Musée du Louvre - la nuit

Musée du Louvre

Late at night...

Two strollers walking through

Cour Napoléon

Plentiful open space

and perfect for a photographer...

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

Il fait froid!

It is cold!

Although January and February can be frigid in Paris,

rarely does it stop the city, the Parisians, the tourists.

I have only seen snow twice in Paris, 

but the December 2010 snowstorm emptied the streets...

except for the crazy photographers and a few children.

Quai Voltaire - Pont du Carrousel

75007, Paris

Musée du Louvre - un reflet

Musée du Louvre

Walking back to our apartment late one night, 

we found the reflections of street lamps and the Hôtel du Louvre in the windows.

bon weekend

Musée du Louvre

Rue de Rohan et Rue de Rivoli

75001, Paris

L'heure bleu - Jardin des Tuileries

Jardin des Tuileries

The perfect blue-tinted light of Paris 

on a June evening

bon weekend

Jardin des Tuileries

75001, Paris

Fêtes des Mères

Joyeux Fêtes des Mères

Wishing mothers around the world a joyous Mother's Day 

as we celebrate in the United States on the second Sunday in May.  

If you want to celebrate twice, 

be sure to mark the last Sunday in May (25th) 

for the traditional French celebration of mothers.  

The tradition calls for flowers and perhaps a poem, 

catering to the whims of "maman," 

and culminating the day with a large meal for the whole family, bien sûr.

The dessert, so I am told, is a cake that resembles a bunch of flowers.

bon dimanche

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

 

 

Pyramide du Louvre - City Daily Photo Theme Day: triangles

Pyramide du Louvre

The first day of the month is Theme Day for the City Daily Photo community, and the theme for April is "triangles."  In Paris there are two obvious and very large architectural structures which would pass the test:  La Tour Eiffel and I M Pei's Pyramide du Louvre, seen here.  

Taken in spring at dusk with the last glow of daylight, it takes on the watercolor hues of l'heure bleue.  The "blue hour" is a magical time of day when the softness of the fading light of day creates the colors only seen in artists' palettes and then dances across the Pyramide.

Pyramide du Louvre

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

See "triangles" from cities around the world here

from my friends of CDP

Cour Marly - Musée du Louvre

Horses of Marly

The monumental statuary displayed here was carved for the park of the Château de Marly. Most of the works were commissioned by Louis XIV at the end of his reign. However, the courtyard is dominated by Guillaume Coustou's celebrated Horses of Marly, completed in 1745 under Louis XV.

Coustou sculpted these from a single monolithic block of Carrara marble - stunning.  These are the originals (moved to the Louvre in 1984) and there are copies at Place de la Concorde and at Marly.

(joyeux anniversaire, Countess)

Cour Marly, Richelieu Wing

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

 

 

Louvre -- Le Carrousel du Louvre

Le Carrousel du Louvre

What looks to be a fashionable mall is a corridor to the least-crowded entrance into the Louvre.  You can buy tickets at the Tabac on the lower level and quickly enter - no lines and no waiting!  

To get there take Metro Line 1 and exit at the Palais Royal--Musee du Louvre station, and never leave the covered area going from one underground area to the next.  Just follow the signs to Carrousel du Louvre. 

In the distance you can see the Pyramid

Le Carrousel du Louvre

99, rue du Rivoli

75001, Paris

Metro sign

The high post with its lighted "M" is one of my favorite Metro signs
particularly when seen against a clear Paris sky


The season does not matter

Paris Metro Sign

Near Louvre

75001, Paris

Escalier du Ministre - Louvre

Escalier du Ministre 

in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre

The Louvre is filled with architectural designs and details, 

and this staircase, Escalier du Ministre, 

led up to the private apartments of the Minister of State.  

If you visit this area of the museum, you can walk up these steps 

just as the royal visitors once did, 

and amble through the apartments of Napoleon III.

It is interesting to discover the many elegant designs 

of the Louvre staircases.

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

Musée du Louvre - Mercure et son ombre

Mercury 

This bronze of Mercury is seen in an arabesque pose, balanced it would appear, on the head of Zephyr.  He is poised on a gust of air coming from the mouth of this god of the east wind.

My search of the internet has not told me for certain the name of the sculptor... any help?  There is one by Giambologna, a Flemish artist, but that bronze is in Florence at the National Museum of the Bargello.

Mercury in this pose of flight is recognized often as the emblem of FTD Florist.

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

Musée du Louvre - Escalier Mollien

The Mollien staircase

For anyone who has ventured into the Louvre, the size of this museum is staggering.  This staircase situated in the center of the Pavillon Mollien was built by the architect Hector Lefuel and inaugurated on August 14, 1857, along with the other buildings comprising Napoleon III's Nouveau Louvre.

On my first trip to Paris this ironwork was a subject of sketches 

as I tried to take in all the architecture Paris could deliver.  

Much of my time in Paris now is spent behind a camera lens, 

but I plan to sketch again on my next trip, 

taking the views and details at a slower pace.

Escalier Mollien - Pavillon Mollien

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

L'heure bleue - musée du Louvre

L'heure bleue

(The blue hour)

It is a magical time in Paris when the sun goes down 

and the sky becomes a palette of soft watercolors

 in shades of blue and violet and pink.

bon weekend

Musée du Louvre, I M Pei's Pyramid

75001, Paris

Jardin des Tuileries - en hiver

The large round basin of

Jardin des Tuileries

The frigid temperatures combined with a layer of snow create concentric circles on the surface of the large round basin.  As you can see from the crowds, not even sub-freezing temperatures will keep people from this park.

I did not sit in the green chairs this day...

brrrrrrr!

Jardin des Tuileries

75001, Paris

Métro Tuileries

(joyeux anniversaire, chère Nanette)

Musée du Louvre - "Enfant jouant avec une tortue"

"Enfant jouant avec une tortue"

Pierre Hébert (1849)

This charming sculpture was found in a quiet corner of an upper floor. 

Although the Louvre is massive, there is no need to see it all at once. 

Be selective and truly absorb the details.

1er étage - Richelieu

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

Métro Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre



Louvre - Hippomenes et Atalanta

Photographing these sculptures in Cour Marly at the Louvre on my last visit,

I recalled having seen them in a different setting. 

First, the story:

From Greek mythology, Atalanta was a huntress who agreed to marry any man that could outrun her in a race.  Hippomenes fell in love with her and prayed to Aphrodite to help him.  In response she gave him three irresistible gold apples to help him in the race.  As they ran, Hippomenes tossed the apples at intervals to distract Atalanta therefore winning the race and her hand in marriage.

Now, the other sighting:

In the frozen cold of December, these Greek heroes were racing on a frozen pond of Jardin des Tuileries as I noted in a post of February 3, 2011.

Cour Marly, Louvre
75001, Paris

Louvre Pyramid and full moon

Through the glass and steel of I. M. Pei's Pyramid, is seen a full moon and Pavillon de l'Horloge, architecture from different centuries gracing the Napoleon Courtyard of the Louvre.

Bon weekend

Louvre Pyramid
Cour Napoleon
75001, Paris

See more reflections here at James' Weekend Reflections