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Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

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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
View of the Bay of NaplesView of the Bay of NaplesJoseph Vernet, 1748View of the Campo Vaccino, RomeView of the Campo Vaccino, RomeClaude Lorrain, 1636View of the Choir of the Church of Saint Bavo in Haarlem with the Imaginary Tomb of a BishopView of the Choir of the Church of Saint Bavo in Haarlem with the Imaginary Tomb of a BishopPieter Jansz. Saenredam, 1630Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels and Female Saints, with God the Father BlessingVirgin and Child Surrounded by Angels and Female Saints, with God the Father BlessingPietro di Giovanni d'Ambrogio, 1430Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Sebastian and Two Donors (The Casio Altarpiece)Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Sebastian and Two Donors (The Casio Altarpiece)Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, 1500Wall Painting Fragments with a Half-Rosette, from Dura-EuroposWall Painting Fragments with a Half-Rosette, from Dura-EuroposUnknown Dura-Europos painter, 200Wall Painting Fragments with an Animal Head, from Dura-EuroposWall Painting Fragments with an Animal Head, from Dura-EuroposUnknown Dura-Europos painter, 200Wall Painting Fragments with Pomegranates and a Greek Inscription, from Dura-EuroposWall Painting Fragments with Pomegranates and a Greek Inscription, from Dura-EuroposUnknown Dura-Europos painter, 200Wall Painting Fragment with a Man Holding a Kherep SceptreWall Painting Fragment with a Man Holding a Kherep SceptreUnknown Egyptian artist (18th Dynasty), -1368Wall Painting Fragment with a Priest from a Burial SceneWall Painting Fragment with a Priest from a Burial SceneUnknown Egyptian artist (Ramesside period), -1242Wall Painting Fragment with a Seated Woman Smelling a Lotus FlowerWall Painting Fragment with a Seated Woman Smelling a Lotus FlowerUnknown Egyptian artist (Ramesside period), -1182Wall Painting Fragment with a Woman Smelling a Lotus FlowerWall Painting Fragment with a Woman Smelling a Lotus FlowerUnknown Egyptian artist (18th Dynasty), -1393Wall Painting Fragment with Two Women in Ceremonial DressWall Painting Fragment with Two Women in Ceremonial DressUnknown Egyptian artist (Ramesside period), -1182Wall Painting of Birds over a Papyrus Thicket, from the Tomb of NeferhotepWall Painting of Birds over a Papyrus Thicket, from the Tomb of NeferhotepUnknown Egyptian artist (18th Dynasty), -1438Wall Painting with a Figure Holding a Fish, from Dura-EuroposWall Painting with a Figure Holding a Fish, from Dura-EuroposUnknown Dura-Europos painter, 245Wall Painting with a Figure of SpringWall Painting with a Figure of SpringUnknown Roman painter, 88Wall Painting with an Onager Hunt, from Dura-EuroposWall Painting with an Onager Hunt, from Dura-EuroposUnknown Dura-Europos painter, 194Wall Relief of a Woman Bringing an Offering VaseWall Relief of a Woman Bringing an Offering VaseUnknown Egyptian artist (Middle Kingdom), -2020Winged Victory of SamothraceWinged Victory of SamothraceUnknown Greek sculptor (Hellenistic, Rhodian), -190Woman Holding a Dead CockerelWoman Holding a Dead CockerelGerrit Dou, 1650Woman Taking Fruit from a Bowl of Flowers and FruitWoman Taking Fruit from a Bowl of Flowers and FruitAbraham Brueghel, 1669Young Greek Maidens Adorning Sleeping Cupid with FlowersYoung Greek Maidens Adorning Sleeping Cupid with FlowersJoseph-Marie Vien, 1773Young Man with a Violin (Charles-Théodose Godefroy)Young Man with a Violin (Charles-Théodose Godefroy)Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, 1735Zeuxis Choosing Models from the Beautiful Women of CrotonZeuxis Choosing Models from the Beautiful Women of CrotonFrançois-André Vincent, 1789