Despite having been here for almost 5 days now, I find myself still having a hard time believing that i’m actually in Paris. The past couple of days have been a flurry of all the things i’ve always wanted to do or see and the daunting task of trying to adjust to the time change, the metro system, and taking everything in while half asleep. I have already faced many unexpected surprises and some disappointments, but the experience is no doubt a positive one over all, and one i’m glad to be a part of.
On day 1, we made our way to Notre Dame. At first I was supremely peeved by the giant blue mass that sat in front of the Notre Dame thinking that it would ruin any chance I had of taking a good photo or seeing the building in it’s entirety, however, upon entering the big blue frustration I came to realize that it was offering a unique opportunity to get close to the pieces of the building that you might never get to see so close on a regular basis.
It’s hard to tell what surrounds it besides cafe’s due to the droves of people that flood the grounds at all times. This is actually one of my continuing great disappointments in Paris, the number of tourists. Of course it is to be expected but it’s still sad to see that the church can’t even run a proper mass due to the amount of people flooding in and out of the church. We will never again be able to see the Notre Dame as it was originally.
Despite this small moment of gloom, the Notre Dame was magnificent and climbing the tower to the very top was as rewarding as it was difficult. Seeing the gargoyles close up and taking in Paris as a whole from the top was breathtaking. As ridiculous as it sounds one of my first thoughts while wandering around the top, was how many things Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame got right in their depiction of the Notre Dame and particularly this rooftop-ish area, as it's rarely seen in images.
The arrival of day 2 meant a couple of things things, one, I would be very tired, and two, I would be seeing one of the sites I had most been looking forward to since signing up for the trip. Versailles, and more particularly, the gardens were awe inspiring. I could easily spend hours upon hours in the gardens and never get tired of it. In fact what captured me most wasn’t the palaces or the statues but simply the landscaping. The square trees, the labyrinth of bushes. It felt as if I had stumbled into Wonderland without realizing it.
Besides the landscaping I was drawn to the Petit Trianon and the Hamlet that Marie Antoinette had revamped for herself. Marie Antoinette has always interested me, but interests me profoundly more after having read the article on her and visiting her palace. It was such a great experience to be able to physically see all the places that I had been imagining while reading the article, seeing how different or similar they were to what I had dreamt up in my head. I was pleased to see that the Petit Trianon was, in fact, petit.
 |
| Saint Louis, King of France and a Page |
Day 3 I was initially a little skeptical about just because i’m not much of an art analytical sort of person. What I enjoy more is looking at the art and what it depicts and then thinking about the time period and the people and what it would have been like to live in that time period with those customs, particularly of course with historical artwork. So I was nervous about how I was going to have to approach the assignment. I certainly can't articulate myself as well as my peers in this area, so i'm hoping to grow in that while i'm here.
I ended up choosing 2 of what I thought were portrait paintings. I chose “ A Teacher of the Law” by Jean Barbault and “Saint Louis King of France and a Page” by Domenico Theotocopolous El Greco.
Analyzing them ended up not being quite as difficult as I would have imagined but I still feel like there has got more to the paintings that I just don't see.
Easily one of my favorite pieces though was this piece whose name plate image I somehow deleted. :(
If you happen to know who this is by I would not be at all opposed to finding out!
No comments:
Post a Comment