Address: France, Paris, Rivoli street
Museum opening: August 10, 1793
The most popular art museum in the world
Coordinates: 48 ° 51′45 ″ N 2 ° 20′11 ″ E
Content:
Short description
In terms of the completeness and variety of collections, the Louvre Museum in Paris is unmatched. Its museum fund contains more than 350 thousand objects of art from different civilizations, cultures and eras, from antiquity to 1848.
Many masterpieces cannot be shown to visitors for more than 3 months in a row for reasons of safety, so about 35 thousand works are constantly presented in the halls. The Louvre is not only the richest museum, but also an architectural monument with 800 years of history... The Louvre is based on a medieval castle, built in the XII century, and later became the palace of the French kings.
View of Pi's Pyramid and Richelieu Wing
In 1793, the Louvre was opened to the general public, and its collections were declared a national treasure of France. The Louvre acquired its modern look after the fires and destruction that occurred during the battles of the Parisian Communards with the Versaillese in May 1871. In 1989, the Louvre pyramid was erected in the courtyard of Napoleon, serving as the entrance to the museum.
Completely made of glass plates, the pyramid provides optimal illumination of the underground hall, which houses the cash desks, wardrobe, shops, and also halls for temporary exhibitions. The glass pyramid of the Louvre, built in the image and likeness of the Cheops pyramid, thanks to its pure geometric shape and transparency, harmoniously blended into the ensemble of the royal palace.
Louvre square courtyard
Louvre collections
The exhibition, located in 198 rooms of the Louvre Palace, is divided into eight sections: painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative arts, Middle Eastern antiquities, samples of ancient Egyptian culture, ancient heritage and the art of Islam... The collection of the museum contains about 6 thousand paintings, among them - canvases by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Titian, the famous "Liberty Leading the People" by Eugene Delacroix.
The 75th hall of the Denon Gallery of the Louvre is dedicated to French painting of the era of classicism (period 1762-1840), and the 77th hall contains paintings by French romantic artists. There is also the Medici Gallery in the Louvre, which contains a collection of 24 canvases painted by the Flemish painter Rubens, commissioned by Queen Maria de Medici herself.
From left to right: Richelieu wing, Sully wing, Denon wing, Pyramid in the center
"Three goddesses of the Louvre"
Among the abundance of Louvre treasures, the "three goddesses" stand out - the world famous work of Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa", Venus de Milo and Nika of Samothrace. The most mysterious painting of the Renaissance - "Mona Lisa" - for 5 centuries has not lost its former charm. It is believed that in this portrait Leonardo depicted the noble Florentine Lisa Gherardini.
Nevertheless, the controversy about the person depicted does not cease. Thus, according to one version, "Mona Lisa" is not a female image at all, but a self-portrait of Leonardo in women's clothing. A delicate, subtle haze envelops the figure of Mona Lisa, softening contours and shadows. A light wandering smile disturbs and bewitches.
Pyramid of architect Pi
Legend has it that Leonardo fell in love with Lisa Gherardini and deliberately delayed work so as not to part with his muse longer, and she seduced him with her mysterious smile. The ancient Greek sculpture "Venus de Milo" (c. 130 BC), recognized as the standard of female beauty, was accidentally discovered in 1820 on the island of Milos. The white marble statue depicts Aphrodite of Cnidus, the goddess of love. The arms of the statue were lost after the discovery. A fight broke out between the French and the Turks for the right to possess the "Venus", and in the heat of the battle they repulsed her hands. An ancient Greek marble sculpture of the goddess of victory - Niki, was found on the island of Samothraki in 1863.
Construction of the time of Napoleon I, pavilion de Marchand, museum of decorative arts
Even devoid of her head and arms, Nika of Samothrace (II century BC) won the hearts of art critics. The winged maiden, dressed in light, flowing clothes, impresses the audience with the plasticity of an elastic and strong body. 6-8 million people visit the Louvre annually, and many of them come here for a short date with the "three goddesses".
