It's been a busy few days, so this entry will perhaps be somewhat abridged. Saturday I went to the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, specifically the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution. A nice time--I learned about early methods of cultivation and domestication of animals, notably, as evidence of man's effecting kinds of evolution--something other species don't seem to have done. The museum itself (barely visible at left) definitely had the feel of a 19th-century exhibit hall, though updated, as opposed to some of the museums back home which seem to proceed through individual rooms rather than several floors that all open up to a main section below. The Museum was on the grounds of the Jardin des Plantes, which was a nice place for lunch.

On Sunday, the Louvre had free admittance, so I went to check out some of the Classsical stuff in detail by myself, at my own pace. It's amazing to me how many people stand slackjawed in front of things like Nike from Samothrace and the Venus de Milo, when in actuality these pieces are arguably no more notable than other pieces in the Museum. I'm not sure how many people really care about the "audacious twisting curve" of the Venus any more than they know they're supposed to stand in front of the statue and gawk. Honestly, I prefer the bold--and more directly politcally contextualized--appearance of Roman portraiture. Check out Agrippa, who no doubt changed the course of history in aiding Octavian (future Augustus) at Actium to defeat Marc Antony and Cleopatra! Clearly, the man means business and has had his portrait idealized to appear truly "Augustan." Also see (pseudo-) Seneca (right), which I've made black and white to heighten the contrast. Is that a man care-worn with the pain of being Nero's tutor or what!?

A couple other notable include the Pan (right/below); lively and stirring up the pastoral song, presumably, and then Geta, ill-fated brother of the emperor Caracalla. Geta's memory was officially "condemned" after brother Caracalla took power and had Geta killed, but it's interersting to see how this portrait is nearly identical to that of his brother's, and truly conforms to the dynastic aesthetic. (You'll have to look up photos of Caracalla 's young portraits, as well as those of the dynast M. Aurelius, yourself.)