Chapter Three: Morse at the Louvre Summary and Analysis

James Cooper reported on his fellow countryman, artist Samuel Morse, whose painting was making quite a sensation. Morse was forty-two and had spent half his life as an artist, studying for several years in Italy. Cooper admired Morse's work and the two became very good friends. Morse's ambitious undertaking at the Louvre was a gigantic painting of the interior of the Louvre which featured visitors and the paintings, sculptures and artwork they were viewing. Morse had done many works in portraiture prior to this painting. Morse selected the artwork he wanted to represent in the painting, unconcerned with their actual location in the museum. What was unique and appealing about Morse's depiction of the Louvre's interior would be the representation of so many noted masterpieces in one rendering. The work was...