The Louvre

Every year, more than 10 million visitors from around the world visit the Louvre's 68,000 square meters of gallery space containing more than 35,000 works of art. Enriched by the opening of an eighth department the Arts of Islam and by the opening of two new satellite locations (the Louvre-Lens in northern France and the Louvre Abu Dhabi), the Louvre is widely considered the most innovative of the world s pre-eminent museums. The Louvre explores the eight centuries of fascinating history surrounding the museum, which began in the Middle Ages as a fortress, then becoming a royal residence which continued to enlarge, expand, and develop over the centuries with the most brilliant architects and painters being called to work on this architectural masterpiece. In the 18th century, when the court moved to Versailles, the Louvre continued to house the royal art collections and also became the headquarters of France s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The neighborhood surrounding the Louvre was at that time also the residence of many painters, sculptors, and musicians making it the center of France s artistic and creative universe. In 1793, the Louvre confirmed its role as a temple of the arts when it was made the first national museum open to the public. From then on, its collections continued to grow from its roots in the old royal collection with acquisitions, archaeological discoveries, donations, and bequests. Centuries of growth, evolution, and transformation culminated in the 1980s with the Grand Louvre project symbolized by I.M. Pei's world-famous and critically acclaimed modernist pyramid. This gorgeous tome is a celebration of an enduring institution and the magnificent works of art that it houses. Rather than showing only isolated images of the artworks themselves, this book shows many of the pieces in the context of the beautiful galleries and spaces where they live, to give the reader an experience similar to being at the Louvre.