Da Vinci at the Louvre

There are museums all over the world, great museums, fine museums and exceptional museums and there's the Louvre in Paris. No other museum comes close in comparison to its diversity and size of collection of historical relics and fine art. Then, there are artists (or rather, painters...) and there was Leonardo da Vinci... undeniably one of the greatest renaissance genius of any time and definitely the most enigmatic. His full name is Leonardo di ser Piero DA VINCI. Scores of research and papers were written about his genius and his works and there are about a dozen or so surviving paintings from the hands of the master. Of these, seven can be viewed (read this - MORE THAN HALF OF ALL existing works) at the Louvre. This alone makes it worth the while and the sole reason for visiting the Louvre. With more than 35 000 objects on display, you'll probably need a week or so (some say an entire month) to see them all. The actual size of the Louvre will actually unfold once you've passed the long queue through the glass pyramid and into the huge underground lobby...

Once inside, photos are only allowed without flash and the Italian wing housing Mona Lisa (La Joconde) is always jammed packed with photo hungry tourists. Be prepared to go through security screening and NOT to bring along any large bags as that will automatically requires you to keep them with security lockers.

The last time I took a photo with La Joconde, I was much closer (compare to the photo on my blog page). Concern for the damage caused by flashing cameras had caused the authorities to increase the viewing distance. The full title of this famous painting reads: Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francseco del Giocondo, between 1503 and 1506.

St George slaying the Dragon: sorry...forget to get the details of this one. I was practically 'running': so many paintings to see, so little time...if you are a real art buff, hire a talking guide ( a recorded guide) or follow a guided trip. Having said that, one must be prepared to spend time...

The Virgin and Child with St. Anne

Saint John the Baptist with his heavenly gesture perfectly demonstrating Da Vinci's mastery of his technique known as 'sfumato' - the blurring of contours with a light mist (actually the skillful use of transparent glazes)

The Virgin of the Rocks

Portrait of a lady

Again St John the Baptist. This painting has a rather 'sharper' edge and is attributed to Da Vinci, meaning it could have been executed by his atelier under his tutelage.


Visit the Louvre at: http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/alaune.jsp?bmLocale=en