On Wednesday mornings from 1015-1130 my art history class gets to go on an excursion to a Paris museum and it counts as "work." Usually the professor gives us all a worksheet to fill out that asks vague, somewhat bullshit-y questions about emotions in the paintings or brushstrokes or something like that, but yesterday she must've given up because she just took us on the tour of the Richelieu wing. Before I'd ever gone to the Louvre people had told me about how big it is, but you can't really appreciate that fact until you're one of about a dozen exhausted american students following an overly excited art history professor as she tries to explain hundreds of years of European history. Still, she did bring us to the wing that has the apartments of Napoleon III, so I couldn't resist taking a few pictures - they're posted below, but first: a bit of a history lesson. 

    Napoleon I was THE napoleon, emperor of France, the guy who basically pulled France back together after the revolution. But after he became too ambitious and was exiled in 1814, the French government went through another period of turmoil in which it attempted to restore the monarchy (spoiler alert, not the best idea), and THEN Napoleon III came along in 1848 as the first elected French "president."Apparently France never learns its lesson with these things, because a few years later he decided to make himself emperor, less than 50 years after his uncle had done the exact same thing. Both Napoleons did many great things for France (as well as many shady things), but Napoleon III's reign was generally marked by economic prosperity and expansion, which he of course took advantage of by surrounding himself in splendor... which brings me back to my trip to the Louvre. Below are some of his many rooms that were later transported to the museum to show off the wealth of the period. I was partially disgusted by the injustice of a political system that allows for such luxuries for the few and relative poverty for almost everyone else, but at the same time you can't fail to appreciate the beauty. 

Ceiling frescoes like this can't really be portrayed in pictures; you have to be there, and look up and see how huge and amazing they are. 

These chairs might actually be the coolest thing I've ever seen. They're extremely impractical, of course, because there's no way three people can have a conversation if they're seated like this. But, as I'm sure Napoleon III would say, who care's they're awesome. 

This is just some random artwork that was painted into the wall. Because why have empty wall space when you can coat it in superfluous artwork instead?

For those of you who can appreciate this reference, when I saw this dining room all I could think of was Downton Abbey... but about 100 times more excessive. 

Another view of the dining room.

This spiral staircase was hidden in a hallway behind the dining room. Ladies with their massive fancy dresses could never fit on these stairs, of course, but I totally wouldn't mind having one in my house. 

These massive urns were also everywhere, I have no idea what anyone would ever do with them. When our professor wasn't nearby, some character in my class joked that they'd fit in well at a Hamilton party as a perfect container to chill drinks in. That person will remain nameless. 

To get to the second part of the exhibit, we got to climb these massive marble staircases. It was worth it. 

This gallery was particularly interesting. Apparently when Marie de Medici was Queen of France in the early 17th century, she commissioned this gallery (originally for the Luxembourg Palace, I believe) as a tribute to - you guessed it - herself. Seriously, this huge room is full of giant paintings that depict her life, albeit slightly exaggerated. For example, I highly doubt she was actually friends with the Roman gods, but then again I'm sure the paintings don't lie.

This painting is completely irrelevant to anything we've done in class. My professor was trying to explain another painting in the same room to us, but I was distracted by how calmly these noble children are just sitting in a golden chariot being pulled by goats. Why is this a real painting? I thought you guys would appreciate how absurd it is.