Mona what?

Went to the Louvre today.  Saw the Mona Lisa / La Joconde / La Gioconda / La Why-is-it-so-famous-again / whatever you want to call it.  Let's call her Mona for short.  I guess the expected response would be to rant about how unimpressive she is, how there are arguably way more interesting pieces of art very close to her, how undeserved her popularity is, etc.  But I mean, I have been warned several times that I would be underwhelmed by her size when I actually saw her blah blah blah.  So I wasn't expecting much.  Let's just be honest, I couldn't draw something like that, so props to Leo da V for drawing the most iconic piece of work in modern pop culture, now matter how enigmatic we find Mona's fame.

But what I found more amusing was the cult-ish crowd that flocked to Mona.  Well first of all, I feel like a lotttt of tourists come to Louvre only with the expectation of seeing her then walking around for a bit, pretending to appreciate the museum's Italian collection, maybe venture down to the Egyptian collection, and leave, having accomplished everything they came to see.  I'm not saying I'm any different, but that's what most people do, right? And it's not like the Louvre does anything to alleviate this practice (and why would they? They get the same entrance fee regardless how whether the tourists 5 minutes or 10 hours in the museum) because right from the entrance, there are signs everywhere declaring "MONA LISA THIS WAY, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE BEAUTIFUL JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID PAINTINGS WE HAVE, AND NEVERMIND THE NEAR EASTERN EXHIBIT". 

But back to the people.  They were intense.  Everyone shoving his way to the front, trying to get the best picture, speaking every language from Deep South (probably close to Alabama) to Yankee to Wisconsin-ese. Oh and the Japanese.  So me, instead of getting trampled trying to get the perfect picture of Mona for my Paris Facebook Album, I took pictures of the crowds. 

 

Members of the Mona-cult

That painting way up on the front is Mona.  Look how much wall space she got!! Ridiculous.  But more importantly, look at how many people there are.  Meanwhile: 

 This huge, beautiful painting was on the other side of the Mona-room.  Got no attention.  

All that said, I totally left the Louvre right after seeing Mona because I was tired. I'm one of the cult.