Monday, February 15, 2010

Pyramid at the Louvre


Pyramid at the Louvre
Paris, France is one of the most fascinating and romantic cities in Europe and if you are visiting this wonderful city you will find plenty of things to see. Known as the 'City of Light', the beauty of Paris is overwhelming and its heritage appeal makes any visit an unforgettable experience.
My wife and I, along with some friends from Michigan who were traveling Europe with us, had made plans to visit the world-renowned and one of the largest museums in the world called The Louvre.
After getting out of our vehicle, we noticed that we would be entering through a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace.
The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of a series of problems with the Louvre's original main entrance, which could no longer handle an enormous number of visitors on an everyday basis. Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then re-ascend into the main Louvre buildings. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II.
The structure was constructed entirely with glass segments, which reaches a height of about 70 feet; its square base has sides of 115 ft. It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments.
Thousands of objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 652,300 square feet. However, the Louvre's most famous piece is the Mona Lisa. It was painted by the famous Italian renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. This is perhaps the most famous painting in history.
Few other works of art have been romanticized, mystified or reproduced as this painting. It is owned by the French government.
Our friends and my wife waited in line for over two hours in order to get a look at this most famous painting. Because of its importance, and the fact that someone had tried to destroy it, a covering of glass has been placed over it to protect it. However, it was still a beautiful, priceless piece of art.
Other works of famous artists, like Rembrandt, Rubens, Fragonard and Titian can also been seen in Louvre. Besides art Louvre also has many other types of exhibitions like archeology, history and architecture.
While we enjoyed a day of looking at the remarkable pieces of sculpture, and paintings found in this extremely large building, my mind kept reminding me of a Scripture verse that said, “How beautiful are the feet of him who publishes the good news”. “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” - Romans 10:15
When all the gold, silver, precious paintings and pricelist items gathered from around the world, are gone, we know that what we have lain up as treasures in heaven is all that we could ever expect.
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: “- Matthew 6:20

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