Saturday, August 06, 2022

Friday nights at the Louvre

 

Earful Tower just did a terrific post on How To Visit The Louvrewith 6 excellent tips from a guide. 

Most helpful tips like where to enter etc. Here’s my hot tip PBers. Ta Da Go to the Louvre on Friday night. Ooops Earful Tower does indeed mention going at night!


The Louvre is open till 9:45 pm and practically empty. Though maybe not after y’all read this.

I went on Friday around 7 pm just by chance. I was on Rue de Rivoli and walzed inside for a look see. 

How to dress for the Louvre? Casual! No one dresses up. 

Even back in the day they didn’t dress up too much.
If you go further back they did doll up a bit more. Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas all made copies at the Louvre. Painter Paul Cézanne once said, “The Louvre is the book from which we learn to read.”

Another HOT TIP!! Find the elevator (you may need help..they keep them well hidden). 

Go to the 2nd floor in the Sully wing which is mainly French painting plus some Flemish. 

I went looking for Camille Corot. 

The Louvre has the biggest collection of Corots in the world and they hide them away on the second floor. Do not ask me why😳

Anywhere you go inside the Louvre you will see extraordinary art. Trying to hit specific points like the Winged Victory of Samothrace just because Audrey Hepburn did in Funny Face is not a good MO in my opinion. Far better to wander as you do through Paris’ back street and be surprised. 
I tried sketching at the Louvre. No one bothered me. I’m definitely going back again on a Friday night. Someone recently said to me, “Oh copying is cheating” Italian artist Cennino Cennini wrote, “When you have practiced drawing for a while… take pains and pleasure in constantly copying the best works that you can find done by the hand of great masters.”
It was very common back in the day to copy paintings at the Louvre. 
Have you visited the Louvre at night or sketched there? I painted this at home. They do not sell any ice cream at the Louvre. Or I couldn’t find it. Bonne Sunday PBers. Please share this post. And tell your friends to go to the Louvre on Friday night. And drop in my Etsy shop to see the latest. Bear 🐻  will appear next post I promise🙏❤️💋🥐☕️

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28 comments:

  1. Paula1:24 AM

    So happy to have you back in my inbox! I wondered why I had stopped receiving Paris Breakfasts. Love your watercolors and following your footsteps in France. I am a retired French teacher who loves Paris and anything French….. and took up watercolor in retirement. I always look forward to seeing what you discover.

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    1. RobynFrance9:02 AM

      Ditto Paula--Former French teacher, current watercolorist and always Francophile.---Carol is a dream for us.

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    2. Parisbreakfast10:13 AM

      Awww…thank you so much! Make known your wishes and I will try to fullfill them🙏

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  2. Ga7:27 AM

    Love going to the Louvre. I did get lost once for a bit which sent me into a moment of panic. There are some nice gift shops. No, I didn’t see any ice cream either but something tells me you probably had your daily serving🗼❤️🖼🍦

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    1. Parisbreakfast8:25 AM

      Oh my gosh Ga 🍦you have me figured out !

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  3. M & B8:25 AM

    I thought you had stopped creating your Paris breakfasts! So glad to find you again, Carol!

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  4. Parisbreakfast8:32 AM

    I forget to add finding a Louvre info guard is not easy. They tend to lurk in the shadows.
    Clues: they wear an orange ribbon and mostly black. Another clue: they might be sitting on the only chair with a back. If you are looking for a particular artist, write their name down. I know I said COROT correctly. Same with CHARDIN. When seeking help show them a name on a piece of paper for nest results.

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  5. Bonnie L8:50 AM

    When taking grandchildren with limited attention spans to the Louvre, we would hightail it to the Mona Lisa. Admiring the Winged Victory as we went up the stairs, en route. If you’re lucky, you may have Mona all to yourself…but snap photos quickly, that won’t last long! Go down one level to see Venus de Milo. Then continue to wherever their interests lie: the Egyptian or French Royal Jewels collections, or down to the basement to see the castle’s original foundations or a snack.

    My favorite place in the Louvre is the sculpture courtyards in the Richelieu wings lower level. Awe inspiring and almost always an oasis of calm.

    Love your watercolor of the tourists in the Louvre. ❤️

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    1. Parisbreakfast10:11 AM

      So smart, so focused Bonnie. I just figure there can’t be anything not worth seeing in the Louvre. I can be there from my doorway to inside in maybe 15 minutes (like the pool which is currently on strike). I should go once a week!

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    2. Parisbreakfast10:16 AM

      PS I love thé sculpture courtyards but always end up there by accident, not but plan. I dont think the Louvre’s maps are very good = too confusing!

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  6. La Table De Nana9:20 AM

    I cant remember the last time I went somewhere in shorts;) Anything does go..anywhere..Only saw outside and in le pyramide ..time was short...

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    1. Parisbreakfast10:08 AM

      Oh Monique 😳 I will be your guide. It is doable. Be not afraid 😊

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  7. Andrea Dora10:07 AM

    Bon dimanche…loved the Louvre post…love the comments of peeps ré-discovering your blog

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  8. Anonymous10:44 AM

    So glad to be back on your list. I have missed you and being able to travel around with you is delightful. 😉

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  9. Linda @ Life and Linda12:13 PM

    We loved visiting the Louvre. Our barge trip was fantastic and the lovely days we spent in Paris.

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  10. Anonymous1:43 PM

    Where have you been? I have missed you too!
    I had a most interesting first visit to Le Louvre in 1998. I fell going down the stairs in front of La Victoire de Samothrace and broke my ankle. Spent time in American Hospital after a surgery. I should have written a book about my experience. And Yes, I have been back since.

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    1. Parisbreakfast2:28 PM

      Sorry…my last email provider lost me many PBers😳 Back on track now!!👏

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  11. Robert2:07 PM

    Wonderful photos and your watercolor of visitors to the Louvre; made me think of Degas’s comparable images! Does anyone know the name of the artist (included in the post) who painted the view of visitors in long “drab” coats (postwar?)? Thanks!

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  12. Parisbreakfast2:26 PM

    Oh Robert..I should have taken a shot of the label. It was at the Louvre and very Norman Rockwell style I thought…my bad. I will try to find out 👍

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    1. Anonymous10:19 AM

      OK, I found it on the Louvre website: Georges Leroux, In the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, painted 1940-60. The two framed paintings to the right within the picture are the Belle Ferronniere and St. John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci.

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  13. Jay Livingston3:41 PM

    Bonnie L notes the difficulty of seeing the Mona Lisa. But if you look closely at the "copying" painting, down in the lowest row, you will see the Mona Lisa. It was just another renaissance portrait, not quite up there (literally) with the larger Titian portrait of Francis I two canvasses above it. When the "copying" was painted, the Mona Lisa was not the greatest painting ever. It's gotten much better in the last couple hundred years.

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    1. Parisbreakfast9:36 PM

      Last time I saw ML I was 18. Hmm I suppose I should check her out again.

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  14. Jeanie4:56 PM

    Visit the Louvre, yes. At night, no. Sketched there? No. Le sigh. (I did SEE someone sketching at the Louvre and also at Jacquemart Andre). Maybe next trip......

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  15. NB5:45 PM

    thanks for the tip on Friday night at the Louvre. It will certainly be on my list of To Do's when I visit Paris in March. I love getting your emails each week. If I can't live in Paris... reading your adventures and seeing your photos is the next best thing! Keep it up!

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  16. Anonymous11:37 AM

    So the triangle fountains have no water in them? Is it because of a water shortage?

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    1. Anonymous1:04 PM

      No water shortage of water here or in the Wallace fountains ⛲️

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  17. Jel3:38 PM

    Désolé Carol, j'ai été dans 99% des endroits que tu mentionnes quand je vivais en France.
    Je parle français couramment. J'espère que vous vous amusez avec d'autres personnes.

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    1. Parisbreakfast1:03 PM

      Cher Jel, Alors va botter du sable dans le bac à sable de quelqu'un d'autre. (So go kick sand in someone else’s sandbox, Jel)

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