It was during this century that two additional wings were added to the palace, giving it the physical structure it exhibits today. 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. Palais du Louvre was built on the site of a castle from the Middle Ages, which kept the foundations and the moat. But long before it became a public museum, the Louvre was a fortress dating back to the reign of Philippe Auguste, the French king who paved the streets and built the walls of Paris. Following the French Revolution, the National Assembly ruling body opened the Louvre as a museum in August 1793 with a collection of 537 paintings. It then consisted of […], Although I live in America, I’m a hardcore Francophile. It’s just 21 by 30 inches, covered with bullet-proof glass and flanked by guards. Pei in the 1980s during a massive renovation and expansion project. We will also take a look at the Louvre Museum history. The next biggest museum on the planet would be the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. Discover surprising insights and little-known facts about politics, literature, science, and the marvels of the natural world. 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.”. This protection is the result of the painting being stolen in 1911 but was thankfully recovered in 1913. The museum was inaugurated in 1739. Pei was awarded the project. It’s also great for relaxing, people watching and. Thousands visit to see the armless beauty of the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory, an ancient Greek sculpture. I love its bustling atmosphere, clean sandy beach, colourful beach huts […], We talk to chef and author Lisa Baker Morgan who splits her life between Los Angeles and Paris. The fortress was eventually torn down and replaced with a palace that served as the royal residence of the French monarchy. As a result of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt, the Sphinx was discovered by French Egyptologist Jean-Jacques Rifaud in 1825 in the “lost city” of Tanis and acquired the by Louvre the following year. Below are the most famous pieces on permanent display in the Louvre Museum. Wandering along a Paris street, admiring the buildings, the alluring cafés, the Eiffel Tower is one of life’s greatest pleasures. This iconic painting is much smaller than people realise. Mckenzie Perkins is a writer and researcher specializing in southeast Asian religion and culture, education, and college life. Museum - Museum - The Louvre: It was a matter of public concern in France that the royal collections were inaccessible to the populace, and eventually a selection of paintings was exhibited at the Luxembourg Palace in 1750 by Louis XV. If you’re in Paris, we know you’ll have plenty to do and see, but the chateaux of France are super special and when it’s this easy to visit, it really adds something […], Though France has plenty of Chateaux that impress, wow and take your breath away – some are more special than others. Michelangelo never finished the project, and the completed sculptures were kept in private collection until they were acquired by the Louvre after the French Revolution. The collection was augmented by Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Charles X, though after the Second Republic the collection was supplied mainly by private donations. The iconic Louvre pyramid was added to the museum during a renovation project in the 1980s to promote a higher visitor volume. I know that when I first arrived in this city 7 years ago, it was one of the first museums I checked out. The thief was caught trying to sell the painting to the Uffizi Museum in Florence, and the Mona Lisa was returned to Paris in early 1914. 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. Moreover, it was a fortress back at that time, and then it transformed into the well-known museum. Thanks for dropping by! While King Charles V ordered the transformation of the fortress into a palace during the 14th century, it wasn’t until King Francis I returned from captivity in Spain in the 16th century that the Louvre fortress was demolished and rebuilt as the Louvre palace. After the Revolution of 1789, Napoleon I, later kings, and Napoleon III lived in the Tuileries. 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 Museum was constructed by King Philippe Augustus as a fortress in 1190 to protect the city of Paris from foreign invasion. The Louvre is the world’s most famous and largest fine arts museum. The history of the Louvre Museum is fascinating. 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 final result, competed in 1989, is the 11,000-square-foot glass pyramid with two spiralling staircases that funnel visitors into a vast network of underground passages that lead to different wings of the former palace. Around the year 1190, King Philippe Augustus ordered a wall and a defensive fortress, the Louvre, to be constructed to protect the city of Paris from English and Norman invasions. He has two satellite museums – the Louvre Lance, also located in France, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is located in the United Arab Emirates. 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. As a resident of Montreuil-sur-Mer in Pas de Calais, I am a regular visitor to Le Touquet, just 10 miles away on the Opal coast. Join us on Twitter or Facebook and stay updated by subscribing to our RSS feed or Newsletter. So here are some facts about the Louvre Museum you should really know. This protocol is strictly aligned with the 1970 UNESCO convention and follows the most demanding standards of major museums in the world. The Louvre holds about 300 thousand exhibits. However, due to some infrastructural problems, it was shut down for a period of almost five years. 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 Louvre was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages, being converted into a residence in the 14th century by Charles V, and being renovated into the French Renaissance style by Francis I in 1546. 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. Nearly every monarch expanded it, according to History.com. Wander in the Tuileries gardens, between the Louvre and the Champs Elysées. The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in 1190, but was reconstructed in the 16th century to serve as a royal palace. 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. In 1190, the Louvre was built by King Philippe-Auguste as a fortress to protect Paris from the invasion of the Anglo-Romans. History of the Louvre Palace: Before the Art. King Louis XIV saying “I am the state” or Napoleon’s “An army travels on its stomach” are known around the world. When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power he had the Louvre renamed “Musée Napoleon” and vastly expanded the collection, adding art from his military campaigns, private donations and commissions. The Louvre was built as a fortress in 1190. The Louvre , or the Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre [myze dy luvʁ] (listen)), is the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. 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 1814, when Napoleon’s rule came to end, almost 5,000 artworks were returned to their countries of origin. The world’s most visited fine arts museum was once a fortress. By the 19th century, the Louvre had been transformed into a museum, open to the public. The Louvre is one of the most famous buildings in Paris. And, if you love quotes, you’ll enjoy these fun France sayings from around the world… “How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?”—Charles […]. 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. Surrounded by vineyards and stunning countryside, it really is an absolute jewel of a French city. It was moved from the Palace of Versailles to the Louvre in 1889. 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. And, if you’re a night owl, visit on Wednesday and Friday when the museum closes at 9.45pm. Espace Dalí museum-gallery Every time a new monarch was appointed, there was expansion and change until the Louvre reached a monumental size. 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. Plus there are fabulous restaurants and wine […], Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, has a dozen museums. The grand palace that houses the museum, which dates back to the late twelfth century, is a true lesson in architecture: from 1200 to 2011, the most innovative architects have in turn built and developed the Louvre. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe now to receive more just like it. She enchants hordes of visitors with her enigmatic smile, creating very long queues. In the 16th century, it became a palace, and in 1793, it became a museum after the French royal family moved to the Palace of Versailles. Louvre website in English: www.louvre.fr/en/homepage, Musée d’Orsay is just across the road from the Louvre And prior to its stint as a palace, it was a fortress intended to protect the city of Paris from invasions. Leroy is but he must be quite the winemaker.