See the Mona Lisa Smile at the Louvre Museum
Excerpt from the book On a Tall Budget and Short Attention Span from the Teresa the Traveler Series.
If I could do it all over again I would read Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Codebefore visiting the Louvre. Unfortunately I did not read the book until a few weeks after my visit and I declined to take one of the many “DaVinci Code” tours offered. I am such an idiot!
The DaVinci code is a controversial novel about a battle between the Priority of Sion and Opus Dei to control evidence that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had children. The book opens with a murder at the Louvre Museum of its curator who left behind clues as to where investigators could find the Holy Grail.
While most believe the grail to be the cup Jesus drank out of during the last supper, Dan Brown leads his readers to believe that the Grail is actually recorded proof of the bloodline of Christ.
The DaVinci code is a controversial novel about a battle between the Priority of Sion and Opus Dei to control evidence that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had children. The book opens with a murder at the Louvre Museum of its curator who left behind clues as to where investigators could find the Holy Grail.
While most believe the grail to be the cup Jesus drank out of during the last supper, Dan Brown leads his readers to believe that the Grail is actually recorded proof of the bloodline of Christ.
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Clues hidden in famous paintings by Leonardo DaVinci must be deciphered by lead character Robert Langdon, a professor of Symbology in order to find the killer and uncover the ancient secret protected by the Priority of Sion of which the curator was a member.
The Louvre is an eight-hundred-year old medieval castle, fortress and prison that once housed the monarchs of France. Used as a depository for art under Francois I, but not opened to the public until 1793 during the French Revolution, it later became a destination for the spoils of war brought back from Napoleon’s victorious armies. In fact, to this day there remain issues of ownership concerning certain objects in the Louvre. During WWII the Germans, who occupied France, seized many objects from the Louvre and of the 60,000 articles returned; nearly 2000 did not have clear ownership, many of which the Israelites laid claim to. There is also the question of ownership in regards to the antiquities acquired during the Napoleonic Wars and during French excavations of Egypt and the Near East. Many of these source nations have requested the return of these items but their claims have been refused by the Louvre administration. UNESCO has a “Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Country of Origin” but the Louvre does participate in arbitration sessions. With 350,000 works in total and 35,000 on display, the museum brings together works from great civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. Having undergone a number of renovations over the years, the most recent additions to the castle are the Pyramids and the Inverse Pyramid built in 1989 and 1993. |
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Louvre Pyramid
The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid surrounded by three smaller ones. Commissioned in 1984 by then French president Francois Mitterrand, its purpose was to serve as the main entrance to the museum. It contains 673 panes of glass but many like to believe that it contains 666, the number of the devil, so they can contrive elaborate conspiracy theories.
Inverse Pyramid
La Pyramide Inversee, the skylight constructed in the underground shopping mall in front of the Louvre, is the fictional resting place of the Holy Grail in The DaVinci Code. The novel contrives that the small pyramid sitting underneath the inverted pyramid is merely the crest of a larger pyramid embedded in the floor housing the remains of Mary Magdalene. Don’t get excited people, it’s just a small pyramid that sits on the floor and can be removed during maintenance.
The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid surrounded by three smaller ones. Commissioned in 1984 by then French president Francois Mitterrand, its purpose was to serve as the main entrance to the museum. It contains 673 panes of glass but many like to believe that it contains 666, the number of the devil, so they can contrive elaborate conspiracy theories.
Inverse Pyramid
La Pyramide Inversee, the skylight constructed in the underground shopping mall in front of the Louvre, is the fictional resting place of the Holy Grail in The DaVinci Code. The novel contrives that the small pyramid sitting underneath the inverted pyramid is merely the crest of a larger pyramid embedded in the floor housing the remains of Mary Magdalene. Don’t get excited people, it’s just a small pyramid that sits on the floor and can be removed during maintenance.
A crowd hovers around the Mona Lisa
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The Mona Lisa
One can spend days admiring all the painting and artifacts in this gigantic museum but I have a really short attention span and managed to see it in a record six hours. I started my day with a visit to the Mona Lisa which was a much smaller painting that I had imagined. Hidden behind a sheet of protective glass, the painting was mobbed by hundreds of people and difficult to get close to. I remember hearing that what makes this painting so unique is that no matter where you are standing in the room, the Mona Lisa appears to be watching you. It’s true! No matter where I stood she was eyeballing me. Quit staring Mona, don’t you know it’s rude. You are really starting to creep me out!Painted by Leonardo DaVinci, in the 1500’s, the Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable paintings in the world. Named for Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family and wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant, it was commissioned to celebrate the birth of their second son. The painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by a museum employee who felt it should be returned to Italy. After hanging it in his apartment for two years, he brought it to Italy and attempted to sell it to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The painting was exhibited all over Italy before being returned to the Louvre. Thief Vincenzo Peruggia was hailed as a patriot by his fellow Italians and only served a few years in jail for his crime. For tips on visiting France CLICK HERE
For tips on visiting Europe CLICK HERE For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE |
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Where I Stayed...
Hotel de Milan 17, rue de Saint-Quentin, 75010 Paris, France Tel: 01.40.37.88.50 Fax: 01.46.37.88.50 This affordable hotel is located near the Gare De Nord or North Train Station. For Trip Advisor Review CLICK HERE |
