Paris, Etched in Stone

The Louvre Museum - Main Entrance

Paris, Etched in Stone

memoir

by Gregory E. Larson

          During a stopover in Paris on my 2017 trip to the Netherlands, I made a visit to the Louvre Museum. There’s enough to see for several lifetimes and I’ve just scratched the surface.

          My main reason for the visit was a hot ticket that I’d purchased at home to see a special Vermeer exhibit along with period Dutch paintings. Although it was crowded, it was a treat to see the Vermeer paintings first-hand and get close to the brushstrokes of the highlights.

Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre

          I then proceeded to the room with Mona Lisa, an elevator ride to a room full of people. Mona let me down. Was I really hoping to make a connection to this famous painting? They could have replaced the original with a cheap print, and no one would have known. I dodged a mob with selfie sticks. Each person was trying to get a picture with Mona.

Typical exhibit hall at the Louvre

          Oh well, I thought, there must be something else in this vast repository that would pique my interest. The architect in me began to focus on the building details, the sculptures and art that were a part of the building and ceiling. At one of the huge windows I looked out upon the city and the Seine.

          There was natural light ahead, filtering down through a skylight. That's when I saw her. The soft browns and grays reflected off the sculpture of Winged Victory. Oh, I wished she could speak to me, the winged lady.

Winged Victory with base

Looking up at Winged Victory

          I longed to see her face. It wasn’t there, but I felt it’s soft beauty, it’s happiness. The irony of a stone body, set free, with the garments flowing in the wind, awakened my soul. This mother-of-all-hood-ornaments was perched on the prow of a stone boat. Irony multiplied. But all was perfect on that morning in Paris. I forgot the crowds that wandered through the space. It was just me and the lady on the boat. I got on my knees to take a picture of the underside of the stone prow, and looked up at the magnificence. What purity of line and form, unlocked from the ages. Aerodynamic stone. Weightless rock. Humanity unleashed before returning to dust.

          All the museum items beyond Winged Victory seemed to be collecting dust. I left the behemoth to get some fresh air and to walk along the Seine. Pont Neuf caught my eye. It’s arches gracefully crossing the river, an artful work of stone in its own right, beckoned in the Paris atmosphere of gray sky, green water and patches of sunlight.

Memories for the keeping.

Pont Neuf
with the Louvre Museum beyond
2019 Original Watercolor
by
Gregory E. Larson