Guardians of the Louvre
Registered by GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 10/3/2018
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I got this ex-library hardcover from an on-line seller. It's from the "Louvre" series of graphic novels, each with a different spin on the museum, by a variety of artists. I got this one because I've enjoyed other works by Jiro Taniguchi, including A Zoo in Winter. (Taniguchi passed away in 2017.)
Here, the narrator/author-avatar is visiting Paris on the way back to Japan from a conference - and falls ill, spending some of that precious vacation time curled up in his hotel room, feverish and sneezing. He recovers a bit and decides to focus his remaining days on the Louvre, but once he's there the crowds oppress him - and then he meets a mysterious woman who tells him about the guardians of the Louvre, the spirits of all the artwork and artifacts kept there. And then he finds himself lost in paintings, transported to the scenes, meeting some of the artists - and even transported in time, to the Louvre itself during WWII, when the artworks were taken away to save them from the approaching German army. Is he really experiencing all this, or is it all a fever-dream? Who can say... but when he has the chance to meet someone he's missed, one hopes that it's real!
Taniguchi has a lovely, poetic art-style, mixing detailed imagery with lush impressions. My favorite bits here had to do with the landscape artist Corot and the way his work inspired other artists, but it was all fascinating.
Here, the narrator/author-avatar is visiting Paris on the way back to Japan from a conference - and falls ill, spending some of that precious vacation time curled up in his hotel room, feverish and sneezing. He recovers a bit and decides to focus his remaining days on the Louvre, but once he's there the crowds oppress him - and then he meets a mysterious woman who tells him about the guardians of the Louvre, the spirits of all the artwork and artifacts kept there. And then he finds himself lost in paintings, transported to the scenes, meeting some of the artists - and even transported in time, to the Louvre itself during WWII, when the artworks were taken away to save them from the approaching German army. Is he really experiencing all this, or is it all a fever-dream? Who can say... but when he has the chance to meet someone he's missed, one hopes that it's real!
Taniguchi has a lovely, poetic art-style, mixing detailed imagery with lush impressions. My favorite bits here had to do with the landscape artist Corot and the way his work inspired other artists, but it was all fascinating.
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, March 28, 2019
Released 5 yrs ago (3/28/2019 UTC) at Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I plan to leave this book on a bench or parking-lot wall outside the museum; hope the finder enjoys it!
[See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2019 Oh the Places We Can Go release challenge. ***
[See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2019 Oh the Places We Can Go release challenge. ***