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Louvre's New Mona Lisa To Confuse Tourists

"Howdy from the City of Light! Today we went to the Loove Museum and finally saw the Mona Lisa. Gosh, but it was so big! And who knew it was actually in black and white?"

Okay, so even first-time visitors to Paris probably won't mistake "The Funeral of Mona Lisa" for the real thing. But the crowd in front of Franco-Chinese artist Yan Pei-Ming's new exhibit, which opened yesterday at the venerable Louvre, will probably be just as interested in his tear-streaked recreation of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous lady.

Yan's five paintings reflecting and responding to the "Mona Lisa" are part of a new initiative at the Louvre to bring in more contemporary art. Catch "The Funeral of Mona Lisa" on display now through May 18.

Related Stories:
· Mona Lisa's Other Face [ABC News]
· Louvre's Going 'Merican [Jaunted]
· Hotels Near The Louvre [HC]

[Photo: Reuters]

Theme Parks / → All Tags

J. T. Leroy Gets All Mickey Mouse

We somehow missed until now the delicious news that semi-fictional writer J T Leroy recently visited Disneyland Paris and told the New York Times all about it. Fun anecdote that may or may not be true: "When I was a child, my mother worked the strip clubs outside Orlando, Fla., and weeding out the Disney dollars from legitimate tender stuffed into her G-string was my job." Leroy's trip won't make you jump a plane and head for either France or a strip club, but there are a few canny observations on just how filling a Disney with Europeans rather than Americans changes the vibe completely.

Related Stories:

·   Uncle Walt, Parlez-Vous Français? [NYT]
·   Disneyland Paris [Official site]
·   Disneyland Paris [Fodor's]