A day in Paris. This morning I went to see the “Unicorn Tapestries” at the Cluny Museum. The only place that they had my favorite one was in a replica in the gift shop, but the ones they had were impressive none the less. The five tapestries represented the five senses and their detail and scale were incredible. The museum itself is an old Abby complete with chapel and relics. Once again I can’t help but think about the wealth represented in the ornate jeweled cross and the gilded reliefs. I suppose I only have to

recall the generosity of the of the people when they were called on to build the first Temple and to adorn the ark. The people came with their gold and silver and jewels so that they might be used to glorify God and to create a place worthy of being called the house of God. I guess I am more like the disciples who were bothered by the woman who used expensive perfume to wash Jesus feet and I need to simple understand that people gave what they gave, but I think there is a difference. I see that the church doesn’t need a bunch of old relics that are on display (though I understand they generate perpetual revenue), but rather they need to use what they have for the people. I get that God’s house should be grander than our house, but perhaps I have just seen too many huge and ornate (more on Notre Dame later) churches in the past month that were more like museums than places of worship. Enough of that.

Orsay is amazing and it sets the bar pretty high for the Louvre tomorrow. Rodin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Latrec, Millet, Degas, Picasso and more all in one place and yet my favorite painting in the place is called “the floor scrapers” by Caillebotte.

Something about the authenticity of it (it’s much better in person). In general I find myself liking landscapes better than portraits, “still life’s” or some historical scene. I guess it’s my cynicism about what we have done to creation that comes through sometimes or perhaps it is the claustrophobia that I feel when walking through city streets or through crowded museums. I did see Monet’s water lilies today as well at the Orangerie(and I had no idea that they were so big), but for me his paintings of the parliament buildings are better (perhaps because of the over-commercialization of the water lilies).

Notre Dame at first just seemed like another cathedral after seeing the Duomo in Milan and all the others that I have seen, but once again I was there during mass and there is something different. It is not so gilded as the other churches, no gold covered ceilings, no jewel encrusted altars, it’s simple and for me that makes it more beautiful. The stained glass is gorgeous, but the thing that made it good for me was worship. It was the first of the giant churches that felt worshipful.

I feel like there is so much left to say about today, but I think that’s I all can for now. Or Revoir!

I toured the Vatican museum today and I purposefully lowered my expectations because I was afraid that it wouldn’t meet them. It is the Vatican. It is supposed to be incredible, but I just couldn’t feel it until I was walking through the Raphael rooms and I turned to see “School of Athens,” which is perhaps my favorite painting for many reasons.

I had no idea it would be so big that it covers an entire large wall, but there it was. I am and have always been very knowledge driven (hence the name of my blog “knowledge life”) and the “School of Athens” represents for me the pursuit of knowledge at its highest point. It represents a time when people sought knowledge from every facet of life. When people debated as an art form instead of as a form of argument. It represents a time and a method where people were taught to think instead just what to think. The individuals in that painting changed the world sometimes with a single thought and knowing that helps reinforce my own belief in the individual. I was overwhelmed because of all the things I see in the painting and the genius that created it.

A few rooms later I was walking through a series of more modern (comparably) paintings that most people don’t pay any attention to and I saw a couple of Chagall’s. I noticed them because I am familiar with his style, but it struck me that most of the people just walked on by and missed these amazing pieces. I caught myself the other day looking at the artist’s names instead of the paintings (as if the artist’s name attached to it made the painting somehow better) and I realized that by doing that I deny the possibility of something great coming from someone I’ve never heard of (which is absurd). After that I started looking at the paintings first and if I was intrigued then I would look for the artist (to be fair the famous artists are famous for a reason), in this way I discovered Paul Brill and some amazing landscapes.

I have been in Rome for most of three days now and I have seen so much history I don’t know how to quantify it all. As a student of that history, I imagine the legendary figures who walked these streets. The sheer grandeur of it all is enough to help you understand the kind of impact that Rome had on the rest of the world. They don’t seem to have done anything small and yet it somehow seems appropriate here. I could probably write about each individual thing, but I think for me it is the collective which intrigues. The arches, the fountains, the palaces and yes the churches are all symbols of human achievement and human arrogance at the same time. They are what they are and they are incredible to behold 2000 years later. I leave for Paris tomorrow and I look forward to its inspirations.