The Louvre Museum was constructed by King Philippe Augustus as a fortress in 1190 to protect the city of Paris from foreign invasion. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies, Castles you can visit on a day trip from Paris, Life in a farmhouse in the Auvergne, France, Freewheeling gastronomic adventure in Montreuil-sur-Mer, Win a fabulous week-long holiday in southwest France, Brilliant, brand new Festive France Christmas magazine, Virtual viewings help buyers find French property, Expert essential tips for moving to France. Louvre, in full Louvre Museum or French Musée du Louvre, official name Great Louvre or French Grand Louvre, national museum and art gallery of France, housed in part of a large palace in Paris that was built on the right-bank site of the 12th-century fortress of Philip Augustus. During the Age of Enlightenment, middle-class citizens of France began calling for the public display of the royal art collection, though it wasn’t until 1789 when the beginning of the French Revolution initiated the transformation of the Louvre from a palace to a museum. It’s also the most visited museum of the world with a stonking 10 million visitors a year – but it wasn’t always this way. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which was originally built in the late 12th century under Phillip II. Many of the pieces taken from Italy and Egypt were returned after Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815, but the expansive Ancient Egyptian Collection that exists in the museum today is a result of this plundering. Finally, if you visit the Louvre, book your tickets in advance to avoid long queues. Although it’s centuries old, it was actually a modern (at the time) replacement for something even more old-fashioned: a castle built during the reign of King Philippe-August in the late 12 th to early 13 th centuries AD.. From its early days as a Greco-Roman city (then known as Lutetia … The Louvre was used for offices and a museum. The Louvre is one of the most famous buildings in Paris. It was built in 1170 and for the purpose of being a fortress. The year 1981 and the election of François Mitterand as President of the Republic brought with them many unexpected developments for the Louvre. It was shut down for a while when the infrastructure proved to be unfit for regular visitors. She is positioned to appear as though she is looking across the other Roman depictions of Venus that appear in the same hall at the Louvre Museum. In 2012, the Louvre-Lens opened in northern France, featuring collections on loan from the Louvre Museum in Paris with the intention of making French art collections more accessible across the country. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement (district or ward). Though the Louvre in Paris and the Louvre Abu Dhabi are not directly in partnership, the latter is leasing the museum name from the former for 30 years and working with the French government to encourage visitation to the first museum of this kind in the Middle East. In response to the growing outcry of the French middle class for access to the royal art collection, the Louvre Museum was opened in 1793, though it was closed for renovations shortly afterwards. Though some of the hiding places of the collections were revealed after the war, Jacques Jaujard remained silent about the operation until his death in 1967. Without question, the Louvre’s most famous work is Leonardo da Vinci’s, Mona Lisa. The job was tasked to Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, who designed the iconic Louvre pyramid that serves as a main entrance to the museum. The Louvre was originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under the rule of King Philip the second. She was positioned as the sole figure on top of a staircase in the museum in 1863 where she has remained ever since. The painting was widely considered to be controversial because it depicted tragedy in a realistic, graphic way, blaming the newly reinstated French monarchy for the sinking of the ship, and it featured an African man, a subtle protest against enslavement. The Chateau de Chantilly in Picardy, a short journey from the centre of Paris, is one of them… Potted history of the Chateau of Chantilly Castles have stood for many centuries on the site […], Dijon, capital of Burgundy, is a city of culture, history and exquisite architecture, a living museum in itself. It was acquired by the Louvre after Gericault’s death in 1824. Part of the plan was to create a new main entrance and Architect I.M. Wandering along a Paris street, admiring the buildings, the alluring cafés, the Eiffel Tower is one of life’s greatest pleasures. It’s an historic area in the department of Allier in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. Run by the Louvre it contains artworks from the 17th to 20th century. Thousands visit to see the armless beauty of the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory, an ancient Greek sculpture. In 1814, when Napoleon’s rule came to end, almost 5,000 artworks were returned to their countries of origin. Because people considered this pyramid evil In this article, we take a look at the story of this pyramid. Eugene Delacroix’s, Liberty Leading the People, which depicts a bare-breasted Liberty goddess leading a charge in the French Revolution, thought to have inspired Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, is popular with French visitors. The history of the Louvre museum is fascinating… The origins of the Louvre. Australian Susan McDonald has enjoyed many walks in the South of France and shares some […], Some quotes from France are beyond famous. The Louvre fortress was originally constructed on the right side of the river Seine, the wealthy side of the city where merchants and tradesmen worked, making it an ideal location for a royal residence. Surprise! Medieval Louvre. Wander in the Tuileries gardens, between the Louvre and the Champs Elysées. Along with its three smaller pyramids, the well known Paris attraction serves and the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. It was originally built to be a defense fortress in the 1200s. The iconic glass pyramid of the Louvre, designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. As the Louvre Museum was the home of the French monarchy, many of the pieces currently on display were once part of the personal collections of the kings of France. Once it was only for royalty and aristocrats. Nearly every monarch expanded it, according to History.com. The museum dates back to the 12th century, when it was built as a fortress—a fact not many would first associate for the eventual home of the Mona Lisa. One of the most famous works of art in the world, the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, has been on display at the Louvre since 1797. The inauguration of the pyramid in year 1989 caused many protests. The collection was augmented by Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Charles X, though after the Second Republic the collection was supplied mainly by private donations. You think to yourself, I don’t know who this Msr. After that the royal family lost interest in the Louvre. We will also take a look at the Louvre Museum history. Pei wanted to create an entryway that reflected the sky and made the outside Louvre palace walls visible, even from underground. The modern glass pyramid and underground lobby he designed was inaugurated in 1988 followed by the Inverted Pyramid, a skylight dipping into the underground lobby in 1993. King Louis XIV saying “I am the state” or Napoleon’s “An army travels on its stomach” are known around the world. The Louvre was originally built as a … A rendering of the Louvre museum circa 1500 by the Rouargue Brothers, notable because of the original defensive mechanisms, including the tower and the fortress walls. Le Louvre was actually a fortress that was built in … Here, we explore the museum's unique history, tracing its fascinating evolution from medieval castle to world-class art museum. Leroy is but he must be quite the winemaker. When the protective walls could no longer contain the growing population of Paris, the walls were torn down, and a palace for the royal family was commissioned in its place. The pyramid wasn’t always popular. The history of the Louvre Museum is fascinating. Discovered in 1820 on the Greek island of Milo, the Venus de Milo was gifted to King Louis XVIII, who donated it to the Louvre collection. Military Review under the Empire, painted in 1810 by Joseph Louis Hippolyte Bellange and Adrien Dauzats depicts the early years of the Louvre as museum. In the summer of 1939, the Director of French National Museums, Jacques Jaujard, oversaw a clandestine evacuation of more than 4.000 works of art from the Louvre, including the “Mona Lisa.” The following year, Adolf Hitler successfully invaded Paris, and by June the city had surrendered to Nazi control. This renovation project also revealed the previously undiscovered original fortress walls, now displayed as part of the permanent exhibit in the museum’s basement. Today, it covers a total area of 652,300 square feet (60,600 square metres). T he Louvre Museum has been a "Grand Gallery" since 1793. The athleticwear company of the same name used the goddess of victory as inspiration for the brand, and the Nike logo is taken from the shape of the top of her wings. It was he who designed the pyrami… Thanks for dropping by! The Louvre Museum is currently home to some of the most famous works of art in the world, including the “Mona Lisa”, the “Venus de Milo”, and the “Great Sphinx of Tanis.”. All exhibits in the Louvre … Ieoh Ming Pei was appointed in 1983 to develop a new grand entrance to accommodate the growing number of visitors and to reorganize the museum’s interior. History of the Louvre Palace: Before the Art. Plus there are fabulous restaurants and wine […], Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, has a dozen museums. Once it was only for royalty and aristocrats. Mckenzie Perkins is a writer and researcher specializing in southeast Asian religion and culture, education, and college life. Great for people watching from the arcades. It was then turned into a country home, and later into a palace. The building itself is a sign of the evolution of architecture and taste collector in France. By the 19th century, the Louvre had been transformed into a museum, open to the public. Much of the collection was amassed for the museum during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars of the 19 century. Following the French Revolution, the National Assembly ruling body opened the Louvre as a museum in August 1793 with a collection of 537 paintings. Armed with a desire to regain control over the city of Paris, King Francis I declared the Louvre as the official royal residence of the monarchy, and he used the palace to store his vast collection of artwork. More than six million people visit the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa each year. It is positioned strategically as the sole, dominant figure at the entrance to the Egyptian collection of the Louvre Museum, just as it would have been positioned as a guardian at the entrance of an Egyptian pharaoh’s sanctuary. As a Paris local with a love of food, culture and history, she shares some of her top tips for visitors the the city of light… What draws you to Paris – the things that make you […], Visitors to the French Riviera between Nice and the Italian border can experience many heavenly hikes. It had been a small farm for beef cattle, was tenanted for 165 years and passed out of farming in 2003. There are so many cultural venues to visit, it’s hard to know where to begin. Other popular works include a stele inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, da Vinci’s tragic sculpture The Dying Slave and Antonio Canova’s 18th-century sculpture Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss. In 1983, a Chinese-American architect was commissioned to build a glass pyramid for the Louvre. In 2019, the Louvre received 9.6 million visitors, making it the most visited museum in the world. This protocol is strictly aligned with the 1970 UNESCO convention and follows the most demanding standards of major museums in the world. It heralded the beginning of the Grand Louvre with the annexation of the Richelieu wing, which up until them had been used by the offices of the Finance Ministry. Museum you should really know whole museum in St Petersburg, Russia s not true – there are two held. It the most visited fine arts museum relaxing, people watching and a Chinese-American architect.. Of 1832 that served as the sole figure on top of a staircase the... 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