The Louvre

If it is true that a single picture is worth a thousand words, then the Louvre is way beyond all the alphabets of this planet. It was built back in the Middle Ages, around 1100, but it keeps growing. Pei added an entrance hall under glass pyramids and that focused attention like nothing else had ever done.

It is the largest museum in the world and so well done that it really ought to be in a museum itself, but you see the problem in that. The most enchanting part of the museum, apparently, is the double pyramid. I tried to get a photo without people posing there and that was impossible - everybody wants to pose right there at that conjunction of points, and when one subject leaves, others rush immediately in.

I wanted to see the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo. Since I had seen so many copies of these two works all my life, I wanted to see what they looked like in person. I never found Venus, but Mona Lisa was easy. I looked him straight in the eye and could tell that he was uneasy that his little game had turned out to be such a big deal. I got the impression that he was waiting until no one was looking and then he would sneak away and get those crazy clothes off. Poor guy, he was sorry he had ever tried to play a trick on Leonardo.

A large part of the enjoyment of the Louvre is the museum itself. It is a thoroughly delightful and enchanting place. You can actually feel yourself being “pulled” here and “led” there, and then you are still surprised and stunned at what you have just “found”.

Above ground, the Louvre is more like a strange planet that you have just landed upon. A lot looks familiar and a lot looks like it is way beyond you. I couldn’t help but sense the presence of great beings who had left instructions to future generations. I wonder what they said.