall

Woman in prayer between two ionic columns

Nearby is the famous Cupid and Psyche by sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822). The detail is quite exquisite.

Canova's Cupid and Psyche

Close up

Backside, because you need to see all of the statue!

Further on is a sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti of l'Esclave mourant or The Dying Slave from the tomb of Pope Julius II, made from 1513-1515. The project changed in scope several times. After Julius died apparently the money for the tomb dried up and the sculptures were never finished. After a few owners, this and one other wound up at the Louvre.

Dying Slave

The other captive from the tomb is l'Esclave rebelle or The Rebellious Slave.

Rebelling Captive

From northern Italy is this Hercules Fighting the Hydra, a fountain figure from the 17th century in bronze.

Hercules, maybe playing baseball or golf

Our last sculpture is the Nymph of Fontainebleau, a bronze relief from the 16th century, originally over the gate of the chateau de Fontainebleau. Benvenuto Cellini is the sculptor.

Nymph of Fontainebleau

Our next stop will be to look at various paintings in the Louvre.

The Walking Dead Ep. 316, Welcome to the Tombs

The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 16: Welcome to the Tombs

TV rating

TV-14

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Gore level

7.0 out of 10--Usual zombie kills though not as explicit as usual; Some ghastly human wounds and bit of gore here and there.

Other offensive content

Some bad language; lots of human-on-human violence, including children killing children; dubious sanctioning of human-on-human violence; mercy self-killing (see an interesting and worth-while discussion on the topic here, but it does have spoilers).

How much zombie mythology/content

Nothing new this episode.

How much fun

Another grim, bittersweet episode.

Synopsis & Review

The final conflict happens as the Governor mounts up a major attack on the prison after he lost eight men at the end of the last episode. Rick and friends are still getting ready, but are they getting ready to run or to stand and fight.

Andrea's fate is dragged out through the episode. For someone who tried her hardest to keep people from dying, she has little to show for it other than a slow, steady stream of death all around her. But that is pretty much the show, right?

In other complicated situations, Carl is following in his father's footsteps--he wants to be a responsible adult and take what he thinks are the necessary steps to keep everyone safe. He shows signs of going too far, even if he isn't seeing the ghost of his mom yet. Rick on the other hand is finally pulling himself together. The poetic moment where he picks his sheriff's badge was pretty sweet.

The conclusion wasn't quite as satisfying as I wanted it to be. There's still some major loose threads left dangling. That keeps us viewers wanting more, I suppose. Or debating about what will happen next season.

Louvre--Greecian Goodies

The first place I went inside the Louvre was to the ancient Greek sculpture section. That was definitely what I was most excited to see.

Hall of Greek statuary

The Femme drapee et voilee dates from 270-250 B.C. (or avant J.-C., as the French signs say). She could use one of those heads next to her!

Femme drapee et voilee

This funerary statue of a woman is more modest, not even admitting what period she dates from! The sign says the 300s.

At least she kept her head about her

These Athens Cult Reliefs also date from the 300s B.C.

Athens Cult Reliefs

Praxiteles is the Athenian sculptor who invented the female nude according to the sign in the Louvre. His dates are 370-330 B. C., though it seems to me Eve was invented much earlier by a different Artist.

Bits of sculpture from various artists

He did not limit himself to female nudes, as demonstrated by the Apollo Sauroctonos (that means, "Lizard Slayer"!) from 350-340 B.C.

Apollo Sauroctonos

Another male nude nearby is Ares or Mars, the god of war, dating from first or second century A.D.

Ares/Mars, wearing a helmet at least

The centerpiece of the room is Venus de Milo. The statue was found in 1820 on the island of Milos. The French government bought it for 6000 francs. She has been identified as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (her Roman name is Venus).  The museum sign by the Venus de Milo has a great description:

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. In ancient Greek, her name supposedly meant 'borne out of the foam'--referring to the legend of her birth. The goddess is most often portrayed nude, renewing her erotic powers by bathing: Aphrodite semi draped or nude, leaving the water. She is associated with the swan or the dove, and in her popular form, especially venerated by the courtesans, she is portrayed riding on a goat. Her principal centres of worship are Cyprus and Cythera.

The statue follows Praxiteles' style, but was made in the second century B.C., so long after he died. I have to say, one of the nice things about going to a museum is that you can appreciate a statue properly. You can walk around it, view it from different angles, see the various details in it. I spent a good bit of time here.

Venus de Milo, standard view

Venus de Milo, from her left

Venus de Milo, from her right

Venus de Milo, backside

Alas for you, dear readers, backsides are a minor theme of my Louvre posts! Too bad today isn't April Fools' Day.

Further on is the Aphrodite du type de la Venus d'Arles, dite Venus Cesi, found in Rome in the 16th century but dating from the first or second century A.D.

Aphrodite/Venus

Switching to a clothed goddess, we have Athena Mattei or Minerva, from 450-330 B.C.  Wisely, she does not let her age be known too precisely. The statue is actually a Roman copy of the ancient Greek statue.

Athena/Minerva

A more recent statue (from c. 100 B.C.) called La Pallas de Velletri is given a place of honor at the end of the hall opposite from Venus de Milo. Pallas is one Roman name for Athena, the other is Minerva.

La Pallas de Velletri

Off in a stairway by itself is the Winged Victory, a statue with base and plinth discovered by Charles Champoiseau on the island of Samothrace in 1863. The plinth and base (which is shaped like a ship's prow) are made from gray Rhodian marble, while the Victory statue is white Parian marble.

Winged Victory, from the front

Left side view

Right side view

Some reconstruction was required, so the left part of the bust and right wing are plaster additions. The right hand of the statue was found in 1950 and is in this display case:

Or it would be, if it hadn't been removed!

Samothrace's sanctuary was dedicated to the Cabeiri gods, invoked for seafarers' safety from shipwreck and for victory in battle. This monument may have been dedicated to those gods or built to commemorate a sea battle like the ones between the Rhodians and King Antiochus III in 190 B. C.

There was this random centaur in the area too!

I forgot to take a picture of the marker for this one!

The room also had a grand exit, befitting such a splendid collection.

A memorable exit

Next, we move to Italy!

Europe's Dirty Little Secret

You may have heard about the recent scandal over the discovery of horse meat mixed into other meats sold in stores here in England. It's been a great boon for the local butchers, who proudly display signs saying they sell only locally grown livestock. But as we have traveled through different countries in Europe, we've discovered a much more shocking secret. Apparently it's no big deal because these items are sold openly in stores, clearly marked with their contents. I'm talking about food items that have made me blue--they eat Smurfs!!!

They make Smurfs into gummy-worm-type snacks!

Smurfs, served German-style

They make them into marshmallows!

Spanish-style Smurfs

In case you think it's limited to Germany and Spain, look at the many different languages on the packaging...this is mass marketing, people!

A Smurf by any other name would taste as sweet--Shakespeare

The worst part is, L loves them and demands them every time we see them in the store.