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Continued from the British Museum ... the Louvre is the biggest museum in Europe and probably the 2nd busiest next to the Vatican ... The crowds were not as bad as we expected, but there were crowds.
The Louvre is also an amazing museum with lots of stolen or gifted works of art and cultural artifacts. More stolen art works and masterpieces than even the Vatican. Parts of the Parthenon that weren't in the British Museum were here. The French originals probably belong here, while the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and other ancient cultural relics are well presented even if they are away from their "natural" homes.
Well ... it's just a point of view of ownership eh ... maybe the French originals should be given to other nations to display? Or, be part of a permanent travelling exhibit?
At least the British Museum uses the argument that since entrance is free they are making the world's cultural heritage available to a wide audience. The Louvre is far from free.
The British Museums' argument of free entrance rings somewhat hollow though, given that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world (to live or travel). Also
their argument that they had permission of the ruling occupying forces to save the relics by evacuating them to London would imply that the refugees be given a chance to return home, once the original home of the artifacts has become safe for hosting their relics. Besides, many times, the occupying forces were the British themselves. These may not be “Crimes Against Humanity” in the same sense as 500+ years of colonialism, but they are still a by-product of a colonial mentality.
Compare this to what the Chinese did at the height of their past glory. They took their Naval armada to West Africa, but instead of taking away slaves, occupying foreign lands or looting the local resources, they brought with them examples of their great cultural greatness to show the rest of the world that there was no need for them to go to China and try to conquer China because they had military prowess and all the culture they needed. No room for any more culture. This is analogous to the original George Bush (still without the H.) isolationist policy of “we are not nation builders” ... until he got elected and had an excuse to invade
Iraq that is.
We were expecting to be disappointed by the real Mona Lisa. But, we weren't. Having low expectations probably helped. The crowds around it were big. The Louvre began with the Mona Lisa being one of the first exhibits. Old Leonardo brought that along to Paris himself. He was travelling light, so borught along only a few pieces of his work ... so, no claims of stolen ownership there eh.
The Louvre is so big, there's no way we could see even one complete wing in the few hours we were there. We were surprised that W.. was not bored by it all. He enjoyed the staircases and sliding on the polished floors, as much as he enjoyed the Ramses II heads and arms.
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