The tour of the Louvre was brilliant! I was mezmorized by the glass pyramid because it brought in so much nature light into the center of the Louvre; though the guide was right about it echoing too much. One of the things that really interested me was the garden that held the horse statues. 

I wasn’t able to get a closer picture; however the back horses were made in a more Classical style for King Louis XVI because he was more into story telling through the statues. The right statue is a woman blowing a trumpet on a horse, representing war and victory while the left statue is a man with wings on his ankles – known as Mercury – and representing peace and prosperity. They go towards each other has a way to say war and victory brings peace and prosperity.

The ceiling painting in Napoleon III’s room was amazing.! It showed Napoleon III and his wife sitting together as angels bring up the physical building of the Louvre to them. It suggested Napoleon III was, in a way, divine and the angels had specially made the Louvre for him and his wife. The building being brought up doesn’t look finished, as there is an angel in the     foreground with a scroll that seems to display the final blueprints of the Louvre.

What really excited me today was seeing the Mona Lisa in person. Though getting to the front to see her close up was disasterous, I am happy that I got to get as close as I had. The guide mentioned her being based on a married woman that Di Vinci got bored of and started painting his own version of a womanly face. What is breathtaking is her eye contact with the viewer. In almost all married women portraits, the women are looking slightly down and away from the painter; however, the Mona Lisa is looking directly at the viewer. She stares at you with a slight smile as if she knows something that might not be known by you. It’s almost haunting to think about, especially since she was not dressed lie married women would be. Married women would have their hair back and flashy clothes. Lisa, on the other hand, wore a simple tunic with her hair down and a drape, which is not generally wore. Her forehead,   busom, and hands all have a fair amount of light shinging on them. This lighting could suggest that Di Vinci was, in a way, painting a self portait: the forehead for ideas, the busom for     feeling and emotion, and the hands for artistry. She was beautiful to look upon, particularly for the fact that Di Vinci continually painted over her again and again, making the painting extremely delicate and hard to restore.