Louvre

Brief Information

The Louvre began not with museum galleries, but with a fortress by the Seine. The large tower, built in 1190, was meant to watch over the lower reaches of the river, from where raids could come. Later the castle became a royal residence, and in the 16th century it began to be transformed into a palace. That is why the building should be considered not only as a shell for paintings: the very form of the Louvre grew out of changing purposes, from defense to court life and then to a public museum.

The museum opened to the public in 1793, already after the Revolution. This fact changes the way one sees the palace: works from different civilizations and eras, from antiquity to 1848, are now gathered in a former royal space. The Louvre shows not a single collection, but a long history of how closed power gave way to an open museum route.

What to Notice First

It is worth comparing several details, because they show how the palace changed in purpose. The Cour Carrée is associated with major expansion under Louis XIII and Louis XIV: because of this work, the palace quadrupled in size. Claude Perrault's East Colonnade, facing the Place du Louvre, belongs to another language of power: a strict facade that presents the palace to the city.

The equestrian statue of Louis XIV is important not only as a monument: it marks the beginning of Paris's historic axis. The glass pyramid at the center of the Cour Napoléon adds a modern entrance sign to the old palace. After the destruction of the Tuileries, the Louvre acquired its modern appearance, so the juxtaposition of courtyards, facades, and the pyramid is better read as traces of reconstruction rather than as a single design from one era.