How can one not love the Louvre?
http://www.louvre.fr/

I could hardly contain my excitement as I made my way to the Louvre. After all, it’s THE LOUVRE, the world renowned museum that also ‘starred’ as the backdrop of Dan Brown’s suspense thriller The Da Vinci Code. The majestic courtyard of the Louvre is a marvel of equally majestic classical architecture, and so the ultra-modern glass and metal pyramid right in the middle appear to be a stark contrast; a juxtaposition between old and new. The pyramid leads us into a spacious underground lobby (a.k.a. the Napoleon Hall) where we begin our journey into the world of European art.

The interior of the Louvre is an art piece in itself. Every nook and cranny is so intricately designed that people can’t help but spend time looking at the walls and ceilings before they admire the paintings. Pardon me for following the crowd, but my first stop just had to be the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). I couldn’t wait to see for myself just how amazing this portrait is. When I first stepped into the gallery, I thought there was a famous celebrity at some red carpet event. But no, the star was none other than Miss Mona Lisa.

A huge crowd gathered in front of her likeness as she posed for the cameras. To my mild surprise, the oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci looked tiny against its dedicated wall. To add to that, the gallery walls were flanked by many large format French paintings. The painting is also protected by a security glass layer and onlookers have to stand at least 1m away.

It just doesn’t… overwhelm. So, what exactly is this unwavering fascination with Mona Lisa all about? Honestly, I have no idea. Looking at the painting, however, I gained a sense of serenity. The painting was also considered a breakthrough in art during Da Vinci’s time. Nevertheless, I was thoroughly honoured that I could catch a glimpse of her beautiful façade.

Exactly opposite the Mona Lisa hangs The Wedding Feast at Cana by Véronèse, one of the biggest paintings in the Louvre. I can’t emphasise enough how GIGANTIC it is. Goodness, how did the artist complete an artwork of this scale?

A word of advice if you want to visit the Louvre: do some research about 13^th century to 19^th century art, so you can at least appreciate what you see and not waste a trip that’s so hard to come by. And oh, I encountered a few painters who were putting up ‘live’ performances as they went about plagiarising the paintings on display… we mean, made legitimate replicas of them. Visitors get a rare insight into the actual painting process. 

Our visit ended with a couple more stops at the halls with Greek antiquities, Egyptian antiquities, Roman and European sculptures. They were of slightly less interest to me and I have to admit I did get a bit bored. In addition, the Louvre is so big that I felt slightly lost within its midst. However, my half-day experience at the Louvre was already more than I could ask for. If I have the chance, I will definitely go back again, of course, with better knowledge of art.

A Taste of Tate Modern
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/

As its name suggests, Tate Modern is an international modern and contemporary art museum in the heart of London. Highly recommended by many people, I pushed for this visit even though my stay in London was very short. As the nearest underground station is a fair bit of distance away from the museum, there were bright orange sign posts like the following which led people like us from the station all the way to the doorstep of the museum. Extremely idiot-proof, I must say.

Once we entered the Tate, we were greeted by an art piece that didn’t seem like an art piece. There was this huge crack on the stone floor spanning the entire length of the hall and it looked so much like the result of an earthquake (I was actually convinced for a few minutes!). It got visitors fascinated enough to start posing and snapping away. The exhibit is called Shibboleth by Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo.

The first gallery we visited was Juan Muñoz: A Retrospective. Spanish artist Juan Muñoz (1953-2001) makes dramatic sculptural installations which places the human figure in specific architectural environments. He arranges his figures and objects to tell a story, often one that highlights the tension between the illusory and real. One particular exhibit, Many Times (1999), comprises of 100 figures, each with identical Asian features. They form a dense crowd and seem to be engaged in activity. It reminded me vaguely of China’s terracotta army. I weaved through the sculptures, and started imagining what the men could be thinking and saying.

The rest of Tate Modern is made up of a few temporary exhibitions and permanent collections. There were paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, videos… some were thought-provoking, but some just left me clueless. Do artists seek to put meaning into all their artworks? I saw an artwork that looks exactly like this one (I am not kidding!):

Every corner in the Tate is filled with surprises that toss the viewer from one world to the other. What I loved about Tate Modern was the avant-garde art it presented. At the end of it all, I was in so much awe of the creativity of the artists. If you’re an art-lover, other names to look out for include Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Francis Picabia and Joan Miro.

Peek into Picasso’s Musuem
http://www.museupicasso.bcn.es/

The home of Picasso’s work looks like no ordinary museum. It is made up of several shop houses joined together and stashed within the La Riberia district of Barcelona, granting it no grandeur whatsoever. No wonder, I barely have any photos from the visit. Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881-1973) is a name that rings far and wide. I entered the museum with some knowledge of this man as I once visited an exhibition of his drawings and prints at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. I emerged from the museum with a wealth of knowledge but mixed feelings.

The collection traces Picasso’s artistic career from the beginning to the end, including many of his inspirations as he travelled from Rome to Barcelona to Paris. Of course, the museum houses more of his works during his stay in Barcelona.

I could see how his style changed as he is subjected to different influences. I really liked his life-like portraits and paintings of scenery. Another particularly interesting gallery housed many of Picasso’s inspirations, in the form of artworks by other artists that Picasso kept in his studio. However, some of Picasso’s work looks like it could be done by primary school children. For instance, I couldn’t understand why any of this is good:

But I don’t intend to sound like an ignorant and empty-headed fellow. I suppose many of his drawings influence his subsequent masterpieces and makes him the great artist he is. After all, he is still a normal person with a mind and charm of his own. I saw a couple of budding artists standing in front of his works, a sketch book and pencil in hand, drawing away. I think Picasso is an inspiration to many and his legacy will continue to live. If you’re interested, check out his official website here.

The way that Europe is infused with art and culture is nothing like I’ve experienced before. Every country will definitely have a must-visit museum. It wasn’t just an eye-opener into the world of art, I was also observing how the locals treat and view art. It’d do us Singaporeans more good if we could learn to show more appreciation for art. AND YOUR FIRST STEP IS...

6 tips to good etiquette at a museum:

1.  No photography (if you must, do it discreetly)

2.  No touching of any exhibits

3.  Do not speak loudly

4.  Store your big barang-barangs in the locker room

5.  Do not rush through the galleries like a madman. Museums have a sense of tranquillity about them.

6.  Read the information booklets or brochures given to you
 

-- View the full Flickr set of my museum visits here! -- 

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