Impressions of the Louvre

Yesterday was my first visit to the Louvre. To be quiet honest I didn't have that large of expectations, I really had no idea what was in-store and most likely put off by the heavy amount of tourist traffic. From the moment I decended into the pyramid structure I realized I was very wrong about my original impressions of the museum itself. I had thought the exterior was grand and imposing and had very much enjoyed my time sitting in the courtyard, but now once inside I realized how utterly foolish I had been to simply stay outside and ponder the nature of the inside.
Their are few words to describe how impressive the place is. The building is so large and packed with people. It is brimming with life that never could have been seen from the outside. It must be experienced in person.
Like a pilgrim i chose to make my way through the crowds and up the stairs past the winged victory statue. When I turned the corner into the hall of Italian paintings I knew I was in heaven and had to figure out a way to come back most every day. There are so many paintings to look at and sketch from. I was particularly impressed with a Fra Angelico painting of the Coronation of the Virgin, and also Uccello's Battle scene. What struck me about these pieces were the figurative arraignments of very large groups. They both comand space well but using very different techniques. Uccello's overlapping of horses and repeated patterns to create the illusion of depth really intrigued me. This along with Botticelli's frescoes, how he uses hand gestures to move the viewer through large bodies of cloth, was really impressive and might show up in one of my paintings in the future. Breaking away from linear perspective into other forms of portraying depth might be nice for a change. we will see what happens.