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<\/a>\u00a0Back through the gardens to the Louvre, this time to listening to Jason Aldean\u2019s Take A Little Ride\u2019. On the way back noticed the original statue of the centaur carrying off the maiden. I\u2019ve posted a photo of it on Facebook, captioned Robert and I leaving on our honeymoon<\/i>, but didn\u2019t know where it was from. I asked a passing Asian tourist to take my photo with it, and she obliged, but alas, the idea I wanted the statue in the frame didn\u2019t translate.<\/p>\nBy now my feet were numb and my calves and knees ached. I went straight to the grand hall of statues, sat on some handy steps and drew the front of one of the statues I sketched yesterday. After an hour I was joined by three small children, (maybe 4, 7 and 9)\u00a0 They asked questions \u2013 how long does this take to do? What\u2019s the easiest part to draw? Where do you get this toned paper sketchbook? What part do you have left to do?<\/i> The most curious and vocal was the middle child, a girl, who fielded the questions her little brother asked and told me they were from Dubai. The youngest one sat down and leaned against my side to watch me draw. They were fearless and fascinated. I told her to Google art supply stores in Paris, and bring a sketchbook with her tomorrow, recalling how much my son had enjoyed that when he was in Rome with me. They were clearly well to do and educated; her English was excellent and they were all well mannered and unafraid of even strange adults.\u00a0 They were with me maybe 20 minutes, while their caretakers watched them from a distance. I have all kinds of backstories for them in my head.<\/p>\n
Eventually they left and I finished the drawing. It was only 7, so I decided to visit the Napoleon III apartments. Needless to say, he put the grand in grandeur, the decor version of shock and awe.\u00a0 The only thing that really got to me was the bed of Madame Recamier (violet and yellow silk, and Egyptian influences on the frame), and the chair throne. Just the initial B, but in truly extraordinary embroidery. \u00a0You know your feet hurt when the strongest impression of the apartments are the wooden floors, so yielding after hours on unforgiving marble.<\/p>\n
Somehow wandered into the medieval section and was limping through it when I realized I might run out of ability to walk before the Louvre closed, so made my way towards Denon wing where the masters of the Italian renaissance and Miss Mona reside.<\/p>\n
The stairs were still swarming with people, but as many were leaving as were arriving, so that was a hopeful sign. Slowly made my way into the grand hall. Ah, no wonder its packed out. It\u2019s not just Mona, it\u2019s the grace and magnificence that Raphael and da Vinci and Titian and all their brethren possess in such abundance. It\u2019s the greatest hits of the renaissance album. Everything\u2019s excellent.<\/p>\n
The best part was a surprise. There were young people stationed throughout, wearing orange and black teeshirts with \u2018Les Jeunes ont la Parole\u2019 printed on them. Orange is the new black even here.\u00a0 They were art history students and this turned out to be a part of their curriculum, to explain various works of art in depth. They spoke a charming if rudimentary English, better than my toddler French for sure.<\/p>\n