Des vrais chefs d'œuvre au Louvre...

...but not from da Vinci, nor Caravaggio - a whole new group of emerging artists was spotted at the Louvre this week, pencils and sketchpads in hand! One of our last daily cultural activities was a drawing lesson focusing on the architecture of the Louvre building itself, specifically the facade near where Napoleon III kept his private apartments. Fluffy white clouds and warm sun, a comfortable spot on the green grass of the Tuileries garden, a demonstration and suggestions from our drawing teacher, and they were off! Some students chose to focus on statues, others towers, and many went for the straight lines and carved flourishes of the windows. The drawings turned out remarkably well, some so lifelike you could practically imagine the courtly life of the royalty who inhabited the palace, my personal favorite being Henri IV in the 1600s - he would order trees and plants to be brought in to the largest gallery so he and his courtiers could hunt foxes (yes, horses and all) on rainy days.