The Louvre- all day long

Spent the day at the Louvre. Morning was in the Denon wing seeing Italian paintings and sculpture and large French paintings (some are REALLY large as you can see from the photo of David's painting of the coronation of Napoleon. Lots of people everywhere as the morning wore on. This is typical for this part of the museum and the reason why we tried to get there just as they opened. This enabled the students to get as close to Mona as possible before the tourists descended. I couldn't resist taking a picture of someone taking a picture of Mona. There's some irony in the way this intimate little painting has become such a monumental icon.

In the afternoon we retreated to less crowded parts of the museum, doing a comparison between the French Classicism of Poussin and the Baroque qualities of Ruebens. We also toured the apartments of Napoleon III. In the evening we picked up some eats and headed to Montmartre and the cathedral, Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart), a beautiful neo-Byzantine church that overlooks a fantastic view of the city from the highest point in the area.

Tomorrow we go to Musee D'Orsay, French art from 1848-1914. All the Impressionists and Post-impressionists will be there to greet us, as well as those pesky members of the Academy. Good night!