So we went to the Louvre the other day (July 3rd) and let's just say I totally geeked out. This museum is an amazing piece of architecture that housed many kings of France back in the day. And let me just say that you could completely tell. There were rooms I walked in that left me breathless by how magnificent it all looked. The attention to detail is one worth noting. We weren't able to cover everything, even if I went every day while being in Paris, I don't think I'd cover it all. But I did see some pretty interesting pieces and some pretty famous ones as well.
The first one is Giuseppe Arcimboldo who painted
The Seasons. So Arcimboldo was born in Italy in 1526 to a family of painters. He studied Leonardo da Vinci's pieces and eventually landed the job as imperial court painter where he worked for kings and royal families for 25 years. He created these pieces to celebrate the reign of Emperor Maximilian II in 1563 because Max loved biological sciences of botany and such. My impression of these pieces is that it sparks my curiosity. I want to sit there and study the pieces more because the fusion between nature, humans, and art is really nice to look at. His attention to detail is incredible and the amount of different colors he uses in just a small area really makes the detail stand out.
The second piece I'm going to talk about is called
The Young Martyr by Paul Delaroche who was a French painter. This piece was made in 1855 and it depicts a young woman that has just had her life taken from her. It is said that this woman shares a resemblance with Shakespeare's Ophelia because both woman drowned, the difference being this Christian martyr had her life taken from her while Ophelia took her own life. The way Delaroche painted this piece leads the viewer to an eery feeling because the girl still looks life like, as if she had just died. The figures in the back are said to be the girl's parents. I like this piece because it is visually pleasing, I like the colors used. But I also like the story being told here. I like the creepy aspect that says to me, "if only I had gotten here sooner, we might could have prevented this."
And finally is the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Not much is known about this piece other than the materials being the figure was carved from Parian marble and the base is dark blue Rhodian marble. The base is that of a ship, so it is suggested that she was commissioned because of a great naval victory. Her Hellenistic style is one of the finest in sculptures. She is the most famous monument of the Samothrace. I like Nike because the way her skirt looks as if it's moving. She looks majestic and powerful, yet elegant and peaceful at the same time.
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