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Cultural Activity Report

Introduction 

The museum that I visited is the Louvre Museum, located in Paris, France. The

museum is a national museum and art gallery of France constructed on the right-bank site in

the 12th-century fortress of Philip Augustus. Louvre Museum is one of the most visited art

museums with man artworks that span from prehistoric civilizations. Most paintings in

Louvre are impressive art collections in history, which makes the museum one of the biggest

tourist attractions in the world. I chose to visit the Louvre museum because of the impressive

art and its reconstruction in the 16th century, which serves as a royal palace, and just like

many buildings, the museum was built and later rebuilt over the years. My initial reaction to

visiting the museum was impressive because I saw excellent artworks that I had not seen

before, and I enjoyed the experience.

Paintings or Sculptures  

The Venus de Milo is one of the most impressive artworks in the Louvre museum,

and many artists think the ancient Greek sculpture is a representation of Aphrodite, or in

simple terms, the goddess of love. The artist who created the statue is believed to be

Alexandros of Antioch. The sculpture is famous for its missing arms and the filled hole below

her right breast (Kousser, 232). The year of discovery is considered 130 and 100 BC during

the Hellenistic age, and the beautiful sculpture inspired many artists, and with time it gained

fame and her role in pop culture. My initial reaction towards this sculpture was a fantastic
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artwork. The reason I chose this piece is that we discussed its pop culture in our course

outline.

Mona Lisa is the most famous painting from the Louvre Museum, and many people

visit the museum to view this piece. The artist who created the painting is known as Leonardo

da Vinci and the year believed to have started the painting is 1503 or 1504 in Italy, Florence.

The painting is famous because of the painted woman's smile and how it is painted as oil on

wood. The piece has an enigmatic expression, which has given the portrait universal fame

because of the woman's alluring and aloof figure. The piece is from a happy culture,

evidenced in the smile from the painting that is six feet away behind a wooden barrier inside

a vitrine (Zöllner, 126). I was impressed with my initial reaction to this painting. The reason I

chose this piece is that we discussed the culture in our coursework. 

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Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the famous marble Hellenistic sculptures of

Nike, which represents the Greek goddess of victory. The statue was created in the year 200–

190 BC to honour the goddess Nike and commemorate a naval action. The sculpture is

representing the victory culture, as discussed in the classwork. My initial reaction was

impressive to see the statue of the marble Hellenistic art. Charles Champoiseau created the

sculpture (Pruski, n.a). I chose this sculpture to have a better understanding of this culture of

victory for the Greek goddess, Nike.

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The Monzon Lion is a bronze lion created by a Spanish painter Mariano Fortuny and

is dated back in the 12th-13th century. The painting serves as a fountain spout and makes a

few metal artifacts of the Islamic west and makes it a famous painting in the Louvre museum

(Contadini, 207). The painting is a luxury good because of the material of bronze, intricate

details, and Kufic inscription. My initial reaction towards the painting is happy to see the

metallic lion. The experience is right for me to see the cute lion and its historical importance.

I chose this painting because of the luxury culture given in the description of the painting. 

Bathsheba at her Bath is a painting analysing the Bible story of David and

Bathsheba. The painting is one of the finest paintings from a Dutch painter Rembrandt

inspired by the Old Testament story of King David watching Uriah as she takes a bath and

seduces her. The painting shows Bathsheba sitting on a white couch holding a letter from

David, which later turned to be an illicit affair of the King impregnating Bathsheba (Golahny,

673). The painting shows King David's desire to commit adultery with Bathsheba showing

frustrations and his face indicating the troubles to follow the two. Many artists term the

painting as an erotic nude, and my initial reaction towards the painting was puzzled and

confused by how the painting communicated the message. The painting shows the culture of
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adultery and sin from the King and Bathsheba. I chose the painting to understand the culture

of cheating and immorality from the King and Bathsheba. 

Conclusion

Visiting the Louvre Museum was a good experience for me as I enjoyed watching the

different artworks and paintings. The museum is one of the most famous museums and a

place for many tourists' attractions. My role as a founder and curator is to ensure the museum

is presentable and attracting as many visitors as possible. I would be much happy to be a

curator in the future, and I will share this class project.

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Work cited

Contadini, Anna. "The Pisa Griffin and the Mari-Cha Lion: History, Art and Technology." (2018): 197-

256.

Golahny, Amy. "Rembrandt's Early Bathsheba: The Raphael Connection." The Art Bulletin 65.4

(1983): 671-675.

Kousser, Rachel. "Creating the past: The Venus de Milo and the Hellenistic reception of classical

Greece." American Journal of Archaeology (2005): 227-250.

Pruski, Sarah. Prowess and Protection: A Cultic Analysis of the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” in

Ancient Greece. Diss. 2019.

Zöllner, Frank. "Leonardo's portrait of Mona Lisa del Giocondo." Gazette des Beaux-arts 121 (1993):

115-138.