NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Musée du Louvre

The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. The building, a former royal palace, lies in the centre of Paris, between the Seine river and the Rue de Rivoli. Its central courtyard, now occupied by the Louvre glass pyramid, lies in the axis of the Champs-Élysées, and thus forms the nucleus from which the Axe historique springs. Part of the royal Palace of the Louvre was first opened to the public as a museum on November 8, 1793, during the French Revolution. The glass pyramid in the main courtyard of the Louvre. ... The glass pyramid in the main courtyard of the Louvre. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... A museum is a non-profit making, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ... This article is about the river in France; it should not be confused with the Senne, a much smaller river that flows through Brussels. ... Rue de Rivoli is one of the most famous streets of Paris, a commercial street whose shops include the most fashionable names in the world. ... Avenue des Champs- es from Place de la Concorde Looking east along the Champs- es from the top of the Arc de Triomphe The Champs- es (pronounced /ʃɑ̃zelize/, IPA; /SA~ ze. ... The Axe historique (historical axis) is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that run out from the centre of Paris, France, to the west. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ...

The museum

The Louvre holds the rich artistic heritage of the French people from the early Capetian Kings through the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte and to the present day. The direct Capetian Dynasty followed the Carolingian rulers of France from 987 to 1328. ... Bonaparte as general Napoléon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français...

Long managed by the French state under the Réunion des Musées Nationaux the Louvre has recently acquired powers of self-management as an "Etablissement Public Autonome" in order to better manage its growth.

Among the thousands of priceless paintings is the Mona Lisa, perhaps the most famous painting in the world. Works of artists like Fragonard, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Poussin, David, and Leonardo da Vinci can also be seen. Among the well-known sculptures in the collection are the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best-known artistic painting in the Western world. ... The Mona Lisa is an oil painting on poplar wood. ... Jean-Honoré Fragonard (April 5, 1732 – August 22, 1806) was a French painter. ... Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 - October 4, 1669) is generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history, and the most important United Provinces (Netherlands) painter of the seventeenth century. ... Pieter Pauwel (Peter Paul) Rubens (June 28, 1577 - May 30, 1640) was a Flemish baroque painter. ... Titian. ... Et in Arcadia ego by Nicolas Poussin. ... Self portrait Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 - December 29, 1825), most usually known as David (pronounced Dah-veed rather than Day-vid), was a French painter. ... Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... The Winged Victory of Samothrace The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called Nike of Samothrace, is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace (Greek Samothraki) by the French consul and amateur archaeologist Charles Champoiseau. ... The Venus de Milo is a famous Greek statue. ...

The collection of Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934), given to the Louvre in 1935, fills an exhibition room. It contains more than 40,000 engravings, nearly 3,000 drawings and 500 illustrated books. An aerial view of the Louvre beside the River Seine in Paris. ... An aerial view of the Louvre beside the River Seine in Paris. ... Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (born August 19, 1845 - died November 2, 1934) was a philanthropist and activist for Jewish affairs and a member of the prominent Rothschild family. ...

Besides art, the Louvre has many other types of exhibits, including archeology, history, and architecture. It has a large furniture collection, whose most spectacular item used to be the Bureau du Roi of the 18th century, now returned to the Palace of Versailles. Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... History is a term for information about the past. ... Architecture (in Greek αρχή = first and τέχνη = craftsmanship) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Furniture - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Bureau du Roi (Kings desk), known in France as the Secrétaire à cylindre de Louis XV (Louis XV roll-top secretary), is the name given to the richly ornamented royal Cylinder desk whose construction was started under Louis XV and finished under France. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour dhonneur, later copied all over Europe The Château de Versailles — often called the Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles — is a royal château, outside the gates of which the village of Versailles, France, has...

The most recent significant modification of the Louvre was the "Grand Louvre" project, under president François Mitterrand. This opened the north wing of the building, which had hitherto housed government offices, and covered over several small internal courtyards. Most spectacular of all, it added a glass pyramid designed by the architect I. M. Pei at the center of the palace. The much expanded and re-organized Louvre reopened in 1989. François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterand ( October 26, 1916 - January 8, 1996; pronunciation?) was a French politician and President of France from May 1981, re-elected in 1988, until 1995. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person licensed in the art of planning, designing and overseeing the construction of buildings, or more generally, the designer of a scheme or plan. ... Ieoh Ming Pei (貝聿銘 pinyin Bèi Yùmíng) is a Chinese American architect born in Suzhou, China on April 26, 1917. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The building

The first royal "Castle of the Louvre" on this site was founded by Philippe II in 1190, as a fortress to defend Paris on its west against Viking attacks. In the 14th century, Charles V turned it into a palace, but Francois I and Henri II tore it down to build a real palace; the foundations of the original fortress tower are now under the Salle des Cariatides (Room of the Caryatids). Philip II (French: Philippe II), called Philip Augustus (French: Philippe Auguste) (August 21, 1165 - July 14, 1223), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. ... Events March 16 - Massacre and mass-suicide of the Jews of York, England prompted by Crusaders. ... Charles V the Wise ( French: Charles V le Sage) ( January 31, 1338 – September 16, 1380) was king of France ( 1364 to 1380) and a member of the Valois Dynasty. ... Francis I (French: François Ier) (September 12, 1494 – July 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (French: le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... Henry II of France Henry II (French: Henri II) (March 31, 1519 - July 10, 1559), a member of the Valois Dynasty, was King of France from 1547 until his death. ...

The existing part of the Chateau du Louvre was begun in 1546. The architect Pierre Lescot introduced to Paris the new design vocabulary of the Renaissance, which had been developed in the chateaux of the Loire. His new wing for the old castle defined its status, as the first among the royal palaces. J. A. du Cerceau also worked on the Louvre. A painting in the Louvre: “Galerie de Vues de la Rome Moderne” by Panini (1759). ... A painting in the Louvre: “Galerie de Vues de la Rome Moderne” by Panini (1759). ... Categories: Stub | 1691 births | 1765 deaths | Italian painters ... Events January 11 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first American life insurance company is incorporated. ... Pierre Lescot (c. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance -French Renaissance -German Renaissance -English Renaissance The Renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... Loire is a département in the east-central part of France occupying the Loire Rivers upper reaches. ...

During his reign (1589 - 1610), King Henri IV added the Grande Galerie. More than a quarter of a mile long and one hundred feet wide, this huge addition was built along the bank of the Seine River and at the time was the longest edifice of its kind in the world. Henri IV, a promoter of the arts, invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another two hundred years until Napoleon ended it. Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ... Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... By Frans Pourbus the younger. ... This article is about the river in France; it should not be confused with the Senne, a much smaller river that flows through Brussels. ...

Architect Claude Perrault's eastern wing (1665 - 1680), crowned by an uncompromising Italian balustrade along its distinctly non-French flat roof, was a ground-breaking departure in French architecture. His severe design was chosen over a design provided by the great Bernini, who came to Paris for the purpose. Perrault had translated the Roman architect Vitruvius into French. Now Perrault's rhythmical paired columns form a shadowed colonnade with a central pedimented triumphal arch entrance raised on a high, rather defensive basement, in a restrained classicizing baroque manner that has provided models for grand edifices in Europe and America for centuries. The Metropolitan Museum in New York, for one example, reflects Perrault's Louvre design. Though Claude Perrault (Paris, 1613 - Paris, 1688) is best known as the architect of the eastern range of the Louvre in Paris, he also achieved success as physician and anatomist, and as an author, who wrote treatises on physics and natural history. ... Events March 4 - Start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War March 6 - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication March 16 - Bucharest allows Jews to settle in the city in exchange of annual tax of 16 guilders June 3 - The Duke of York defeats the Dutch Fleet off the... Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ... Stairs, staircase, stairway, flight of stairs are all names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps. ... A self portrait: Bernini is said to have used his own features in the David (below, left) Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) (December 7, 1598 - November 28, 1680), who worked chiefly in Rome, was the pre-eminent baroque artist. ... Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He was the author of De Architectura, known today as The Ten Books of Architecture, a treatise in Latin on architecture, and perhaps the first work about this discipline. ... For other meanings of the term, see column (disambiguation). ... In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, as in the famous elliptically curving colonnades that Bernini added to the facade of Saint Peters Basilica in Rome, which embrace and define the Piazza. ... A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns. ... Arc de Triomphe, Paris A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental gate, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint The Baroque was a style in art that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce... There is also the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), located in Manhattan. ...

The Louvre was still being added to by Napoleon III. The new wing of 1852 - 1857, by architects Visconti and Hector Lefuel, represents the Second Empire's version of Neo-Baroque, restlessly charged with detail everywhere and laden with sculpture. Work continued until 1876. Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (April 20, 1808 - January 9, 1873) was the son of King Louis Bonaparte and Queen Hortense de Beauharnais; both monarchs of the French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Download high resolution version (500x736, 94 KB)The Winged Victory of Samothrace, sculpted in 200 B.C in Greece, commemorates a naval victory in Rhodes. ... Download high resolution version (500x736, 94 KB)The Winged Victory of Samothrace, sculpted in 200 B.C in Greece, commemorates a naval victory in Rhodes. ... The Winged Victory of Samothrace The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called Nike of Samothrace, is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace (Greek Samothraki) by the French consul and amateur archaeologist Charles Champoiseau. ... This article is about the Greek island of Rhodes. ...

Access

Metro Palais-Royal-Musée-du-Louvre or Louvre-Rivoli. Paris Art Nouveau Metro sign The Paris Métro is the metro (underground) system in Paris, France. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Notable works

Et in Arcadia ego by Nicolas Poussin 1637–39 (Louvre Museum) Et in Arcadia ego is a Latin phrase that most famously appears as the title of a painting by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665). ... The small (70 cm high) limestone Lady of Auxerre, (or Kore of Auxerre) is a sculpture at the Louvre Museum in Paris It depicts an archaic Greek goddess of c. ... The Mona Lisa is an oil painting on poplar wood. ... The Winged Victory of Samothrace The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called Nike of Samothrace, is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace (Greek Samothraki) by the French consul and amateur archaeologist Charles Champoiseau. ... Categories: Stub | Paintings ... The Venus de Milo is a famous Greek statue. ... The Virgin and Child with St. ...

External links

Categories: Art museums and galleries in France | History museums | Landmarks | Museums in France | Palaces in France | Paris | Pyramids | Royal residences File links The following pages link to this file: Abu Dhabi Abraham Lincoln Australia Adolf Hitler Animation Andorra Alaska Anatomy Asia Albert Einstein Asterales Automobile Aircraft Alexander Graham Bell Apple Computer American Civil War Ancient Egypt Asteraceae Alps Arches National Park Aarhus Almond Caesar Augustus Acacia Acropolis Acupuncture Amaranth Alexander... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

The museum var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

The building

Access

Notable works

External links

The museum