Paris - Sainte-Chapelle

Paris - Sainte-Chapelle
Originally uploaded by 41Dodge

Patricia particularly likes to visit the European Cathedrals and on top of our list are the gargoyles of Notre Dame and beneath a spire on Sainte-Chapelle. I am curious how the gargoyles became so identified with the religious architecture of the times.

When you look at Versailles, the underlying theme is Greek gods and their struggle in nature and with water. In contrast the fierce threat of gargoyles are popular with the cathedrals of Christendom.

Le Louvre - Aile Richelieu

Le Louvre - Aile Richelieu
Originally uploaded by SergeK

We've been told over and over that in order to get through the entire collection of Musee du Louvre a person would need at least a week. Patricia and I only have a week total in Paris.

QUESTION: Do we skip the Louvre all together or what collections and portions of the Louvre do we summarily dismiss or breeze past quickly?

Of course, we also need to go to the Musee d'Orsey, Center Pompidou and Picasso Museums in addition to the Louvre.

Copyright Violation

Copyright
Originally uploaded by Andrea Cassani

As tradition would have it, art students went to painstaking ends to copy the works and techniques of the masters. In Paris at the Palais Royal, Musée du Louvre it is not uncommon to see art students with canvas and easel in the galleries sketching or painting copies of the works before them.

Theft! Copyright Violation! Call the intellectual property lawyers in America!

Marais Museum Directions

Museum Directions
Originally uploaded by speattle

I am beginning to think we won't need to leave the Marais district of Paris. There is more to see there than one week will allow.

Most definitely, we will want to visit the Musee Picasso that houses more than 1000 works of the master and then pieces he held in his collection of peers and contemporaries. Also, the Jeu de Paume at the Hôtel de Sully is a museum devoted to film and photography.

The Musée Carnavalet-Histoire, also located in Marais, is an historical museum where you will find paintings, furniture, and some personal items of French notables, from the time of King Henry IV to present and the history of the city of Paris.

As Patricia says, we might be lucky if we do a museum a day. With all the other attractions in Marais, we might be lucky of we get out of the district.

Place des Vosgues

In one month Patricia and I will be traveling to Paris and will stay at Place des Vosgues. This is one of Paris' oldest squares built originally as a palace for Queen Catherine d' Medici and Henry IV. The palace has been divided up into 36 residences and over the years has housed famous tenants such as Victor Hugo.

Place des Vosgues is located in the Marias district of Paris, a vibrant neighborhood of young and old, gay and straight and is known for art galleries, cafes, shopping and many bakeries, bistros and bars.

During the late 1500s the square was the location for many public events such as jousting which led to the tragic death of Henry IV being poked in the eye and his death after which Queen Catherine vacated the palace. Much history has passed since with the upheaval of the revolution in the nearby Bastille. Marais became a poor section of Paris in he early 1900s and place where Jews were rounded up and children sent to camps in Germany.

We look forward to discovering this rich Parisian history.