Famous masterpieces of the Louvre. Rebirth of the palace into a museum

The world famous Louvre Museum attracts millions of tourists every year. The works of the Louvre are a superbly compiled collection that allows you to trace the entire history of art. There are undeniable masterpieces here that every person who claims to be educated should know and see at least once in his life.

Founding of the Louvre

On August 10, 1793, one of the major museums world - Louvre. The idea of ​​creating a public museum with display arose after the French Revolution, when it was decided to put royal treasures on public display. From the day of the revolution, the national government began to confiscate art objects from the aristocracy, and this was the beginning of the museum's collection. Over the course of several years it was collected a large number of valuables, for their exhibition a spacious building was needed, which became

Louvre building

The Louvre's works required a lot of space, and the museum's organizers turned their attention to a large empty palace in the middle of Paris. This building has a long history. The heart of the Louvre is big tower, built back in 1190. Its purpose was purely utilitarian - to monitor the approaching Vikings from above. In 1317, Charles the Fifth made the castle his residence, and the treasury of Paris moved here. Over the years of operation, the old tower fell into disrepair and was demolished, especially since the castle lost its defensive function and became a royal residence. Francis the First entrusted this work to Pierre Lescaut in 1546. He had the task of rebuilding the fortress, making it a real palace. The designer proposes to build a square courtyard, three sides of which are decorated with luxurious apartments, and the fourth is an open exit to the city center. During the architect's lifetime, only the western wing, which today bears his name, was completed. His project was realized by 1555 and became a luxurious example of Renaissance architecture. in 1594, Henry the Fourth decided that it was necessary to connect the Louvre with In 1655-1670, Louis Prevost expanded the palace and quadrupled it. Under Louis XIV, the eastern façade was decorated with a colonnade; it attracted many famous European architects, but in 1682 it lost interest in the project and moved the residence to Versailles. For almost a hundred years, the Louvre has been empty, deteriorating, and even ideas for its demolition are emerging. Louis the Fifteenth thought about creating a museum in the palace; his idea was realized after the revolution.

Under Napoleon the First, the northern facade was rebuilt, and in 1853 the entire Louvre complex was completed. In 1891, the appearance of the palace that we see today took shape. The last significant architectural reconstruction occurred in 1989, when the American architect Yo Ming Pei built a glass pyramid in the courtyard - the main entrance to the museum.

Collections of the Louvre: history and principles of creation

The first works of the Louvre began to be collected under Louis the Fourteenth, who, in the spirit of his time, began to create an art collection. The collection was based on paintings purchased by Francis the First. Louis the Fourteenth buys a large collection of paintings (200 canvases) from the banker Jabach. The king is constantly looking for opportunities to add to his congregation. He increased the fund of the future museum to 2,500 paintings and acquired various objects of art. After the revolution, the museum collection begins to be replenished with confiscated valuables. The funds of the Museum of Sculpture are transferred to the Louvre. During Napoleonic campaigns of conquest, the Louvre's funds were actively replenished from trophies and from archaeological excavations in Egypt and the East. Also, the museum management, having its own funds, is working on the selection and purchase of art objects. The collection is not formed spontaneously; the choice of works is determined artistic value, only masterpieces go to the Louvre. Many significant collectors bequeath their collections to the Louvre. Thus, in 1936, the museum accepted a donation of Baron Edmond Rothschild’s collection of graphics, amounting to more than 45 thousand exhibits. Also great attention is given to the formation of a French collection national art. Today there are about 400 exhibits in the Louvre, and the collection continues to grow. Due to the expansion of funds at the end of the 20th century, an active redistribution of works of art between museums in France began. The Louvre limited its collection to the date of 1848, and all later paintings were dispersed into other collections.

Today, the museum’s collection is conventionally divided into groups: the art of the Ancient East, Ancient Egypt, the ancient world, Islamic art, painting, graphics, decorative and applied arts.

Art of the Ancient World

The majority of the museum's collections consist of objects ancient art. The Louvre's works in the Ancient Art department are represented by several regions. A huge part of the collection consists of objects found during excavations in Egypt, including the famous figure of Ramses the Second, the “Sitting Cat” sculpture, sphinxes, sarcophagi, ceramics, jewelry and much more, including wall paintings, bas-reliefs, interior elements. The art of the Ancient East is represented by collections of art objects from the cultures of Mesopotamia, Iran, and the Mediterranean.

Masterpieces of ancient sculpture

The basis of the sculpture collection was the acquisitions of Louis the Fourteenth. Today at museum collection there are true masterpieces, such as the Venus de Milo, a sculpture that attracts a lot of visitors. Often tourists come to the Louvre precisely to see this masterpiece. Another significant work from antiquity is the sculpture “Nike of Samothrace,” which was found and brought to Paris by the French archaeologist Champoiseau. The Roman period is represented by a huge number of statues, bas-reliefs, and pedestals. The courtyard of ancient sculpture in the Louvre, flooded with sunshine through the glass roof, allows you to immerse yourself in a world of harmony and perfection.

Legacy of Leonardo da Vinci

The Mona Lisa painting is of particular interest to tourists and art lovers. Many people come to the museum solely to see her mysterious smile. But besides this, the Louvre can be proud of four more works by the great master. No less significant, but slightly less famous is the work “Madonna of the Rocks”. This work, created in the 1580s, has been in the royal collection since 1625. It is distinguished by an excellently depicted landscape behind the characters; here the author tries out those techniques that he would later fully apply when writing La Gioconda. “Madonna of the Rocks” is the first version of the work on this subject, the second version is in London Museum. The Louvre is also rightfully proud of such works as “Portrait of a Young Woman”, “Madonna and Child and St. Anna" and "John the Baptist".

Masterpieces of world classics

The Louvre is one of them, and its glory, of course, lies in its masterpieces on a planetary scale. These include, first of all, the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, but also here you can see the epoch-making work of Theodore Gericault “The Raft of Medusa”, several works by Jacques David, in particular, “The Coronation of Napoleon”. The rare work by I. Bosch “Ship of Fools” is also the pearl of the museum’s collection. The Louvre is the proud owner of paintings by S. Botticelli, Raphael Santi, H. Memling, A. Durer and many other authors. In the sculpture department, the undoubted hits are two works by Michelangelo: “The Dying Slave” and “The Rising Slave.”

French art

The collection of national art in the Louvre represents all periods and types of creativity. The collection contains many masterpieces, including, for example, Eugene Delacroix’s painting “Liberty Leading the People.” It accurately conveys the mood that reigned in the country during the Revolution. She became a symbol of the Republic. The country's plastic art is represented, among other things, by the figure of a Greek athlete made of marble. “Milon of Croton with a Lion” is a significant work by the French sculptor Pierre Puget in the style of ancient masters. The work amazes with its expressiveness and power of emotions. "Milon of Croton with the Lion" shows a scene of incredible human suffering, the strength of the athlete and his spirit.

Graphic arts

The graphic collection of the Louvre contains more than 130 thousand exhibits. These halls are mostly not visited by tourists; true connoisseurs of beauty come here. After all, the Louvre collection contains many books, drawings, and prints by the world’s best authors. Including drawings by H. Rembrandt, J. Chardin, E. Delacroix.

Arts and crafts

The museum is especially proud of its collection of decorative and applied arts. Furnishings, jewelry, costumes, and utensils from different eras are presented in several halls of the Louvre. First of all, the apartments of Napoleon III attract attention. Here is the complete furnishing and decoration of the state room in the style of Louis the Fourteenth and Fifteenth. Here you can see luxurious furniture, dishes, and interior items. But the museum also owns excellent examples of weapons and jewelry from the time of the Restoration and the reign of Napoleon the First. Of great interest is the collection of utensils, decorative items and jewelry from the Gothic, Baroque, Italian and French Renaissance. The collection of furniture in the Louvre is one of the best in the world.

What to see

To see all the exhibits of the Louvre, even a few months are not enough, and if you examine carefully, even several years. But, when it is not possible to devote so much time to the museum, you need to think through the route and answer the question: what can’t be missed? There is a developed tour of the Louvre that will allow you to see the most important things. For tourists in a hurry, the main masterpieces in the museum are located in the first halls at the entrance, and there are special signs so as not to get lost. But some works worthy of attention are placed in the appropriate sections, for example, Eugene Delacroix’s painting “Liberty Leading the People” is in the collection of French art. Therefore, you need to navigate the museum map and find the right room. Schemes are given out at the entrance free of charge in several languages, including Russian.

In order not to get lost in the vast space and see the most important thing, you can use a special list of the main masterpieces, which include: the statue “Venus de Milo”, the sculpture of antiquity - “Nike of Samothrace”, the paintings “The Great Odalisque” by J. Ingres and “The Lacemaker” by J. Vermeer, works by Leonardo da Vinci, statue of Ramses II.

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To be in Paris and not visit the Louvre is simply a crime. Any tourist will tell you this. But if you haven’t prepared in advance, you risk getting lost among the crowd of people with cameras, tablets and smartphones and missing out on the most important thing for which the whole world is rushing to the largest Parisian museum.

The Louvre is huge and beautiful. You won’t be able to enjoy all of its exhibits even in one day - there are more than 300,000 of them. In order not to get an aesthetic shock from an oversaturation of beauty, you have to make a choice. website I decided to make it easier for you.

So, why go to the Louvre? First of all, of course, for the La Gioconda.

"Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci

"La Gioconda" by Leonardo da Vinci is the main exhibit of the Louvre. All museum signs lead to this painting. Great amount People come to the Louvre every day to look at the bewitching smile of the Mona Lisa with their own eyes. You can’t see it anywhere except the Louvre. Due to the poor condition of the painting, the museum's management announced that it would no longer be exhibited.

The Mona Lisa might not have been so popular and world famous if it had not been stolen by a Louvre employee in 1911. The painting was found only 2 years later, when a thief tried to sell it in Italy. All this time, while the investigation was ongoing, the “Mona Lisa” did not leave the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world, becoming an object of copying and worship.

Today, the Mona Lisa is hidden behind bulletproof glass, with barriers holding back the crowd of tourists. Interest in one of the most famous and mysterious works of painting in the world does not fade.

Venus de Milo

The second star of the Louvre is the white marble statue of the goddess of love Aphrodite. The famous ancient ideal of beauty, created 120 years BC. e. The goddess's height is 164 cm, proportions are 86×69×93.

According to one version, the goddess’s hands were lost during a conflict between the French, who wanted to take her to their country, and the Turks, the owners of the island where she was discovered. Experts claim that the hands of the statue were broken off long before its discovery. However local residents The islands of the Aegean Sea believe in another beautiful legend.

One famous sculptor I was looking for a model to create a statue of the goddess Venus. He heard a rumor about a woman of extraordinary beauty from the island of Milos. The artist rushed there, found the beauty and fell madly in love with her. Having received consent, he set to work. On the day when the masterpiece was almost ready, unable to contain their passion any longer, the sculptor and the model threw themselves into each other’s arms. The girl pressed the sculptor so tightly to her chest that he suffocated and died. But the sculpture was left without both hands.

"The Raft of the Medusa" Theodore Gericault

Today the painting by Theodore Gericault is one of the pearls of the museum. Although after the artist’s death in 1824, representatives of the Louvre were not ready to pay a decent amount for it, and the painting was purchased at auction by a close friend of the artist.

During the author’s lifetime, the canvas caused outrage and indignation: how dare the artist use such a large format not for the heroic or religious plot that was accepted in those days, but to depict a real event.

The plot of the film is based on an incident that happened on July 2, 1816 off the coast of Senegal. The frigate "Medusa" crashed, and 140 people tried to escape on a raft. Only 15 of them survived and 12 days later they were picked up by the brig Argus. The details of the survivors' voyage - murders, cannibalism - shocked society and turned into a scandal.

Géricault combined hope and despair, the living and the dead, in one picture. Before depicting the latter, the artist made numerous sketches of dying people in hospitals and the corpses of executed people. “The Raft of the Medusa” was the last of Gericault’s completed works.

Nike of Samothrace

Another pride of the museum is the marble sculpture of the goddess of victory. Researchers believe that an unknown sculptor created Nike in the 2nd century BC as a sign of Greek naval victories.

The sculpture is missing its head and arms, and the right wing is a reconstruction, a plaster copy of the left wing. They tried repeatedly to restore the hands of the statue, but to no avail - they all spoiled the masterpiece. The statue was losing the feeling of flight and swiftness, an unstoppable rush forward.

Initially, Nike stood on a steep cliff above the sea, and its pedestal depicted the bow of a warship. Today the statue is located on the second floor of the Louvre on the Daru staircase of the Denon gallery and is visible from afar.

"The Coronation of Napoleon" Jacques Louis David

Art lovers go to the Louvre to see monumental paintings live French artist Jacques Louis David's "Oath of the Horatii", "The Death of Marat" and a grandiose canvas depicting the coronation of Napoleon.

The full title of the painting is “Dedication of Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of Empress Josephine in the Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris December 2, 1804." David chose the moment when Napoleon crowns Josephine and Pope Pius VII gives him his blessing.

The painting was created by order of Napoleon I himself, who wanted everything to look better on it than it actually was. Therefore, he asked David to depict his mother, who was not at the coronation, in the very center of the picture, to make himself a little taller, and Josephine a little younger.

"Cupid and Psyche" by Antonio Canova

There are two versions of the sculpture. The Louvre houses the first version, donated to the museum in 1800 by the husband of Napoleon's sister, Joachim Murat. The second, later version is in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. It was presented to the museum by Prince Yusupov, who acquired the masterpiece in Rome in 1796.

The sculpture depicts the god Cupid at the moment of Psyche's awakening from his kiss. In the Louvre catalog, the sculptural group is called “Psyche awakened by the kiss of Cupid.” Italian sculptor Antonio Canova was inspired to create this masterpiece ancient greek myths about the god of love Cupid and Psyche, whom the Greeks considered the personification of the human soul.

The Louvre is unique museum complex, one of the largest in the world. The exhibitions occupy 58,470 square meters, and the total area of ​​the museum is 160,106 m². The history of the Louvre is eventful, dating back approximately 700 years. Initially it was a fortress, which was later converted into a royal palace.

The Louvre was founded in the 12th century by Philip Augustus (King of France). Since its founding, the Louvre has undergone numerous renovations and reconstructions. All the French kings, who did not even live permanently in the Louvre, tried to introduce something new into the appearance of the building.

For King Philip Augustus the Louvre was a fortress, the main task which consisted of protecting the western approaches to Paris, so the Louvre was a powerful structure with a central tower.

During the reign of Charles V, the fortress was turned into a royal residence. It was this king who initiated the reconstruction of the fortress into a building that would be suitable for the king’s stay. The idea was implemented by the architect Raymond de Temple, who also took care of the reliable protection of the king, surrounding the building with powerful fortress walls.

Approximately to end of the XVIII century, all work on the construction of the Louvre was successfully completed.

The museum received its first visitors in November 1793. At first, the main source of replenishment of the Louvre's funds were the royal collections collected by Francis I and Louis XIV. At the time of the museum’s founding, the collection already included 2,500 paintings.

Today, the Louvre houses 350,000 exhibits, some of which are kept in storage.

Schedule:
Monday - 9:00-17:30
Tuesday - Closed
Wednesday - 9:00-21:30
Thursday - 9:00-17:30
Friday - 9:00-21:30
Saturday - 9:00-17:30
Sunday - 9:00-17:30

Official website of the museum: louvre.fr

Most Parisians consider the Louvre to be their top attraction. But the glass pyramid, designed by Chinese-American architect Yeo Ming Peo, according to townspeople, does not really fit with the Renaissance-style palace. This building has the same parameters as egyptian pyramid Cheops. Creates a feeling of space and light, and also acts as the main entrance to the museum.

Story

Historically, the architecture of the Louvre has always combined many styles. This was started by King Philip Augustus, who built a defensive fortress on the western border side of Paris in the 12th century. For one thing, it served as a repository for the royal archives and treasury.

Further, under King Charles the Fifth, it was transformed into royal apartments. Architects of the Renaissance period rebuilt the palace ensemble, trying to fulfill a virtually impossible goal - to satisfy the tastes of two kings: Francis the First and Henry the Fourth, whose statue now stands on the New Bridge. The main part of the fortress wall was destroyed and a huge gallery was built, which connected the Louvre with the Tuileries Palace, which still existed at that time.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Henry the Fourth, who had great sympathy for art, invited artists to live in the palace. He promised them spacious halls for workshops, homes and the rank of palace painters.

Louis XIV practically put an end to the prestige of the Louvre as the residence of kings. He moved to Versailles, along with the entire court, and artists, sculptors and architects settled in the Louvre. Among their number were Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, Guillaume Coustou. It was then that the Louvre fell into such disrepair that plans began to be made for its demolition.

At the end French Revolution The Louvre became known as Central Museum arts At the same time, Napoleon the Third would make into reality what Henry the Fourth dreamed of - the Richelieu wing was added to the Louvre. It became a mirror image of the Haut-Bor-de-l'Eau gallery. But the Louvre did not become symmetrical for long - during the Paris Commune, the Tuileries Palace burned down, and along with it a large part of the Louvre.

Collection

Today, the Louvre has more than 350 thousand works of art, and approximately 1,600 employees who organize the functioning of the museum. The collection is located in three wings of the building: the Richelieu wing is located along the Rue de Rivoli; The Denon wing runs parallel to the Seine and a square courtyard surrounds the Sully wing.

Ancient East and Islam. The halls display objects of ancient art from the regions from the Persian Gulf to the Bosphorus, in particular Mesopotamia, the countries of the Levant and Persia.

The Louvre's collection includes more than 55,000 pieces of ancient Egyptian art. The exhibition demonstrates the results of the crafts of the ancient Egyptians - stuffed animals, papyri, sculptures, talismans, paintings and mummies.

Art Ancient Greece, Etruscans and Ancient Rome. These are the fruits creative searches in recreating a person and a special vision of beauty. Actually, it is these halls that present the main sculptural treasures of the Louvre - those that museum visitors usually want to see first. These are statues of Apollo and the Venus de Milo, dating back to the hundredth year BC, as well as the statue of the Nike of Samothrace, which was found in the form of 300 fragments a thousand years after its creation.

Arts and crafts are displayed on the second floor. You will see all kinds of objects: the throne of Napoleon the First and unique tapestries, miniatures, porcelain and jewelry, fine bronze and even royal crowns.

The ground and first floors of the Richelieu wing and the Denon wing are occupied by an extensive collection of works of French sculpture, as well as a small number of exhibits from Italy, Holland, Germany, and Spain. Among them are two works by the great Michelangelo, which are called “The Slave”.

The Louvre houses one of the world's most extensive collections of paintings, and naturally, the French school is represented in the museum most comprehensively.

Gioconda

The main work that tourists primarily want to see is the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) by Leonardo da Vinci. This painting is located in the Denon wing, in a separate small room - the Salle des Etas, which can only be accessed from the Grand Gallery.

This room was built quite recently, specifically to make it convenient for tourists to view the most recognizable painting in the world without bumping into each other, although it is kept behind two layers of glass.

The painting was painted over 500 years ago and was da Vinci's favorite work. There is an opinion that Leonardo painted a self-portrait in women's clothing, and it combines two principles - yin and yang. If you look into Mona Lisa's eyes, the chin appears in the distant zone of vision, which gives the impression of an elusive smile. And if you look at the lips, the smile disappears and this is where its mystery lies.

Despite its greatness, La Gioconda itself is even smaller in size than its reproductions in the souvenir shops of the Louvre.

Some people visit the capital of France on business or for expensive boutiques, some are looking for entertainment, and others are attracted by its amazing architecture, history and art. The Louvre Museum in Paris has become a place of pilgrimage for millions of people who come from the most remote corners of the world to see its treasures with their own eyes. It harmoniously combines the past with the present, and even the Pyramid of the Louvre, the structure of our days, resonates in the hearts of travelers no less than the mysterious painting Mona Lisa.

The versatility of the Musée du Louvre

The Louvre Museum rightfully bears the title of the most popular and largest art museum, occupying an area of ​​160,106 sq. m (under exhibitions 58,470 sq. m). If we continue to rely on the numbers, the number of visits per year looks impressive - more than 9 million people.

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Where is the Louvre?

The Louvre is located in the central part of the city on the right bank of the Seine on Avenue Rivoli in the building of the former royal palace, located between the temple of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois and the Tuileries Garden. Next to it there is a monument where Louis XIV flaunts on a frisky horse, from whom the main historical axis of Paris originates.

The museum has collected in its halls an incredible number of relics representing not only past eras of Europe, but also the culture of other countries: Egypt and Greece, the Middle East and Iran, Africa, Oceania and America.

The Louvre shares its collections with other museums that present works of art in a certain vein (primitivism, ancient religion, modern movements, impressionism and post-impressionism, etc.). Paintings, sculptures and other artifacts can be admired in the walls of Orsay, the Quai Branly and Guimet museums, as well as in branches of the Louvre located in the industrial French city of Lens and in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

What does Louvre mean?

Undoubtedly, the name of the palace sounds beautiful, but etymologists became interested in getting to the root of its origin. Several versions have been in development, and the three most popular are:

• A place called “Lupara” was chosen for construction. However, it was not possible to find out where this term came from, but there is an assumption that it comes from the Latin “lupus”, which means “lupus”. Today this is the name of the disease, but during the time of Philip Augustus, who ruled France at the border of the 12th-13th centuries, the name could have meant the abode of wolves.
• Closer to the truth is the second version of the origin of the name, according to which “lauer” or “lower” in Old French means “watchtower”.
• Another plausible theory was put forward by the 17th century historian A. Soval, who believed that the derivatives were words of non-Latin origin “leower ou lower, leovar, lovar or lover”, meaning “fort”, “fortification”.

But if the origin of the word arouses curiosity, then the history of the palace itself is much longer and more exciting, leading to beginning of XII centuries, when the crusades and the hunt for heretics were in full swing.

History of the Louvre

Setting off in 1190 on another military campaign with Richard the Lionheart (who was also called Richard Yes-and-No for his tendency to change his mind under the influence of his interlocutor), King Phillip II Augustus, so as not to leave his lands to be torn to pieces by greedy relatives (especially the Plantagenet dynasty) and other applicants, founded the construction of a fortress barrier with towers.

Construction took 20 years, and as a result, two walls appeared on both sides of the Seine - Nelskaya and Louvre. A castle grew in front of the latter, which later became a royal palace. Gradually, the Louvre turned into an impregnable fort with dozens of towers, radically different from the current luxurious building. The 2.5 m thick stone walls were covered with loopholes, bristling with high battlements, and around them ran a water ditch with high cut banks.

In those days, the royal castle was located in the west of the island of Cite, and the new fortress became the repository of the treasury, military arsenal, and served as a prison. Only under Charles V the status of the structure changed, and from a defensive bastion it gradually transformed into a cozy and beautiful nest.

Changing priorities - from dull grayness to lush decoration

For the convenience of the royal family, luxury apartments with residential buildings and grand staircases were built here. Windows had to be broken into the walls, and chimneys and cute pinnacles grew on the roof. A huge collection of books was also transported here, and 973 volumes laid the foundation for the royal library.

However, only from 1546 under Francis I, the Louvre became the official royal residence. To ennoble it, they invited the architect Pierre Lescaut and the sculpture master Jean Goujon, who gave the building a look in the spirit of the Renaissance period. The architect worked on the southwestern wing of the so-called Square Courtyard.

He managed to combine exquisite edges, strict connections of verticals and horizontals with the richness and sophistication of sculptures so skillfully that the Lescaut wing is still recognized today as an unsurpassed creation of French Renaissance architecture. It is located near the left side of the exit of the Square Courtyard, adjacent to the Napoleon Courtyard.

In 1564, the “black” queen Catherine de Medici had a hand in the improvement, and will forever be remembered for having provoked St. Bartholomew's Night. Her idea was a garden on land adjacent to the Louvre. So she planned to always remain close to the sons ruling the country, helping them with wise advice and instructions.

Fresh forms of architecture and a gallery of masters

In 1589, after a long struggle for power, Henry IV sat on the French throne and immediately began the “Great Project” he had conceived. It removes the remains of medieval buildings to expand the internal patio and connects the Louvre and the Tuileries with the help of the 210-meter Grand Gallery.

The architects Louis Métezo and Jacques Andruet worked on the project, giving the lower floor to workshops and various kinds of shops, and under the Red Cardinal Richelieu, a printing house and a mint operated here. IN XVII century The Louvre gallery sheltered masters who were not included in the family of legalized guilds.

The royal decree stated that its territory should be developed in such a way as to meet the needs of great magicians in the field of painting, sculpture, jewelry and watchmaking, the creation of bladed weapons, perfumery, carpet and oriental art, production of physical instruments and pipes for fountains.

In fact, these masters created under the warm and cozy wing of the monarch. Not belonging to any official school, they could produce goods, sell them freely without reporting to the workshops, and also train their own students.

This incredibly angered the workshop workers, who could not do anything about it, and out of helplessness they declared that real and honest representatives of their business would never agree to work at the Louvre. Naturally, these loud statements had no force.

While the official workshops gloated, the craftsmen working in the gallery of the royal palace flourished, creating beautiful examples of luxury. Moreover, representatives of any nationalities could work here, and on a huge area coexisted the Turks with their famous painted carpets, Dutch lapidaries, many Italians and Flemings, along with other representatives of nations.

In 1620, the architect Jean Lemercier implemented a personal project to erect the main structure of the Square Courtyard - the Clock Pavilion, which had three arched passages.

Since there was too little space, he proposed to quadruple the area of ​​the territory, but the idea could only be fulfilled during the reign of the next Louis, the “Sun King”.

With the arrival of a new owner, big changes always come. Louis XIV was no exception, and enthusiastically took up the task of improving the heritage, taking into account individual taste.

Old buildings were demolished, territories were expanded, new buildings were added, and the Eastern Colonnade became a distinctive feature of this time period.

The architect Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini from Italy generally proposed a radical solution - to completely destroy the building and erect in its place a completely new one, corresponding to the spirit of the current era. In this one can see an uncontrollable thirst to glorify his name even more during his lifetime and forever write it in the tablets of history, since he proposed his own plan to implement the idea.

His idea was met with hostility by other architects and courtiers of the monarch, and therefore it was not destined to come true. But other architects, using the favorite tool of the French court, namely intrigue and bribery, ensured that their plans for rebuilding the building would find a positive response.

After the construction of the Eastern Colonnade in 1680, the king got tired of the capital and the Louvre, and moved with his entire entourage to. But the palace gallery continued to grow. More and more craftsmen flocked here, and the old-timers gradually expanded their operating offices. For example, metal carver, ebenist and gilder Andre-Charles Boulle created a family business with his four sons, installing 18 machines in the workshop on which objects were carved from ebony.

He created individual pieces and then assembled them together, producing bureaus and other pieces of furniture decorated with mosaics and fine brass elements; exquisite watch cases; bookcases made of colored wood with built-in mirrors; luxurious chandeliers; paperweight.

Rebirth of the palace into a museum

There was talk of turning the royal palace into a museum back in the 18th century under Louis XV. The process that began under him ended with the French Revolution.

For the first time, the halls of the Louvre received their first visitors in August 1793.

Then Napoleon I took over its care, and during the First Empire it bore the name “Museum of Napoleon.” Then the baton passed Napoleon III, in which all work on the next restructuring was completed, and architectural ensemble a northern wing appeared, stretching along Avenue Rivoli.

But this did not become the final reincarnation of the Louvre. This happened in 1871, when the fire that destroyed the Tuileries during the siege of the Paris Commune was behind us.

A relatively recent innovation was the Louvre pyramid, made entirely of glass.

Its prototype is the Pyramid of Cheops (Giza) - the largest currently known in Egypt. The weight of the glass copy is approximately 180 tons, the height is 21.65 m with a base length of 35 m and an inclination angle of 52 degrees, and the structure itself consists of 70 triangular and 603 diamond-shaped parts.

It is surrounded by small fountains and three smaller pyramidal figures that act as illumination. The ensemble was invented by Claude Engle, an American architect with Chinese roots. Construction took place in 1985-1989, and initially caused a storm of indignation, which is quite natural for Paris.

Today, it is quite difficult to imagine the Louvre without a glass structure that serves as an entrance with a ticket office, especially after the release of D. Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code,” in which the author decided to rest Mary Magdalene, as a symbol of the Holy Grail, in an inverted part of the structure.

There is another interesting version, according to which Francois Mitterrand, the French president of the period when the construction of the structure was completed, rests at the bottom of the pyramid.

She attracts creative people, and one day street artist JR, famous for his voluminous works, decided to amaze the capital's residents and tourists with an unusual illusion. On back side A black and white photograph of the palace in its real size with an exact repetition of all the details is pasted onto the structure of the ball. From a certain angle, the photograph perfectly matched the architecture of the building, making the pyramid disappear, as if dissolving into thin air.

Collection building

The initial 2,500 exhibits in the exhibition halls were collections of paintings belonging to Francis I and Louis XIV. The latter bought 200 paintings from the banker E. Jabach, and the legendary “La Gioconda” by Leonardo and Raphael’s “La Belle Gardener” were once acquired by Francis I along with the rest of the collection belonging to da Vinci himself, but sold when his earthly days ended.

The Parisian Louvre Museum collected its treasures in different ways. Some were transferred here from other storehouses, some were given during the lifetime of the owners or bequeathed after their death, others were confiscated during revolutionary unrest, obtained during military campaigns or at archaeological excavations.

Among the famous sculptures is the Venus de Milo, acquired by the French ambassador from Turkey as soon as she was found. And the Nike of Samothrace was discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace by the French archaeologist C. Champoiseau. Unfortunately, the statue was split into several pieces and had to be put back together like a puzzle.

Nowadays the Louvre Museum, formerly the palace of the French kings, has not lost its luxury with the change in status, and even the glass pyramid installed in the center of the square near it has not diminished its historical charm.

Remaining the most visited and inimitable, it displays to visitors collections of paintings and sketches, engravings, bronze objects, sculptures and tapestries, ceramics and porcelain, beautiful jewelry and ivory, collected over many decades. There are more than 300,000 amazing exhibits in its storerooms, but only a small part (35,000) fills the halls of the Louvre at a time.

The collections feature artifacts from ancient civilizations, all periods of the Middle Ages, as well as pearls from the first half of the 19th century. Here they present themselves in all their glory the Ancient East, Greece, Rome and Etruria, sculptural compositions and famous statues, Islamic art, graphic and fine arts and scattered objects of interest.

Each theme has its own halls, and special attention is paid to the culture of Egypt, whose evidence of the past is housed in 20 rooms. Once upon a time this large collection belonged to François-Jean Champollion, who managed to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.

A department dedicated to this topic was founded by King Charles X in the spring of 1826. Today, such an extensive panopticon is divided into 3 components: Roman and Coptic Egypt; chronological exposure; thematic exhibition. Exhibits dedicated to Greece, Rome and Etruria are of no less interest.

From the depths of centuries, the Venus of Milo looks languidly at you and Ganymede is thinking about something, the majestic Nike of Samothrace spreads its wings even without head and arms, Adonis and Apollo froze in a relaxed pose, Alexander the Great and Athena from Velletri greet with a sweeping gesture.

In the collection of sculptures, the museum initially gave preference to ancient statues (with the exception of the works of Michelangelo), but in mid-19th century, it was decided to establish 5 new zones for the exhibition of medieval sculptures of the Renaissance, created before the 18th century. A little later (in 1850), a collection of statues diluted the medieval period.

Among the objects of art there are still quite a lot of unique artifacts, but this panopticon continues to expand, including new figurines, tapestries, pieces of furniture, and fantastically beautiful jewelry from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

Famous paintings of the Louvre, this is an absolutely stunning, fantastic selection of 6,000 canvases, representing paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, Eugene Delacroix, Diego Velazquez, Raphael and his student Luca Penni, Andrea Mantegna, Paul Rubens, Titian Vecellio, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn and many more authors, which are very difficult to list at once.

But the main attraction of the museum, undoubtedly, is the woman with the most mysterious smile, the answer to which venerable painting experts have been struggling for centuries - the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.

Looking at the world's masterpieces, you involuntarily think: what did the artists feel and want to convey with their canvases, what kind of wilds of madness did they wander into? What passions did they experience, what fate was in store for each and how many ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments did they experience? How often have they experienced humiliation mixed with rare rays of glory?

Against the backdrop of all these life's passions It’s even a shame that millions of people, passing by great works, cast only a cursory glance at them, trying to quickly move on.

A tour of the Louvre turns into a marathon, in which you need to see and capture as much as possible in photos. There is absolutely no time left to realize that behind every stroke lies the artist’s soul, his torment and torment, sleepless nights, the desire to convey the main meaning, his own worldview and an entire era. But you shouldn’t blame people for this, because it will take at least 4 years to study each exhibit more carefully!

Paintings of the Louvre (Photo gallery)

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There were so many paintings by different painters that it was decided to transfer those painted after 1848 to.

Halls of the Louvre

Each hall of the Louvre is a competition of chic, wealth and pomp. In the Apollo gallery, the beautiful paintings surrounded by angels and framed in gold take your breath away.

In Napoleon's living room, the Empire style, beloved by the commander, is clearly visible. The backs of the chairs, upholstered in expensive fabric, as well as the sofas with curly legs, resemble a harp; Multi-tiered crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and the walls are decorated with paintings, plump cherubs, stucco and lots of gilding.

Louvre (panorama inside)

Wandering through the huge halls in a stream of tourists, it is difficult to imagine that once upon a time conspiracies were woven in numerous rooms, and in the intricate corridors of the palace behind heavy curtains, nobles and bribed servants set up ambushes in order to get rid of an unwanted favorite.

Belphegor ghost of the Louvre

It is no secret that bribery, gossip and other treachery flourished at court. Over the years, many people have perished within its walls, and now the museum’s collections are constantly replenished with fresh mummies, and therefore it is not surprising that this has given rise to a lot of gossip and legends in which the main role reserved for spirits.

Belphegor the Ghost of the Louvre is not only a mystical film written by Daniel Thompson with Sophie Marceau in the leading role, but also one of the local legends. They say that an archdemon actually wanders the corridors at night, bringing to mind the staff and unwary visitors their deepest horrors.

Also, if on June 9 you manage to stay late near the apartments of Catherine de Medici, you may be lucky enough to meet the ghost of Queen Joan, who was killed by her with the help of poisoned gloves. It was on this day that she passed into another world, and now she is trying to get even with her tormentor, coming every year to her bedchamber as a translucent spirit.

Of course, this could not have happened without the mysterious White Lady, whose image in Europe is considered a bad omen.

Tickets to the Louvre

Tickets to the museum cost 15 euros, and to make the excursion educational, take an audio guide for 5 euros. Open free every first Sunday from October to March.

Free entry also for young people under 18 years of age, sculptors and artists, low-income people, persons with disabilities and their accompanying persons, for EU citizens aged 18-25 years.

Panorama of the Louvre

Where is the Louvre, how to get to it and opening hours