Of Art, War, and World's Fairs: Invalides, Musée Rodin, and the Eiffel Tower (3)

Sorry for not posting in awhile! Today there's going to be quite the flood of updates... Seems to be that being in Paris has led to some serious procrastination of homework. Whoops!

On Tuesday, Judy, Beth, and I went on a walk that took us to some of the most memorable spots in Paris.


We began by this bridge, the Pont Alexandre III, named for the Russian Czar, which was built in 1900 as a symbol of the friendship between France and Russia. The year 2010, as my friend Mathilde, a French student of Russian, informed me, is designated as a celebration of Russian and French relations. We've seen a few evidences of this celebration, including the exhibit Sainte Russie at the Louvre, which was really quite interesting! I know very little about Eastern Orthodoxy and its art, but my vague background in Catholic art and architecture made for some interesting comparisons.


The next highlight of the tour was Napoleon's tomb in the Dôme church at Invalides. The complex of the Invalides (yes, that's "the invalids"), was built to house soldiers wounded in Louis XIV's (many) military campaigns. Today, Invalides is an interesting fusion of tourist site (home to the French Army Museum) and veteran's hospital--it's still retained some of it's original function! Curiously enough, the Church of the Dôme is the only church we've had to pay to enter. Napoleon's entombed remains were admittedly impressive, mostly for the size of the room:

Anybody else think he was making up for something? (Wink.)

Then came my favorite part of this walk: the Rodin Museum! I had visited the gardens last year, which are very cool, but I think my favorite part of the museum was actually Hôtel Biron, once Rodin's own home, which now houses some of his own works as well as his private collection. My dear Aunt Jean had told me to keep an eye out for this particular painting:

This is Père Tanguy, who used to mix the paints for artists like Van Gogh himself. Jean, I'm working on getting a hold of a print or a postcard of the painting! I wasn't able to find one in my brief time in the Museum gift shop, but I will go back on a more thorough hunt.

From the Musée Rodin, my friends and I headed to the Champ de Mars, the park in front of the Eiffel Tower, to picnic and nap, one more evidence for the best skill I've acquired since I've arrived in Paris: flâner, meaning to loaf around, to loiter, to take time to enjoy little joys! It was an excellent afternoon.