Blogging Paris - Monday 5/10/10

The Lady and The Unicorn

Wool and Silk Tapestry c. 1500

(1 of 6 panels)

Musee de Cluny

The Louvre is grand but the Cluny is where I could spend all my time - it's the museum of the Middle Ages.  I really like having this Paris Museum Pass - it's certainly worth the money - you bypass the lines and you can go back as many times as you want during the number of days of your pass.  Lots of school groups coming through- an interesting and exciting way to learn history!

Part of the Holy Family sculpture

Jesus and Joseph

The wealth of Christian images in sculpture, painting, stained glass, gold liturgical objects, reliquaries and devotional objects at the Cluny is incredible.

 

St. Denis with Head in Hand

It's amazing how much has survived in France considering that during the time of the French Revolution of 1792 and then the Paris Commune in 1871, anything that could be found representing the nobility or religion was mutilated or destroyed.  There are lots of headless statues and bodiless heads around town. And not without precedent...considering that St. Denis of Paris was martyred around the year 272 by having his head cut off.  Supposedly he picked his head up off the ground and walked off - many statues depict him holding his head.

 La Sainte-Chappelle Inside

and Out

 Then I was off to see La Sainte-Chappelle, Louis IX's giant reliquary he had built for the Crown of Thorns (and other relics). It was also used as the royal family's private chapel. Tiny compared to Notre Dame, but exquisite.  The sky was overcast when I went today so I did not experience the grandeur of the light that people talk about, but there will be another time.  If you go, get the pass...the line was long when I got there and longer when I left.

After a late lunch,  I walked around the Left Bank and down the Rue de Seine art gallery window-gazing.  Tonight when it started to rain,  I went out in my raincoat and umbrella just to walk Paris in the rain.  I kept thinking of Gene Kelly "singing in the rain" in Paris, but don't worry, I did not sing out loud...bon soir!