Fathers, retired uncles and
grandfathers exchanges notes, conversations and often drawing parallels in time while
walking the bridge between the past and present. Mothers and grandmothers'
catch the waft emanating from a neighbors’ kitchen and sometimes (to be read as
always) over hear conversations to draw parallels. And when I travel, I always like to keep
my senses on vigil to record parallels in societies, in mythologies, faith,
lifestyle, culture and share them with friends and family.
Be it at home or while in travel, we always look for parallels for validation, inspiration and sometimes to fuel gossip and cynicism. On this
trip to Paris, France I decided to take time out and tour the Louvre Museum in
the company of my Parisian friend Jose, who also turns out to be a history
buff, a socialist, a sociologist and an antique collector too. Did I say I had
a curator for a friend?
The Musée du
Louvre: Is one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). With
more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited
museum.
The
museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the
majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. The size of
the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée
Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his
armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further
increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second
French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily
through donations and gifts since the Third Republic.
It is not
possible to tour this museum in one trip or one day. The collection in the
museum is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities;
Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art;
Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.
We
entered through Portes des Lions entrance and covered Northern European
Sculpture(17-19th century), Italian Sculptures (16-19th century)
and Roman antiques on the ground floor. We then climbed flights of stairs to
catch Italian Paintings from 13-18th century, capturing the
mysterious smile of Monalisa. Since the museum was open till 9.45pm on Fridays,
we were able to cover two floors. The advantage of going with a Parisian like
Jose is innumerable. I got to travel back in time to visualize and appreciate
every piece of art curate in the backdrop of culture, society and lifestyle.
While at the museum, I spotted a few pieces of art that fitted right into our mythology. And when I shared the image of Krishna with Jose he concurred with the parallel. Can't you can see a close resemblance between the two pictures below: crossed legs, slender body and flute to the right side?
Jose confirmed that the child in the sculpture is indeed strangling the bird and the choking expression confirms beyond doubt. In Srimad Bagavadham we've heard Krishna killing Bakasura.
Many of the sculptures represented real life: some didn't sport six pack, some were effete and some were naked (don't know if it was poverty or fashion or perversion). On the flight back home I spotted a few scenes on the aircraft that emulated the art that I
saw at the museum. 
While the Capitalist society terms emulation as plagiarism, the artistic society terms it as inspiration. So, the only question for us to ask now, does art emulates life or life emulates art? Hope I will be able to find many such emulation of art and life on my next trip to Louvre and share it with you. Until then look our for parallels and share it friends and family.
No comments:
Post a Comment