I agree. There are few great art galleries where you can so often find yourself almost alone with a masterpiece. By contrast, the Orsay is almost always crowded, even congested. Of course the building is much smaller, but the atmosphere of intimacy is partly created by the organisers, who play up to it, with, for example, maze-like individual exhibitions that take place in lowered light.
For the Mona Lisa selfie. set up a QR code to download a perfect selfie using AI and a camera. Like stepping in front of an ATM bank machine. The camera grabs your image. AI blends it with the painting image and you download your selfie, ready to be posted to Insta and your other social media.
The new Macron plan will be like being in Beijing and being led along by numerous guards with scowls on their faces to catch a glimpse of the Chairman rendered in wax. Then out the other side and bingo, you are done in 3 minutes flat. No photographs, no stopping, just a snake winding its way along at some speed.
The question is; if there was no photography allowed, would people still go??
BTW, John, your alternative painting... great choice!
Well John, to answer your question: It's pretty obvious "la Joconde" is smiling at the intricate hairdo she has 30 seconds to admire on the back of that blond woman's head in the front of the line. Not sure said-woman had time to check the length of Mona Lisa's hair though. A separate room seems like a good idea for many reasons. I can't help but think Mona Lisa is going to feel lonely by herself as millions of faces (and smart phone screens) slowly stream by. Who knows, maybe she enjoyed craning her neck and look above the heads and backpacks to take in all the details of the "Wedding Feast at Cana" across the room.
I agree. There are few great art galleries where you can so often find yourself almost alone with a masterpiece. By contrast, the Orsay is almost always crowded, even congested. Of course the building is much smaller, but the atmosphere of intimacy is partly created by the organisers, who play up to it, with, for example, maze-like individual exhibitions that take place in lowered light.
The irony is that while the Mona Lisa room and certain other ones are jam-packed, there are others that you can still have all to yourself.
For the Mona Lisa selfie. set up a QR code to download a perfect selfie using AI and a camera. Like stepping in front of an ATM bank machine. The camera grabs your image. AI blends it with the painting image and you download your selfie, ready to be posted to Insta and your other social media.
The new Macron plan will be like being in Beijing and being led along by numerous guards with scowls on their faces to catch a glimpse of the Chairman rendered in wax. Then out the other side and bingo, you are done in 3 minutes flat. No photographs, no stopping, just a snake winding its way along at some speed.
The question is; if there was no photography allowed, would people still go??
BTW, John, your alternative painting... great choice!
Well John, to answer your question: It's pretty obvious "la Joconde" is smiling at the intricate hairdo she has 30 seconds to admire on the back of that blond woman's head in the front of the line. Not sure said-woman had time to check the length of Mona Lisa's hair though. A separate room seems like a good idea for many reasons. I can't help but think Mona Lisa is going to feel lonely by herself as millions of faces (and smart phone screens) slowly stream by. Who knows, maybe she enjoyed craning her neck and look above the heads and backpacks to take in all the details of the "Wedding Feast at Cana" across the room.