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Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

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The story

The Louvre began as a fortress. Philip II raised it on the right bank of the Seine around 1190 to guard medieval Paris, and over the following centuries French kings rebuilt it into a royal palace, until Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles in 1682 and left the half-finished halls to the royal collection and the artists lodged inside.

The Revolution turned it into a public museum. On 10 August 1793 the Muséum central des arts opened its doors, showing the confiscated art of the crown and the church to any citizen who wished to walk in. Napoleon filled it with the spoils of his campaigns and briefly renamed it after himself. Much was returned after Waterloo, but the idea held, a national collection arranged for study and free to the public.

Today the Louvre holds more than 35,000 works, from the Venus de Milo to Géricault's Raft of the Medusa. The crowds, though, press toward one small portrait. In August 1911 it vanished: Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian handyman who had worked in the museum, lifted Leonardo's Mona Lisa off the wall and carried it out under his coat. For two years the frame hung empty while visitors came to stare at the gap, and the painting returned only in 1913, after Peruggia tried to sell it to a dealer in Florence. I. M. Pei's glass pyramid, set in the courtyard in 1989, now marks the entrance.

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Article · 42 min readWhat to See at the Louvre: 25 Highlights

Collection

1,174 works
Peasant Family in an InteriorPeasant Family in an InteriorLouis Le Nain, 1642Perseus and AndromedaPerseus and AndromedaJoachim Wtewael, 1611Perseus and AndromedaPerseus and AndromedaPierre Mignard I, 1679Phaedra and HippolytusPhaedra and HippolytusPierre-Narcisse Guérin, 1802Pheasant, Hare and Red PartridgePheasant, Hare and Red PartridgeJean-Baptiste Oudry, 1753Philosopher Holding a Book and a Roll of PaperPhilosopher Holding a Book and a Roll of PaperLuca Giordano, 1662Philosopher with a Flask at His BeltPhilosopher with a Flask at His BeltLuca Giordano, 1662Philosopher with SpectaclesPhilosopher with SpectaclesLuca Giordano, 1662Pierre AymericPierre AymericWorkshop of Corneille de Lyon, 1534PietàPietàCosimo Tura, 1474PietàPietàQuinten Metsys, 1514Pietà with Saint John the Evangelist, the Virgin and Two AngelsPietà with Saint John the Evangelist, the Virgin and Two AngelsAttributed to the Limbourg Brothers, 1407Pipes and Drinking PitcherPipes and Drinking PitcherJean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, 1762Plastic Alabastron in the Form of a Kore Holding a BirdPlastic Alabastron in the Form of a Kore Holding a BirdUnknown East Greek potter (Archaic), -550PlatoPlatoJustus van Gent, 1476Pope Julius II Ordering Bramante, Michelangelo and Raphael to Build the Vatican and Saint Peter'sPope Julius II Ordering Bramante, Michelangelo and Raphael to Build the Vatican and Saint Peter'sHorace Vernet, 1827Portrait of a Benedictine Monk (?) Aged Forty, at PrayerPortrait of a Benedictine Monk (?) Aged Forty, at PrayerJan Gossaert, 1526Portrait of Adolphine Købke, Sister of the ArtistPortrait of Adolphine Købke, Sister of the ArtistChristen Købke, 1832Portrait of a ManPortrait of a ManPhilippe de Champaigne, 1650Portrait of a Man, formerly called Portrait of Cesare BorgiaPortrait of a Man, formerly called Portrait of Cesare BorgiaDosso Dossi, 1519Portrait of a Man Seated by a TablePortrait of a Man Seated by a TableThomas de Keyser, 1632Portrait of a Man (Thomas Stahel?)Portrait of a Man (Thomas Stahel?)Paris Bordone, 1540Portrait of a Man with a Cane, a Young Black Servant and a DogPortrait of a Man with a Cane, a Young Black Servant and a DogFrans van Mieris the Elder, 1672Portrait of a Woman, known as "L'Européenne"Portrait of a Woman, known as "L'Européenne"Unknown Roman-Egyptian painter, 125Portrait of a Young ArtistPortrait of a Young ArtistJean-Honoré Fragonard, 1769