2.

                         The next room was the Mollard Room, Pre-Impressionist works, but Penelope was anxious to see Monet's "waterlily" paintings, so she, Jim and Peter went in search of those. There were dozens of Monet paintings in the museum, which was a long narrow building, two floors, built in the 1860's as a court for a game, similar to modern racketball or tennis. The building was turned into an art museum in the early 20th century, the interior modernized: plain white walls with pictures hung at eye level, electric lighting system, etc. The building was right across the Louvre courtyard and the Tuileries Gardens from the Louvre Pallace, and, along with a twin building, the Orangerie, was considered an annex to the Louvre Museum.

                        In addition to two paintings of the pond and Japanese footbridge at Monet's garden estate at Giverny, the museum had Monet's Haystacks--two versions of Woman with a Parasol--a number of views of Argenteuil, a sailboating resort on the Seine river not far from Paris, which was popular with Monet, Renoir, Sisley and some of the other Impressionists (Renoir's Boating Party is set there)--the facade of Rouen Cathedral, several versions--and plenty of other works.

                        In 30 minutes or so, stopping to look at a few other canvases along the way, Penelope, Peter and Jim found the paintings they were looking for: The Waterlily Pond, Harmony in Pink and The Waterlily Pond, Harmony in Green. They were the same scene, but a medium rose color was the outstanding feature of the first painting, and green was the main color of the second. The footbridge was in the background, and the murky pond, with its glittering surface and floating "nymphaeaceae", waterlilies, was in the foreground. From the sides of the paintings, willow trees and other greenery arced gracefully over the pond.

                        Penelope, Peter and Jim stood before the two canvases. It was obvious that Penelope had a special emotion for this series (Monet painted many versions of the scene).

                        "I can tell that's your favorite," Jim said to her.

                        "It's just so beautiful!" Penelope said. She quivered  with emotion. 

                        "I like it too," Jim said. "Fortunately, he painted many scenes from Giverny, so there's a dazzling array to choose from. I always wondered why he didn't paint many 'figure' paintings, but mostly flowers and other naturalistic things, landscapes, buildings, like Rouen Cathedral, etc. When he did paint figure paintings, the results were extraordinary, like the Woman with a Parasol paintings.Those are truly great--you can just about feel the cool breeze blowing the white dress and the parasol as she stands on a grassy hillock in a meadow, the blustery clouds overhead. They think the woman in those paintings is actually Suzanne Hoschede', aged 18, daughter of Monet's second wife. But whoever she is, Monet has turned her into an Impressionist goddess!"

                        "I agree," said Peter. "There is an amazing quality to those paintings, and it is unfortunate that he didn't paint more like them."

                        Penelope was standing gazing at Harmony in Pink, eyes wide.

                        "It's just pure visual beauty, isn't it?" Jim said to her. "The beauty of colors, of flowers, grass, water. Just the simple beauty of the natural world."

                        "That's it," Penelope said, "it's the pure visual beauty of the natural world--beautiful flowers, beautiful gardens, it's great!" 

                        The three stood silently a minute, in a state of awe, really, reverence, even.

                        "I went there," Penelope said, "to the gardens of Giverny, in September, when I first arrived. I went to stay at Madame Levigne's country home near Paris, a small town not far from here, and we went there, one day, to Giverny--it's so nice..."

                        "Is it a large estate?" Jim asked.

                        "Yes," Penelope said, "with many different kinds of plants, shrubs, trees, beautiful flowers of different colors. The pond is on one side of the estate, opposite the large house. There are footpaths around it. The house is really neat--light pink colored, with green shutters. The rooms are different colors, the dining room yellow, the kitchen blue, etc. I guess Monet spent most of his time at the estate, in his later years."

                        The three stood contemplatively another minute. Jim studied the two paintings, carefully. Harmony in Green was the better painting, he thought. It was the best of the waterlily series that he'd seen. Harmony in Pink was characterized by a medium rose color. Coloristically it was sweet, rich and sweet as a gingerbread house. In the middle of the pond was a large patch of translucent rose, and of shadow, which created a sense of murky depth. On the foreground of the pond there were even patches of light blue, which produced a beautiful effect, relative to the grey and off-white of the bridge, the green of the foliage and the other colors. But Harmony in Green was a perfectly balanced composition--ideal, in Jim's opinion. Also, it had a clarity that many of the other versions of the scene didn't have. On the far bank of the pond, in this picture, were tall willow and other trees, densely grown. Then, not quite to the middle of the pond was the bridge, its railing catching a bit of sunlight. The best thing of all was the mirrorlike surface of the pond, which reflected the foliage around it and a bit of the sky. It raced toward the viewer, in the foreground--flat, calm, unrippled by wind--a perfect mirror of trees, sky--crowded clumps of lilypads, here and there, adorned by white flowers with red centers...

                        There were plenty of other people in the museum that day, milling around, speaking in hushed tones. Museum guards stood by attentively. The museum was cozy, a comfortable environment. The modernized interior of plain white walls, modern lighting fixtures and modern climate control system, nice vinyl couches in the centers of the rooms, was a nice contrast to the original old, white stone building. There were large windows at intervals along the sides of the building, and there were skylights in the roof. It was sort of a crystal pallace--or temple--of art. Indeed, the Jeu de Paume and the nearly identical Orangerie looked like Greek temples. The entrances, at one end of the long narrow buildings, were 40 foot high classical-style porticos with large columns. The Jeu and the Orangerie, parallel and 270 yards apart, were at the far end of the Tuileries Gardens, the Palais du Louvre being at the other end.

                        "Well," Jim said, "why don't we go see some of the Renoir paintings, now--I'm anxious to see Moulin de la Galette!"

                        After a five minute walk, traipsing up light grey marble steps to the second floor, along the way, they arrived at the Caillebotte Room, where was Renoir's velvety, sumptuous Moulin, possibly the most celebrated Impressionist painting of all, worth about $70 million in 1982. There were alot of other people standing before the painting. There was a bar in front of it, about three feet from the wall, to keep people at a distance. A guard stood by watchfully, in the room.

                        In a few minutes some of the people left and Penelope, Peter and Jim were able to get to the front of the crowd. The painting was good-sized, about 5'9" wide and 4'4" high. It was an outdoor dancing scene, formal ballroom dancing, under the shade of a canopy of trees. The site was an open air cafe and dance place in the Montmartre district of Paris, called, "Le Moulin de la Galette", which means "the mill of the pancake". Originally it was a family-owned flour mill, which served "galettes", some kind of pancake or pastry. Later, a cafe and dance hall were added, but the name, "Mill of the Pancake" was retained. In the 1870's it was a popular social gathering place, first for working class Parisians, then artists and bohemian types took notice of it and made it one of their social spots.

                        The Moulin consisted of a cafe building with indoor dancing, and an additional dance floor and cafe tables outside, for use in good weather. The painting was of a Sunday afternoon at the Moulin, with a large crowd on the outdoor dance floor and sitting at the outdoor tables. Most of the people were young adults, blushing young "demoiselles" and dashing young gents, but, as was typical for these dances, some were accompanied by parents or other family members. There were even a few children visible in the crowd. Everyone was dressed in their best formal atire for the occasion, the women in beautiful ball gown-type dresses, different colors, the fellows in black suits with black tophats and a few with light colored straw hats. 

                         In the foreground of the picture, right side, was a group of cafe guests seated on a bench or at a table right next to it, engrossed in a light-hearted conversation. These were the main figures of the painting. The girl seated on the bench, whose beatific expression is characteristic of Renoir's women, is the most important and central figure of all. She, perhaps more than any of the others, embodies the true "esprit" of the work, which is, sociability. Over the entire scene there are globular chandelier lights or post lights, and the natural light of the sun, filtering through the trees. In one of the greatest feats of Impressionist art, Renoir perfectly captures this dappling sunlight. In addition to that, when you looked at the painting, you could just about hear the conversations going among the guests at the tables. 

                        After a while, Penelope, Peter and Jim retired from the crowd of about 20 onlookers and sat down on a couch in the middle of the room. The guard stood in the corner of the room, right of the painting, politely observing, apparently pleased at how things were going. There was the hushed murmur of the people looking at the paintings. There were people from all over the world--Japan, America, Europe. All were awed by the art they were seeing.

                        The three sat on the couch for a while, just resting, watching everything. They were just glad to be there, in such a hallowed place. They appreciated just the beauty of the museum itself--the plain, white walls, the parquet wood floors, the beautiful marble staircase, the superb modern directional lighting system. It was the perfect setting for the wealth of gorgeous paintings that were there--whether it was Monet's The Boat at Giverny, Renoir's Woman Reading, or any of the others, the collection was a surfeit, a delicious feast of artistic beauty.

                        As they sat on the couch, looking in its direction, Renoir's Moulin glowed with an ethereal, light blue glow above the crowd of onlookers. It was a mighty work, nearly six feet by four and a half feet.

                        After resting a good while Penelope finally said, "I especially like the contrast of the men's black suits with the women's beautiful ball gowns."

                        "That's what stands out the most," Peter said, "that and the amazing play of light and shadow caused by the trees."    

                         They continued sitting on the couch a while longer, watching everything, the people circulating in the room--enjoying the ambience of the museum. Then Jim said, "I think we've had a good tour today. One thing I regret, though--two Manet paintings I really like alot, At the Cafe and Bar at the Folies Bergere, aren't here. According to the guidebook they aren't here."

                        "I know the one you're talking about," Peter said. "A young woman bartender, standing behind the bar, lots of glasses and bottles around, with a mirror in the background."

                        "Yes, that's it," Jim said.

                        "I'm not familiar with the other one--" Peter said.

                        "Those are real classics," Jim said. "Manet's style is more clear than the others, rather than blurry or indistinct. There's an extraordinary quality to it. You see that clarity in At the Cafe."

                        "I'd like to have seen those," Peter said. "Don't know where they are...

                        Degas, Monet and Renoir get most of the attention, but Manet shouldn't be overlooked..."

                        "I agree," Jim said. "Upon Manet's death, in 1883, Degas said, 'We did not know he was this great'. They all knew each other, they were all friends, colleagues--and this would include Pissarro, Sisley and a few lesser figures. Maybe you, I and you, Penelope, here today, could say the same thing in regard to them--surely, some of the greatest artists of all time: 'We did not know they were this great'."

Monet, Woman with a Parasol

Renoir, Moulin de la Galette

Manet, At the Cafe

Manet, Bar at the Folies Bergere