Experience the Louvre's majestic halls, grand galleries, and stunning
artworks in this exquisite visit to the world-renowned
museum---highlighting beloved works of art alongside hidden gems, all
situated in the palace's stunning architectural spaces.
Every year, more than ten 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. The Louvre is widely considered the most innovative
of the world's preeminent museums.
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.
The Louvre explores the eight centuries of fascinating history
surrounding the museum, which began in the Middle Ages as a fortress,
then became 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
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, benefiting from 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.
