Louvre in Taipei..

The National Palace Museum recently had an exhibition of some of Louvre's art pieces..  Musée du Louvre is one of my favorite museums (the other being the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy)... one that I don't mind spending hours or even days viewing its exhibits... it was one of the many highlights of my Europe trip in 2009..

The theme of the exhibition is Western Myth and Legends.. being a huge fan of renaissance art and also Roman/Greek mythology, I knew I had to visit.. And I was fortunate enough to get a free ticket as one of the office assistants had an extra.. :)

The exhibition was held in one of the smaller halls of the National Palace Museum.. and even though I went there on a weekday, it was quite crowded.. maybe because the exhibition was on its last few days..

Audio guide was offered, but they had it only in Chinese.. so I didn't rent one.. I prefer my Greek Gods/Goddess/Heroes/Damsels to be addressed in English, thank you..

Even though there were 5 different themes, the exhibition area was small.. Paintings, sculptures, potteries and fresco wall paintings seemed to be, my estimate, less than 100.. so I finished viewing in less than 30 minutes!! Even when I went through the exhibits the 2nd time round, it was still only 1 hour!

The exhibits that I was looking forward to see in Taipei, but didn't were Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Cupid and Psyche (painting) and Venus de Milo. However, I did see Cupid and Psyche (sculpture) and Flying Mercury among many..

After viewing the exhibit, I went over to the souvenir section.. Before I left home, I gave myself a budget of NT$500 to spend on souvenirs.. so I was in the mood to shop..... :)

one of the many angel figurines.. which I didn't buy..

There were many things to buy.. among them are figurines of angels.. as I've written about my fondness for angels, I wanted to get one.. there weren't much choice and their prices were way too high...

So in the end, I bought a box of (40) miniature postcards that features pictures of angels taken from various renaissance paintings.. and it was on sale with an offer of 1-for-1.. there were 3 different designs, the other two designs were street scenes of Paris.. so I chose to get 2 of the same design.. :)

Also I bought a bookmark of Cupid and Psyche (painting) too as it is a favorite of mine..

2 boxes of postcard and 1 bookmark.. my booty..

postcards - cute pictures of angels..

So all in all, the exhibition did not live up to my expectation.. but I am happy with my souvenirs... :) of course, I would love nothing more than to visit the Louvre again... :) :) :)