Ma Visite au Louvre

Bonjour!

As some of you may know, I recently took a trip to Paris to visit the Louvre art gallery. Upon reflection, I would suggest to spend a whole day going around the gallery, as there is just so much to see (but this just means I will have to make another visit again)!

Admittedly I have been wanting to go the Louvre for many years, and was very excited to finally take the trip!

Paris itself is an amazing city to see with lots of beautiful architecture and is dubbed as the 'city of lights', which was a true testament to see when my sister and I took our stroll to the gallery in the dark.

Richelieu-Drouot

The Louvre up until February 2020 is hosting the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition which we were just about able to attend (a story I can explain face to face - but basically a typical Siobhán moment!). I, myself found it very intriguing as it took us through da Vinci's journey of self discovery and progress through how he became one of our most beloved artists.

Not only did we get to learn about how he became an artist, we also got to see his work on his inventions and theories.

Most of the attention of the Louvre did focus on the Mona Lisa, which if you have discussed with me before, isn't my favourite painting of da Vinci's. In fact, through the exhibition we were able to see the beginning of the painting process, in which Leonardo first started with some basic sketches. I personally found these more fascinating than the painting, as it was interesting to see the development of the portrait.

Initial drawing of the Mona Lisa

If you ever get the chance to go to the Louvre yourself, you will get to read the history behind the Mona Lisa. But for those of you who won't, an interesting fact about the Mona Lisa is that it was never actually finished by da Vinci, as King Francis I bought the painting when Leonardo was invited to Paris, whereby he was still working on it. The painting was also done on a wooden plank, instead of a canvas.

Leonardo's invitation by the King led to the Mona Lisa being a part of the French Royal collection, and is now said to be owned by the public and cannot be bought or sold according to French heritage law.

My personal favourite of da Vinci's is the 'Head of a Woman' also known as La Scapigliata. For me, I could look at this painting for hours and still be in love with it like I was the first time I ever saw it. Beautifully framed in the Louvre, the way da Vinci captures her innocence and vulnerability by blending the detail of her hair into the background itself; with elegant accents to represent the form captures my full attention. There is something about this one that I can resonate to, and I just genuinely enjoy how effortless it looks.

Head of a Woman

Amongst da Vinci's work, there is a great number of amazing artists that have their paintings hanging in the gallery. From the likes of John Constable, Turner, Brueghel and Fieravino.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Louvre and will definitely go back again when the opportunity arises. However, this visit in particular will remain very special to me as I got to spend it with one of my favourite beings as a birthday treat.

Below are some of my favourite pictures from my visit to Paris - if you want to see more, feel free to look on my personal Facebook page here.

Until next time, I shall leave you all with a quote from the da Vinci himself...

"Art is never finished, only abandoned" - something that is very true in my mind!