A Brief Introduction to Louvre Museum, Paris (Part--II)

Musee de Antiquities on the ground floor-- Petit Galerie

Seven  Niche Column Type  Sarcophagus (Sculpture on  stone coffin),  Musee de Antiques

Department of Egyptian Antiquities Opened by Jean Francois Champollion

  

Egyptian gods and goddesses of war, Egyptian Antiquities

  In 1800 Napoleon opened Musee de Antiques in the Anne of Austria's apartments. On the ground floor of the petit galerie, a new monumental staircase was set up for the Salon Carre and for the grand galerie separately. In 1824 Musee de Sculpture Moderne was set up on the ground floor of the  Cour Carree (square court). In 1826 Jean Francois Champollion, the first curator of the museum, opened the new department of the Egyptian antiquities having nearly 50,000 collections. In 1849 Europe's first museum of Assyrian art was inaugurated in two galleries in the north wing of the Cour Carree. The Mexican, Algerian and ethnographic museums were opened on the ground floor and on the second floor of the pavilion de Beauvais in the north wing of the Cour Carree. During the time of the prince-President Louis Napoleon, three new galleries were opened between 1848 and 1851. During 1852 and 1857 the north wing linking the Louvre and Tuilleries as well as the Cour Napoleon were completed. The Musee de Souverains - the museum exhibiting various collections of royal dynasties- was opened by Louis Napoleon.  

     

Assyrian Galerie in the north wing of Cour Carree

                 

Assyrian Galerie

Immortal Archers, Susa Galerie, Iranian Collections by Marcel Dieulaoy

           

Sculpture of the animal Griffin in Susa Galerie

                     

Persian lion of Darius of Susa Palace 

Persian Sculpture

Mithra, Persian Sun God, sacrificing a bull

   
  In 1871 the Tuilleries Palace was burnt down when the revolutionary army attacked. With the demolition of the Tuilleries Palace in 1882, the Louvre Palace became the sole museum of culture and arts. In this museum all rare and valuable artistic and cultural artefacts from all parts of the world are displayed. So many people dedicated their lives to enrich and expand this gigantic museum of museums which has many departments and sections. Marcel Dieulaoy, the French archaelogist, inaugurated the Susa galleries with his rare Iranian collections of art. In 1922 the Islamic arts gallery was opened. In 2012 the new Islamic gallery was opened in the lower ground floor. Between 1932 and 1938 Henri Verne, Director of National Museums, refurbished the galleries of the Egyptian and Near East antiquities. During the second World War (1939-1945) most of the articles were moved to safer Chateaus (castles) and the museum was closed. In 1943 the Musee de la Marine was transferred from the North Wing of Cour Carree(I and II floors) to a wing of the new Palais de Challiot. In 1945 the Asian Collections were moved to the Musee Guimet. 

Statue of Louis XIV,  Musee de Souverains

           

Alexander, the Great, Musee de Souverains

Musie Guimet, Asian Collections Galerie

A Row of Dancers, Musee Guimet

Statues of Buddhas, Musee Guimet

In 1981 President Francois Mitteraand launched the Grand Louvre Project by doubling the museum's exhibition's space to make this palace function as a full-fledged museum. The extension and modernization of the Louvre was entrusted to the eminent Chinese-American architect, Ieoh Ming Pei in 1983. The 21 feet high glass pyramid designed by I.M.Pei was inaugurated on March 30, 1989 adding another marvel to this museum. Rising from the center of the Cour Napoleon this pyramid serves as the focal point of the museum's main axes of circulation  leading to various departments. It also serves a grand entrance to the Lounge in the reception hall scattering light through its multi-faceted surfaces as if it symbolizes the universal significance of this museum encompassing all cultures of the world. In 1999 the French President Jacques Chirac announced the creation of a national Museum of Tribal and Aboriginal art on the ground floor of the Pavilion des Sessions. 

Eastern Antiquity Collections

 In this spacious musuem spreading over a vast area of 60,600 sq.meters there are three main wings. The Richlieu Wing on the north side has galleries displaying Near East antiquities and decorative arts. It has also precious collections of French, German and North European art. Famous paintings, drawings and prints right from Middle Ages to nineteenth century belonging to Europe are displayed. The works of great painters like Reubens, Rembrandt, Jan Van Eyck etc. are seen. On the first floor one can see ornamental clocks, furniture, tapestries and porcelain works of art. On the same floor the apartments of Napoleon III are located.

Denon Wing with Greek and Roman antiquities

Richlieu Wing with the sculptures, porcelain figurines and furniture of Middle Ages

Sully Wing with Egypt and Greek works of art along with French Paintings

 The Denon Wing on the south side has Greek and Roman antiquities along with Italian, French and Spanish paintings dating from 17th to 19th centuries. On the first floor one can see various items of furniture, clocks, porcelain ware and tapestries belonging to 17th and 18th centuries. The famous painting of Mona Lisa is on the first floor of Denon Wing in Room No. 6. The paintings done by great Italian painters like Raphael and Michael Angelo, Titian and Botticelli  are found in first, third, fifth and eight rooms. The famous sculpture of Winged Victory of Samothrace is seen on the first floor, Denon Wing.The Sully Wing on the east side displays collections of ancient Egypt and Greek art along with French paintings. The Sully Wing is the oldest part of the museum having thirty rooms on the ground and first floors. In the lower ground floor of this wing one can still see the remnants of the medieval castle of Louvre (Salle Base), a vaulted ceiling on two columns at the center of the hall. In the ground floor and underground rooms one can see French sculptures and Near East works of art.On the first floor there are royal apartments of Napoleon III with richly decorated chambers and paintings. On the second floor French paintings are displayed.

 This Museum has two satellite museums . The Louvre-Lens is an art museum located in the mining town, Lens, 200 kms north of Paris. With the collaboration of the Japanese Architectural Agency SANAA , the project was started in 2005 to display nearly six hundred works of art. It was opened for public in December, 2012. The  Louvre Abu Dhabhi Museum was started in 2007 in Abu Dhabhi, U.A.E. on the Saadiyat island with the collaboration of the local government and it was completed in December, 2015. 

 Thus the Louvre Museum has established a very fabulous and wonderful institution of global culture accessible to all by having branches in other places and linking the European masterpieces with those of other countries in the world. No wonder then that more than eight million visitors come to this marvellous musuem every year from all parts of the globe.
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   8th May, 2016                                                      Somaseshu Gutala

A Brief Introduction to Louvre Museum, Paris (Part--I)

Louvre Museum, Paris

Louvre Museum (Night View)

 Before writing about my short visit to the Louvre Museum, it seems proper to give a brief introduction about this world-famous magnificent museum which would help you in understanding the gradual evolution of this museum from a primitive medieval fortress to a spacious palace and then into a museum with a vast collection of more than one million rare works of art collected from various parts of the world, a very gigantic enterprise in which many kings, nobles, donors, architects, sculptors, archaeologists and other artists of  various countries contributed their best. At this place in 1190 the French king Philip Auguste (1180--1223) built a rampart to defend the small town of Paris from Anglo-Norman forces. The fortress was a quadrilateral building with round bastions at each corner. Even now the tower hall (Salle Basse), a vaulted ceiling on two columns at the center of the hall with supporting walls is seen in the lower ground floor of the Sully Wing. Charles V (1338--1380) extended the fortress by constructing an earthen rampart to cover the neighboring areas on the right bank of the Seine river. Raymon Du Temple, the architect under Charles V transformed this old fortress into a royal residence with a central court, pleasure gardens, sculptures and images on roof tops.

    

Model of Medieval Louvre Fortress in Sully Wing Ground Floor

Salle Basse (Lower Room)

Petite Galerie (small gallery)

Sculptures near the petit galerie

Grand Galerie

Grand Galerie with paintings on walls

 After the death of Charles VI there were no improvements till 1527. Later Francois I demolished the medieval  keep (Gross Tour) ie. a large tower, to provide more space and light. The medieval west wing was demolished and replaced by the Renaissance style of new the buildings in 1546. Henri II (1519--1559) demolished the castle's medieval south wing and built a new wing. He created the Hall of Caryatids (sculptured female figures used as pillars) on the ground floor and built the king's pavilion (Pavilion du Roy) at the junction of the new building and the king's private apartments on the first floor.Their decoration work was completed under Henri IV. In 1564 Henri's widow Catherine De Medicis ordered the building of a new palace just at a short distance to the west. In 1566 Charles X (1757--1836) built the ground floor of the petite gallerie  as a starting point for a long corridor connecting the Louvre to the Tuilleries -- a link between two palaces. Henri IV (1553--1610) built King's Gallery (Galerie du Roi) on the top of the Petit Galerie. He also built the waterside gallery as a link between the royal apartments in the Louvre to the Tuilleries Palace ending with the pavilion de Flore between 1595 and 1610. The main work of the Grand Gallery was completed by Henri IV. But due to Henri IV's assassination on May 14th 1610, the interior decoration work was not completed. His successor Louis XIII (1601--1643) was only a boy of nine years. Work begun by him was completed after fifteen years by Louis XIV. The extension of the west wing of the Cour Carree (Courtyard in the shape of a quadrangle)  under Louis XIII was completed by Louis XIV (1638--1715). With this the construction of the Louvre Palace was over. 

Cour Carree

Lescot Wing

Clock Pavilion or Pavilion Sully

Clock Sculpture at the entrance

Museum of Arts with 35,000 artifacts in eight sections

 But the kings lost interest in the palace as they moved to Tuilleries Palace. In 1624 Louis XIII carried out the grand design planned by Henri IV . He demolished a part of the northern wing of the medieval Louvre palace and replaced it with the continuation of the Lescot Wing. Between the old building and the new building a monumental clock pavilion (Pavilion Sully, a model for the palace's other buildings) was constructed by the architect, Jacques le Mercier in 1639. Between 1655 and 1658 Regent Queen Anne of Austria (Mother of Louis XIV) commissioned six interconnecting rooms on the ground floor of the Petit Galerie. Between 1660 and 1664 the north wing of the Cour Carree was completed and the south wing was extended by the addition of two new pavilions at the eastern end and one in the center. In 1668 the width of the palace was doubled and a new facade was built overlooking the Seine. The last vestiges of the medieval Louvre were demolished.The ravaged parts of the upper story of the Petit Galerie were destroyed in fire in 1661. But they were re-constructed by Louis XIV . As Louis XIV stayed at Versailles Palace, the buildings of the Cour Carree were left unroofed and remained so nearly for one century. 

Salles des Caryatides (sculptured female figures as columns)

Statues in Salles des Carytides

In 1692 Louis XIV created a gallery of ancient sculptures in the Salle des Caryatides . Many academeys like Academie Francois, Academie Rouyal de Peinture et de sculpture, Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Letters funtioned here till 1792. In 1699 the Academie de Peinture et de Sculpture held their first exhibition here. In 1756 the wings begun in Louis XIV's time were partially completed. The north, east and south sides of the Cour Carree (court yard in the shape of a quadrangle) were over. Later a complex of ancillary buildings in Cour Carree was dismantled.

Anne of Austria's Apartments in lower petite galerie

Entrance to Anne of Austria's Summer Apartments

In 1791 the revolutionary Assemblee Nationale declared that the Louvre and Tuilleries Palaces as a national property to house the royal and the historic collections of the arts and sciences and made it a national museum. In 1793 the Museum of Arts (Central de Arts) was opened in the Salon Carree  ( a hall in the shape of a quadrangle) and the Grand Galerie with 537 paintings on display. Later the Museum of Arts spread over to the Anne of Austria's apartments. Further more rooms were opened during the time of Charles X. This museum was re-named as Musee' Napoleon in 1803 after Napoleon brought paintings from Venice and Vatican in 1798. After the fall of the empire in 1815 this museum was disbanded and each nation reclaimed its treasures and artifacts.

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2nd May, 2016                                                   Somaseshu Gutala

              

  

                                

A Short Visit to Versailles Gardens (Part--II)

Grand Trianon

Garden around Grand Trianon

 There are many basquets or  ornamental patterns of  Baroque architecture. We missed viewing these artistically patterned groves which had been modified from time to time by the landscape artists. Andre Notre added or expanded not less than ten basquets during his lifetime. The Grand Trianon was set up as a formal garden with a modest palatial mansion for the king to enjoy his privacy. It is located nearly 1.5 kms to the north-west of the Versailles palace. This was designed and constructed by Jules Hardouin Mansart between 1670 and 1672. After the Revolution Napoleon restored it before he visited this on many occasions with his second wife, Empress Marie-Louiseof Austria. Afterwards in 1963 Charles de Gaulle converted it as a guesthouse for presidents of  France and the northern wing as an official residence of French Presidents.

Pavilion of Petit Trianon

Petit Trianon (Queen's private resort)

Rural scenry at Queen's Petit Trianon

 The Petit Trianon was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel on the orders of Louis XV who gave it as a gift to his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. This pretty palace was constructed between 1762 and 1768. Later Louis XVI gifted it to his new bride, queen Marie-Antoinette who wished to enjoy the rural scenery of a village with fields and gardens. In 1785 Hamneau designed a stage village for the sake of the queen.

 Louis XIV may be called the chief founder of the palace and the gardens. During the reign of Louis XV the Bassin de Neptune, the largest fountain, was completed. As an avid Botanist he laid out and maintained Les Jardins Botaniques (Botanical garden) in 1750 with the help of Claude Richard (1705-1784), the administrator of gardens. During Louis XVI's rule an attempt was made to re-plant trees in the style of English garden, but it did not work out and seemed inappropriate to the setting of the palace. So they reverted to the French style again. To maintain such a vast garden complex supply of water is the gravest challenge. Mostly water from the Grand Canal was mainly used. In 1685 a canal was designed by Vauban to supply water from the Eure river by constructing a dam, but it was nearly 80 kms away and hence the work had been given up in 1690.

  As we were coming out quite exhausted feeling unable to cover the vast garden, we saw a few people driving hired taxis on the road through the garden. As we had no idea about this facility, we huffed and puffed walking through the garden. Our tour manager did not inform us about this facility to make our trip easy. But we derived a sense of satisfaction as we were able to enjoy, to pause and look at the sculptures, fountains and groves at a leisurely pace. To view such a spacious and beautiful garden one day is not enough. Most of the plants seen today do not belong to the olden times. Since 1992 the gardens have been being re-planted. In 1999 many trees were uprooted by the stormy gales. The French Ministry of Culture has been looking after the proper maintenance of the gardens. In 1979 the Versailles Gardens was recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage site.

 In brief it is not an exaggeration to say that this royal garden is a veritable paradise on earth giving you a thrilling experience and filling your bosom with a sense of wonder and supreme joy.

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 27th April, 2016                                     Somaseshu Gutala

A Short Visit to Versailles Gardens (Part--I)

Versailles Palace

Hall of Mirrors

Royal Chambers

Grand Canal

 It was quite sunny and the weather quite pleasant as we entered the royal Versailles Gardens. As the time given for us was just two hours, we could not see the entire garden complex spreading over a vast area of 1976 acres, an impossible task indeed. Besides this garden is an artistic fusion of marble sculptures, fountains, grottoes, lawns, canals and French horticulture. The garden was developed in graceful patterns, curves and concentric circles. To the the onlooker  the whole gardens seem like chiseled architecture spread on the ground enriched with colors and embossed with marble statues and fountains. Every vase and pedestal is a piece of art and no object appears plain and simple. So it is a paradise of epic description which my prosaic pen may not express in a vivid manner. Hence I shall try to give a partial and  brief description of some parts of the gardens I have seen.

 We just passed by the palace as the royal gardens are located to the west of the palace. Previously at this palace Louis XIII had built a hunting lodge in 1631. The whole area was a dense jungle with a hamlet far away from the city. Louis XIV during his long rule developed this p As soon as we entered the garden we saw Versailles Palace, a splendid and spacious mansion sprawled over a vast area, glittering in white with gilded windows. The palace, the royal residence of French kings from Louis XIV to Louis XVI has 350 rooms and Louis XIV used to hold meetings and parties here attended by 3000 guests. Louis XIV metaphorically  viewed himself as the Sun, symbol of power, light and lordship. So he tried to re-create  the dazzling world of Apollo, the Greek Sun God, in the palace as well as in the surrounding gardens to show off his opulence, grandeur and immense power. After the Revolution Napoleon did not prefer to stay in this palace. In later times Charles De Gaulle converted the northern wing of the  palace into an official Presidential residence. The Treaty of Versailles ending the World War I was signed  here  in the Grand Gallerie (Hall of Mirrors) in June 1919. Some portions of this magnificent palace were converted into a museum depicting the History of France.

   We just passed by the palace as the royal gardens are located to the west of the palace. Previously at this place Louis XIII had built a hunting lodge in 1631. The whole area was a dense jungle with a small hamlet located far away  from the city. Louis XIV during his long rule developed this place by building this palace and laying out this spacious garden on a grand scale. It took almost 40 years to set up this idyllic paradise with the help of the architect, Louis Le Vau, the painter, Charles Le Brun and the landscape artist, Andre Le Notre. The king expanded and beautified the palace between 1661 and 1668.Jean Baptist Colbert, superintendent of the king's buildings looked after this project from 1664 to 1683. In this garden an astounding variety of trees like elms,lindens,chestnut trees, beech trees, and acacia along with flower plants like lillies, roses, jonquils and tulips are seen. Many trees and plants were imported from Turkey, Netherlands and other countries. The orangery was set up by Jules Hardouin Mansart between 1684 and 1686 replacing the smaller one built by Le Vau in 1663. This orangery is spread over three hectares having more than one thousand plants of various types like palm trees, oleanders, orange trees and pomegranate trees.

Orangery at Versailles

Apollo Fountain

Latona Fountain

Dragon Fountain

  Louis XIV shifted his court to this palace in 1682. To project his stature of

sovereignty he set up water fountains embellished with sculptures of Greek mythology and legends, mainly connected with Apollo.There are nearly fifty fountains in this garden. A grand canal was dug between 1668 and 1671 to supply water. The water from the fountains was  re-cycled by pumping the water into the reservoir again after purification. This canal measuring about 1500 meters in length and 62 meters in width is the venue for boating parties.

 We saw the Apollo Fountain (Bassin D'Apollon) which was constructed between 1668 and 1671. Apollo, the Sun God, seated in his chariot driven by seven horses rises from the water to make the world bright with his golden rays. He is attended by Tritons. The leaping horses and the manly figure of Apollo with well-built body evoke the dynamic and powerful image of the Sun God who indirectly represents the sovereignty of Louis XIV.

 The Latona Fountain designed by Andre Le Notre between 1668 and 1670 represents an episode from Ovid's Metamorphosis in which the Goddess Latona with her children , Apollo and Diana were prevented  from drinking water from a pond by the Lycian peasants who went on throwing mud and stones at them. Then Zeus transformed the revolting peasants into frogs. This fountain allegorically refers to an incident about some people revolting against Louis XIV.

 The Neptune Pool was designed by Andre Notre between 1738 and 1741. In 1740 during Louis XV's time, some modifications were made to this pool by inclusion of statues like Proteus, Neptune, Amphitrite which were designed by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne.

 Another worth seeing fountain is the Dragon Fountain. The mighty python snake is killed by an arrow shot by Apollo. The statue of the dragon is surrounded by statues of dolphins and cupids armed with bows and arrows and riding on dolphins and fish.

Neptune Pool

Flora Fountain (Spring)

Ceres Fountain (Summer)

Bacchus Fountain (Autumn)

                   

Saturn Fountain (Winter)

  The Pyramid Fountain designed by Francois Giradon captures our attention with four superimposed bowls supported by tritons, dolphins and fish. There are many other fountains dealing with the themes of seasons and other Greek Gods like the Flora Fountain (representing Spring season), the Ceres Fountain (represents summer), the Bacchus Fountain (represents autumn),  the Saturn Fountain (represents winter) etc which we could not see due to our limited time schedule.

      Note:
                  1) Apollo -- Greek Sun God, God of light and knowledge
                     
                  2)   Diana ---  Greek Moon Goddess -- Goddess of Chastity

                  3)   Latona ---Daughter of Coeus and Phoebe and mistress of Zeus, Lord of all gods.                                                                                                                  Mother of Apollo and Diana.
                  4)    Lycia --a region in Anatolia, southern part of Turkey

                  5)     Bachus -- Roman God of Agriculture and wine.

                  6)    Flora  -- Goddess of Spring and Flowers.

                  7)    Ceres -- Goddess of Agriculture, crops and fertility

                  8)    Saturn -- God who represents Time, Wealth, plenty and liberation. Father of                                                                                                                                                    Zeus.

                  9)    Cupid -- God of Love

                 10)    Tritons -- Sons of Sea-God holding conch shells in their hands.

                 11)    Neptune -- Roman God of Fresh water and sea, also called Poseidon in Greek                                                                                                                                                 mythology.
                 12)    Amphitrite -- Consort of sea-God, Poseidon
       
                 13)     Proteus -- Shepherd of sea-creatures like seals

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   20th April, 2016                                                          Somaseshu Gutala