Denon · level 1

Let the length of the Grande Galerie shape your first impression: paintings recede through a space that once connected royal buildings. Then imagine the different kind of attention demanded by a single enormous canvas in the red rooms. Denon’s level 1 repeatedly changes the distance at which an image reaches you. Italian and large French paintings form a substantial part of the display, alongside other painting sectors. Some pictures were made to move between walls. Others, including the detached frescoes associated with the Botticelli room, began as part of a building. Sandro Botticelli, the Italian Renaissance painter, painted those scenes onto plaster. Their presence here carries a fragment of an earlier architectural setting into the museum. At the Daru landing, the Winged Victory introduces a body in real space among the painting galleries. Give its movement your attention from a safe viewing position while keeping the stairs clear. As you explore the available rooms, notice what each setting lets you do: take in a whole scene, study a gesture or follow a line of figures. The gallery’s shape is part of that experience.