Hidden Gems by National School

French Paintings

Georges de La Tour's Magdalene (Room 912, Sully) - Multiple versions showing spiritual transformation - Candlelight creating divine atmosphere - Simplicity achieving profundity

Watteau's Pierrot (Room 917, Sully) - Sad clown before sad clowns were cliché - Isolation despite group setting - Rococo melancholy

Italian Treasures

Mantegna's Calvary (Room 708, Denon) - Perspective mastery from below - Every pebble painted precisely - Grief in every gesture

Caravaggio's Fortune Teller (Room 712, Denon) - Street life becomes high art - The theft happening before our eyes - Light revealing character

Northern European Gems

Van Eyck's Madonna of Chancellor Rolin (Room 820, Richelieu) - Incredible detail—use magnifying glass! - Entire city in background - Every surface reflecting light differently

Rembrandt's Bathsheba (Room 844, Richelieu) - Flesh painted with honesty - Psychological complexity - The fatal letter in her hand