GHENT, N.Y. — It seems like another lifetime on a different planet. But, it was actually last summer, when the words “social distancing” would have meant nothing to most of us, that my brother, James, led me into a part of the Louvre museum in Paris that I’d never visited before.
Descending I.M. Pei’s crystal pyramid and then entering the museum through the Pavilion Sully takes you to the medieval Louvre, or what’s left of it.
Built not as a palace or a museum for some of the world’s most famous paintings, but as a fortress by King Philippe Auguste at the end of the 12th century, it requires some imagination, but you can make out what used to be the moat and the remnants of a prison tower. My brother told me it was one of the tallest structures in Paris 700 years before the Eiffel Tower. The walls, several feet thick, are perhaps the most impressive part of what remains of the site.
One tends to take what a brother says, especially when he’s the youngest sibling and you’re the oldest, with a grain of salt and some well-aimed putdowns. But, James, arguably, knows what he’s talking about. He was fresh off writing a history of the Louvre that has just been published to acclaim, “The Louvre: The Many Lives of the World’s Most Famous Museum” (Atlantic Monthly Press).”
The Washington Post called it “courageous” for taking on a mastodon of a museum with 400,000 holdings. The author, the Post’s reviewer added, “is intent on persuading us to see the Louvre for itself, to appreciate the container as much as the content.”
The Boston Globe’s reviewer described my brother’s “daunting cultural erudition,” which, I believe, is a compliment.
Despite the fact that he’s my brother, I also recommend the book. The pleasure is twofold. It’s a compelling history beautifully told, and it serves as a vicarious visit to the museum for those of us reluctant to board a plane at the moment, let alone elbow other tourists out of the way to get within eyesight of the “Mona Lisa.”
It’s amazing the things one took for granted before the current health crisis. Sitting in a baseball park cheek by jowl with 50,000 other fans. Dropping into a favorite museum to refresh the soul with great paintings. The Louvre has always managed somehow to combine the emerald excitement of a professional baseball park with the breath and ambition of the world’s most prestigious art institution. The “Mona Lisa” is the Babe Ruth of paintings in a lineup of works by the likes of Raphael, Rubens and Rembrandt, a Murderers’ Row of artistic talent.
The book has much to say about the “Mona Lisa,” thought to have been purchased by Fran ois I, who had an eye for art — not all French kings did — in 1518, when he enticed Leonardo da Vinci to visit France at the age of 64, putting a chateau at his disposal. Leonardo died in France, where he’s buried, three years later.
The book’s publication also happens to coincide with some happy discoveries of my own, those of my brother’s report cards and term papers. They should encourage any parent of a “C” student.
“James is prone to vent his poetic spleen in the middle of science class,” his eighth grade science teacher wrote.
“James’ quest for encyclopedic knowledge is admirable,” said his 11th grade ancient and medieval history teacher, suggesting he make “a more sincere effort to cultivate humility.”
And his English teacher graded a paper on two French poems a “B,” the grade shaded, one can’t help but feel, by the suspicion that my brother believed he knew more than the teacher.
“You seem to be trying to drive your reader to the dictionary as often as possible,” the fatigued instructor observed.
I can attest that my brother has successfully defeated this temptation in “The Louvre.” I don’t think I’ve been driven to the dictionary even once, though, like any book worth reading, it nudges the reader’s intelligence to a higher level.
Best of all, it doubles as high-end escapist history and literature during a summer when all of us can benefit from the sensation of escape, even as we shelter in place.
Ralph Gardner Jr. is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and New York Magazine. He can be reached at ralph@ralphgardner.com. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle.