Louvre Totally Explained

Everything about The Louvre totally explained

The Louvre, in Paris, France, is one of the world's most visited art museums, an historic monument, and a national symbol. The collection contains nearly 35,000 pieces displayed over the structure's . The museum is on the Right Bank, in the neighborhood referred to as the 1st arrondissement and lies between the Seine River and the Rue de Rivoli. The Louvre is slightly askew of the axe historique, a long architectural straightaway that cuts through the centre of Paris.
   The structure, begun in 1190 CE, originated as a fortress during the Capetian dynasty under the reign of Philip II and has been used as a residence. Used as an art depository from the time of François I, it was opened to the public after the French Revolution. At that time, the Louvre was intended to symbolize the progress of Liberty and was a destination for many of the spoils brought home by Napoleon's victorious armies. In the 20th century, the structure was renovated to match modern museum standards during the Grand Louvre project. It is unknown if this was the first building to be constructed on that spot, although contemporary references suggest a predecessor.
   The only portion still extant from the medieval period is the foundation of the southeast corner. Lescot built the Pavillon de Roi, razed the western wing and replaced it with a two-story structure, and installed the Salle des Caryatides on the ground floor. The latter room is given its name from the caryatids sculpted by Goujon which are based on Greek/Roman works. Working with the woodcarver Scibec de Carpi, Lescot also added a ceiling to King Henry II's royal chamber, which was revolutionary compared with the established beam-style. These modifications combine "classicism and traditional French architecture" and are considered prime examples of the French Renaissance style.
   In 1564, Henri II's wife, Catherine de'Medici directed the building of the Palais des Tuileries, which faced the Louvre. She intended that a gallery connect through the courtyard between the two palaces, but this wasn't built until later. In 1594, King Henry IV began construction on his "Grand Design", a renovation of the Louvre intended to remove remnants of the medieval fortress. The plan included the Grande Galerie, a linkage between the Pavillon de Flore, the Louvre, and the Palais des Tuileries. The gallery was completed by 1610, when the Pavillon de Flore was covered. However, Henry IV was stabbed that year and his Grand Design lay unfinished.
   In 1624, the classical architects Le Vau and Lemercier completed the design of the Cour Carrée under Louis XIII and Louis XIV reigns, quadrupling the size of the old courtyard. The eponymous Le Vau-Le Mercier Wing was also finished and is still visible today. In 1659, Louis XIV instigated a new phase of production under Le Vau, Le Nôtre, and painter Charles le Brun. Le Nôtre was charged with creating the Tuileries garden in the courtyard between the palaces; Le Vau finished work on the Tuileries palace, and Le Brun completed the decoration of the Gallerie d'Apollon. On 10 August 1792, the Bourbon monarchy collapsed, Louis XVI was imprisoned, and all art in the royal collection was declared to be national property (biens nationaux). The National Assembly, deciding that the collection had been weakened by being "dispersed" and that the matter was "urgent", turned the palace into a museum. With legal authorization given on 6 May 1791, the marquis de Marigny and his successor, the comte d'Angiviller, began developing the Louvre's permanent collection.]] During Napoleon's European conquests, the museum augmented its collection, and Napoleon appointed its first director, Dominique Vivant, baron de Denon, after the Egyptian campaign of 1798–1801. In tribute, the museum was renamed the "Musée Napoléon" in 1803, and many works were added to the collection from countries such as Spain, Austria, Holland, and Italy. These were often met by gleeful Parisians, who escorted the works to the museum along the quais of the Seine.

Axe historique

The destroyed Tuileries Palace, once connected to the Louvre, lay at the eastern end of the Axe historique (Historic Axis), an long straightaway that begins at La Défense and includes the Champs Élysées and Arc de Triomphe. The axis was begun in 1572 when architect André Le Nôtre planted a line of trees from the Louvre courtyard to the Tuileries. In 1871, when the Paris Commune burned the palace to the ground, it became possible to see that the Louvre wasn't aligned on the long axis. The museum had appeared to be along the same sight line as the Champs Élysées, but after destruction of the palace, it was clear that it was not.

Pyramid and Grand Louvre

French President Francois Mitterand proposed to enhance the Louvre in 1983. His plans included the renovation of the building and moving the Finance Ministry elsewhere, permitting display throughout. I.M. Pei, a Chinese-American architect, was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid for the central courtyard, which he argued created a "strong symbolic element ... delicate and stable, correctly proportioned so as not to overwhelm the architecture of the Louvre but rearing its point there..." According to the 2005 annual report, the collection includes 11,900 paintings, the second largest holding of Western pictorial art in the world after the State Hermitage in Russia. Six thousand paintings are on permanent display, and 5,900 are in storage. Besides paintings, the Louvre exhibits include sculptures, objets d'art, and archaeological finds.

Decorative arts

The decorative arts, or objects d'art, department contains thousands of works spanning a period from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century. The collection began through appropriation of royal property after the revolution, mostly from Louis XIV, and the transfer of work from the Basilique Saint-Denis, the burial ground of French monarchs that held the Coronation Sword of the Kings of France.
The department's pieces are displayed primarily on the first floor of the Richelieu Wing and in the Apollo Gallery, named by painter Charles Le Brun, who was commissioned by Louis XIV, the "Sun King", to decorate the space with his theme, the sun. The medieval collection notably contains the coronation crown of Louis XIV, Charles V's sceptre, and the 12th century porphyry vase. The Renaissance art holdings include Giambologna's bronze Nessus and Deianira and the tapestry Maximillian's Hunt, often cited.

Greek, Etruscan, and Roman

The sculptures department contains work created before 1850 that doesn't belong in the Etruscan, Greek, and Roman department. The Louvre has been a repository of sculpted material since its time as a palace; however, since only ancient architecture was considered suitable for study, the first display of medieval, Renaissance, and modern works didn't occur until 1824 except for Michelangelo's Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave. Additionally, discussion continues over the Italian and Northern European pieces acquired by the French military during the course of Napoleon's campaigns as well as antiquities held by the Louvre that were taken during excavations, particularly in Egypt and the Near East. The Louvre administration has argued in favor of retaining these items despite requests by the source nations for their return, and it participates in arbitration sessions held via UNESCO's Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to Its Countries of Origin.

Satellite museums

Lens

To relieve the crowded Paris Louvre, increase total museum visits, and improve the economy of the industrial north, French officials decided in 2004 to build a satellite museum on the site of an abandoned coal pit in the former mining town of Lens. The architectural team of Sanaa of Tokyo, under the direction of Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima, was awarded the project.

Abu Dhabi

In March 2007, the Louvre announced that a Louvre museum would be completed by 2012 in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. A 30-year agreement, signed by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres and Sheik Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, will establish a Louvre museum in downtown Abu Dhabi in exchange for €832,000 (US$1.3 billion). The Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel and the engineering firm of Buro Happold, will occupy covered by a roof shaped like a flying saucer. France has agreed to rotate between 200 and 300 artworks through the Louvre Abu Dhabi during a 10-year period, to provide management expertise, and to provide four temporary exhibitions a year for 15 years. The art will come from multiple French museums, including the Louvre, the Georges Pompidou Centre, the Musée d'Orsay, Versailles, the Musée Guimet, the Musée Rodin, and the Musée du Quai Branly.

Location and access

The museum lies in the heavily-visited centre of Paris on the Right Bank. The neighborhood, known as the Ier arrondissement, is home to the destroyed Palais des Tuileries and the Tuileries Gardens. These gardens, created in 1564 by Catherine de Medici and reorganized in 1664 by André Le Nôtre, house the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, a contemporary art museum that was used to store Jewish cultural property from 1940 to 1944.
The Pavillon de Flore and Denon Wing, parallel to the Seine River, are at 36 Quai du Louvre. From the Left Bank the museum is across the Pont du Carrousel or the Pont des Arts. The museum is bounded on the north by Napoleon's Rue de Rivoli and Cardinal Richelieu's former residence, the Palais Royal. To the east is the Place du Louvre. The Louvre can be reached by the Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre Métro or the Louvre-Rivoli station. The stations are named after the nearby Palais Royal, the Louvre, and the Rue de Rivoli.

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