After a hectic day, the JSF arrived at the Louvre for an evening visit.  Our guide, Claire, explained that we were lucky to have the museum almost entirely to ourselves - what a chance!  We started our tour with a quick look at the history of the building. The Louvre was originally a fortress build during the 12th century.  In the basement, the original walls and moat are preserved.  The Louvre was turned into the royal palace by Charles V during the 14th century and was renovated during the 16th century under the reign of François Premier. 

During the 1980's the Louvre was significantly renovated, and the lovely (or not so lovely, depending on your view) glass pyramids were added.  After seeing an ancient Egyptian sphinx, we loitered in front of the "Venus de Milo" (again, enjoying the lack of tourists!).  I was surprised to learn that originally this statue was probably painted in bright colors and decorated with beads and jewels. 

We continued our tour, stopping by the famous crown of Louis XV which contains a 140 carat diamond!  One of the most interesting paintings was Le Sacre de Napoleon by Jacques Louis David, which depicts the auto-coronation of Napoleon I.  Working for an emperor like Napoleon would be like walking on egg-shells! Not only do you have to make him look like a Greek God, you have to somehow display his slightly heretical behavior (crowning himself in front of the Pope!) in a good light. Jacques Louis David also had to add various figures of the painting such as Napoleon's mother who was not actually present!  Of course, we stopped by Da Vinci's famous - or rather infamous - Mona Lisa.  Yes, it's actually pretty small.  The painting on the other side of the room, however, is one of the largest in the museum.  Les Noces de Cana , by Véronèse, covers an area of more than 66 square meters - which is larger than most apartments in Paris.  Amazingly Véronèse painted this giant picture in only one year - without even the help of an assistant! (-Alona and Tess)