Obamas take in modern art in Paris Sunday

[bigtree]

PARIS (AFP) — The US first family took a long ramble through the Pompidou modern art museum in Paris on Sunday as President Barack Obama stole a few hours of private time at the end of a breakneck diplomatic tour.

After the president had left to return to Washington, first lady Michelle Obama took their daughters to the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa, to cap off the day with some more traditional paintings.

"They visited the museum from top to bottom, they saw it all," said a spokeswoman for the Pompidou Centre, the mammoth glass and steel arthouse wrapped in coloured pipes.

"It was very relaxed, very unofficial and very very family," she added, quoting the head of the Pompidou Centre, Alain Seban, who shepherded the Obamas through a private tour of the six-storey museum that lasted more than two hours.

read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i9oCMEjlooETla9teCLa1B0CEbLg




President Obama lingered over modern art Sunday and enjoyed one of the best views of Paris before flying home, wrapping up a six-day trip that took him to four countries.

There was no sleeping in for Obama, as he, wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, arrived just after 9 a.m. at the Georges Pompidou Center, where the director escorted them on a private 2-hour tour before the museum opened to the public.

"It was very relaxed, very unofficial and very, very family," a spokeswoman said.

The Obamas took in everything -- three floors of art, including a world-class permanent collection that includes works by French masters and American abstract artists such as Jackson Pollock.

read: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/06/07/2009-06-07_the_obamas_take_paris_but_without_many_pictures_city_photographers_strain_for_gl.html

[monmouth]

1. I hope POTUS had a good sleep on the plane. The notion that the

rw freaks would begrudge this man some family time in Paris after the week he has had just blows my mind. If anyone deserved a vacation it is him... He's put in more hours and work in the short time he's been in office than Bush did in a year...ugh.

[bigtree]

3. lots of energy in that family - very dynamic

. . . not like the last guy who spent more time on vacation and in dispose than he did working.

[movonne]

7. Make that 8 years...

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I've been there too. Looks like they are having fun.

[TahitiNut]

4. The Musée d'Orsay has far prettier paintings.

:dunce:

Yeah ... I'm one of those who was in love with the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume!

[bicentennial_baby]

5. I was going to say the same thing!

:rofl:

[TahitiNut]

8. When I first visited the Jeu de Paume, I discovered why I had eyes.

I was OVERWHELMED. I walked around (literally) with tears in my eyes. Never before in my entire life did I regard myself as an "art lover." That visit changed me forever.

Maybe it was partly due to the fact that it was a gorgeous, sunshine-laden day and the light was PERFECT. Whatever ... I was dumbstruck.

It wasn't long afterwards that I attended my first-ever ballet ... Sleeping Beauty, performed in the evening by the Paris Ballet Company in the (outdoor) Coeur Carré of the Louvre museum. Second row, center aisle ... I was spoiled forever. Those are some of the experiences that mean "Paris" to me.

I can NEVER be jaded ... never ever will fail to appreciate the beauty of such things. I will never be blase about such experiences ... they moved me in ways I could never describe.

[bicentennial_baby]

11. I'll never forget being face to face with Van Gogh's self portrait

No glass between us. So cool. That place is amazing.

The Louvre was cool, but d'Orsay was AMAZING.

:hi:

[bigtree]

15. The Louvre

I remember the room with the Mona Lisa (1971) . . . so small and cramped - big portrait at the end of the hall (unfinished, I think)

Dug the statue hall . . . It would be nice to go back knowing more about where to find the best art. I still have a soft spot for the Louvre, tho.

[bigtree]

9. cool paintings

nice pics - adding them to my collection

[TahitiNut]

14. Wikipedia has some VERY nice hi-res graphics of the masters ... suitable for wallpaper.

When I finally switch over to my new 'puter (64-bit, 6G memory, etc) I'm looking at having some impressionist masters for wallpaper ... or screensaver slides.

That hi-res 1080 display is gonna get USED.

[Retrograde]

6. What! He didn't have it closed just for him?

"the Georges Pompidou Center, where the director escorted them on a private 2-hour tour before the museum opened to the public."

Imagine the President getting up early to see one of the big tourist sites just so he doesn't inconvenience a bunch of elitist artsy tourists. Well, not inconvenience them any more than his normal security arrangements do. Doesn't he know the entire city's supposed to shut down for HIM? And he's not wearing a tie!

I'm glad to see him and his family (and staff) taking advantage of the trip to appreciate one of the world's great cities and cultures.

[Psychic Consortium]

10. He pays tribute to every country he visits by honoring and appreciating

their culture: history, arts, religion, etc.

He represents America, yet is a world leader.

[bluedeminredstate]

12. I can't help the comparison...

When George Bush was in Russia there was a museum tour after a state dinner. He stayed 15 minutes at the museum, declared it bedtime and insulted his hosts greatly. He didn't give a shit about the hosts, the museum, the diplomacy - only his 8:30 bedtime. Such a refreshing change! Thank God!!

:patriot:

[femmocrat]

13. I love that the Obamas support the arts!

K&R Thank you so much!