Victory & Mona Lisa

After our river tour, we were bussed to the Louvre, one of the greatest art museums on earth, and turned loose to see whatever we wanted to see, taking our sweet time as we chose, all with a time limit of an hour and a quarter. Basically, the plan is to follow the arrows to see Mona Lisa and put some speed on it.

To a person familiar with the Art Institute of Chicago, another great art museum but of course smaller, the contrast is powerful. On a late Wednesday afternoon, the Louvre was hot and sticky, crowded with people and with little movement of air. In Chicago, the artworks are protected by steady temperatures and humidity levels. Wonder if the artworks need the protection?

As we hurried past other great works of art, we were able to see Winged Victory in a stairwell on the way to see Mona Lisa. But another contrast is one of great interest to photographers. In several museums, especially art museums, photography is prohibited in order 'to protect the works of art.' This is patently untrue, of course, is ALL photography is banned, as any image collected by my camera without flash cannot adversely affect a painting. But even flash is in question in my mind, as the Louvre has no restrictions on flash and no extra cost for a photo permit. Interesting!

The hustle to see Mona Lisa? It was worth it.