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The Louvre Museum

"The [Louvre] museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in 1546 Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French kings.

The building was redesigned and extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces. The palace and exhibition space was expanded in the 19th century and again in the 20th.

The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed from 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon, after the Napoleonic looting of art in Europe, Egypt, and Syria, and the museum was renamed Musée Napoléon, but after Napoleon's abdication, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners.[citation needed] The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic. The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

The Musée du Louvre contains approximately 500,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments with more than 60,600 m2 (652,000 sq ft) dedicated to the permanent collection. The Louvre exhibits sculptures, objets d'art, paintings, drawings, and archaeological finds. At any given point in time, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are being exhibited over an area of 72,735 m2 (782,910 sq ft), making it the largest museum in the world. It received 8.7 million visitors in 2024, 200,000 less than 2023, due largely to competition from the 2024 Paris Olympics. In 2023 it was the most-visited museum in the world, ahead of the Vatican Museums."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre

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13 comments

Jaap van 't Veen said:

Beautiful image.
Thank you for the note.
3 weeks ago

William Sutherland said:

Exceptional capture!

Admired in: www.ipernity.com/group/tolerance
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Valeriane ♫ ♫ ♫¨* said:

belle prise de vue et super informations !***********************
Belle semaine mon amie♫
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Annemarie said:

beautiful both images

Have a peaceful week ahead!
3 weeks ago

Gudrun said:

A museum classic with its famous glass pyramid, a well chosen contribution to SC!
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Günter Klaus said:

Sehr schön ist dieser Blick auf diese tollen Gebäude liebe Esther :))

Wünsche noch einen schönen Nachmittag,liebe Grüße Güni :))
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Xata said:

Many days needed to see all...
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Nicole Merdrignac said:

Superbe et très intéressant. Bonne semaine .
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Gillian Everett said:

Such a marvellous place and history.
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Kayleigh said:

Wie immer, großartig!
3 weeks ago ( translate )

Patrick Brandy said:

Remarquable visite merci pour l'info agréable journée.
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Nora Caracci said:

genial framing !
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Esther said:

Thanks for visiting!
9 days ago