At The Louvre

April 29th we were at the Louvre again. There is a lot of renovation going on, with many room closures, blank walls, paintings not where we remembered them to be. The entire French painting division was closed. We spent our time mainly in the Belgian and Netherlandish precincts, many old friends and a few discoveries.

Lingering in the huge hall of giant Rubens paintings
glorifying Marie Medici

Three Graces or possibly three Rhinemaidens

Moving right along, Steen's Bad Company

Vermeer's Lacemaker

His Astronomer; why isn't he looking at the stars?!

Among the Louvre's sculpture courts

Vaulting

Gerard Dou, The Dropsical Woman or Doctor Examining
the Urine of a Sick Woman, 1663; I know I have posted
this before...

What we didn't know was that the above, Dou's
Silver Ewer, is actually a hinged cover for the (presumably)
more valuable Dropsical Woman; said to be a common
practice in 17th century Flemish work, only a few examples
have survived

Rembrandt's Bathesheba, 1654

Willem Drost's Bathsheba, 1654; Drost was Rembrandt's
pupil

One of Hals' more formal portraits...Descartes, after 1650; interesting
to compare the brushwork on the more formal portraits with that of
his tronies

Thus, his Jester with a Lute, 1624

Another favorite Steen, Merrymaking at an Inn, 1674

Steen, Festive Family Meal, 1674

Detail

A late Rubens landscape, Landscape with a Bird Catcher, 1640;
anticipating Turner?

Rubens' better known Village Wedding, 1640