The Louvre is inaugurated as a public museum in Paris by the French revolutionary government after more than two centuries as a royal palace. The Louvre’s collection is now one of the world’s richest, with artwork and artifacts spanning 11,000 years of human civilization and culture.
Why is it called the Louvre?
The origins of the name “Louvre” remain a point of contention. The name comes from a connection with wolf hunting dens, according to the authoritative Grand Larousse encyclopédique (via Latin: lupus, lower Empire: lupara).
What are 5 facts about the Louvre?
The Louvre is the world’s most visited art museum.
The Galleries of the Louvre cover 15 acres.
Originally, the Lourve was a fortress.
For 11 years, the Louvre was named after Napolean.
In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen.
During WWII, the Louvre was deserted.
What paintings are in the louvre?
The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa has to be mentioned, can’t we? The portrait of Francesco del Giocondo’s wife is often regarded as the world’s most renowned artwork. Mystery and the theft of a Leonardo da Vinci painting have never failed to bring audiences to this museum.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, at 8 feet tall, is one of the Louvre’s most iconic and stunning masterpieces. A relic of the ancient Greek art form.
The Coronation of Napoleon
Jacques-Louis David, renowned for his historical murals, was commissioned to paint the Coronation of Napoleon. Napoleon depicted the Emperor’s consecration and the coronation of Empress Josephine in a massive picture. For both artistic and political reasons, this picture shows the majesty of the event.
The Rape Of The Sabine Women
Nicolas Poussin came from a different mamà. He was born in Normandy and attended French schools, but he spent the most of his adult life in Rome, which he cherished.
Apart from Julius Caesar’s assassination, the rape of the Sabine Women is perhaps the most renowned tale in Roman history. It is one of the most renowned interpretations of the scene ever painted, and Poussin’s version is a monument to the painters’ passion for Rome.
The Romans were short on women, and none of the surrounding tribes were willing to integrate for fear of the Romans becoming too powerful. Romulus, the first King of Rome, decided to hold a celebration and invite the surrounding tribes, which was extensively attended by the Sabines. The Romans kidnapped the Sabine women to become their spouses on Romulus’s signal, who is dressed in a crimson cloak and gold armor.
The ladies would give birth to the second generation of Roman boys, who would continue to rule Europe’s longest-running and probably greatest empire. The story’s relevance is that the empire started with suffering and wrongdoing as a means to a goal.
Throughout the empire’s expansion, this severe mindset would become entwined with Roman practicality. They stole what they needed, right or bad, and made up for it afterwards. Poussin masterfully catches all of this in Italian Renaissance style.
The Pastoral Concert
Titian’s Pastoral Concert is a metaphor for many things, but it is mostly a work of fancy. People who could not read or write relied on symbolism to tell tales via art. People in the 16th century would have recognized the two naked ladies as mystical visions.
That they are holding a flute and pouring water into the nude makes them seem to be real to me, even if it doesn’t make any logic. What was the significance of these symbols to the general public?
In the same manner that, among other things, we all appear to know what the’symbol represents! The artwork didn’t change in this regard and was just as sexual. Even if technology has improved, our sense of humor has not.
In the minds of the two guys who created them, they were fictitious supermodels. The metaphor is open-ended, allowing the observer to interpret it in a variety of ways.
The Virgin, Saint Anne, And The Child Playing With A Lamb
When it was completed, Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Virgin, Saint Anne, and the Chid Playing with a Lamb” was considered one of his finest technical achievements. Due of its complexity, pilgrims rushed to view it as soon as it was finished and have continued to do so ever since. Consider what it might have been like to be an observer in the 16th century.
Because they had no other means of visualizing saints like Saint Anne and the Virgin Mary, art was their only option. With a simple internet search, you can see the face of everyone on the planet. Because of the attention to detail that da Vinci offered, major religious figures who were revered on a daily basis now had a personification that was both necessary and superior.
Triangular groupings of numbers keep your eyes traveling up and down straight lines, which keeps your attention focused. The Mona Lisa’s iconic smiles of Anne and the Virgin capture your attention and make you feel at ease.
The majority of people would place this painting above it, but I feel the best works of art must have a greater influence on history and a deeper narrative.
The Battle Between Love And Chastity
Our European forefathers endured an internal conflict depicted in The Battle Love and Chastity. Save yourself for a life of sexual freedom or a life of a loveless marriage?
We may not grasp “The Battle Between Love and Chastity” since our culture does not require chastity before to marriage as it did in the 15th and 16th centuries. This painting’s depiction of arranged weddings starting without love is even more out of step with our current cultural norms.
You may not be familiar with Perugino’s name, yet his work can be seen in the Sistine Chapel, against popular belief. In spite of being overshadowed by the vault of Michelangelo and the Last Judgment, it is nevertheless a stunning piece of art.
I think the painting by Pietro Perugino is one of the most significant and well-known works in the Louvre because it ties us to that battle. It provides valuable insight into the thinking processes of Renaissance women.
“The Battles” Of The Granicus River
Oil on canvas by Charles Le Brun in the Louis XIV Collection’s painting department
King Louis XIV’s favorite painter, Charles Le Brun, received four monumental commissions from the monarch. When I first saw The Battle of the Granicus River, one of these four paintings, I was reminded of Raphael’s Stanze in the Vatican Museums’ The Room of Constantine.
The painting depicting Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge is very similar to this piece. This was precisely what Louis XIV was searching for, as I discovered after more investigation—he wanted to compete with Italy’s art.
Liberty Leading the People
Exhibitions of modern paintings were held at the Louvre in the 1830s. Liberty Leading the People was one of the pieces in the catalog that was known at the time. A bare-breasted lady represents liberty in this picture, which was inspired by the Glorious Thirties Revolution. Over the course of history, she has often served as a metaphor for freedom and the republic.
The Virgin Of The Rocks
The term comes from the fact that the Virgin Mary sits on “rocks” with three other figures. John the Baptist is kneeling beneath her protecting arm to the right of her, on our left. John’s attention is drawn to an elderly man standing next to him. In eastern Christianity, this is the “4th Archangel” angel Uriel, who is of orthodox descent.
Christ’s infancy is seen underneath the archangel. It’s only in a few crucial sections that this artwork comes close to da Vinci’s Last Supper in terms of beauty. There is a virtually similar artwork in London with a few important modifications that is a “Leonardo” thing to accomplish, as is the case here.
Uriel’s finger is not extended in the London artwork, and the colors are changed. Consider the issue surrounding Judas’ outstretched finger during the Last Supper.
The second point I want to make is about the compositional flow of the picture as a whole. Triangular shapes formed by the figurines entice the viewer’s gaze to move around. No matter where you look, you’ll see Uriel’s hand moving back and forth between John and Mary, as well as the other three figures in the artwork.
The soft characteristics of a person’s face come in third. When this information is made public, it will be like watching a movie from the 1980s and comparing the image quality to one from today. Figure drawing was Da Vinci’s forte.
Finally, there’s the craggy, “Lord of the Rings”-esque scenery in the backdrop. What’s the point of having them in such a fantastical place? Da Vinci’s purpose was to enthrall you and snatch your attention, much as social media does now.
The Horse Tamers
It is now possible to view these casts in their original locations, at Marly-leroy, France’s Château de Marly. The Louvre Museum has the original paintings of these two horses and their handlers. They were very popular at the time and even had a major impact on the art of horseback riding.
David With The Head Of Goliath
This picture is evidence that Guido Reni, a renowned late Renaissance and early Baroque artist, raised the bar for canvas painting. Many artists depict David slaying Goliath as he prepares to be crowned king, and this is for a variety of reasons.
Everybody tries to portray themselves as David in the first place. It’s also one of the Bible’s finest tales. War is less popular among ambitious men because of the lack of support it receives in the New Testament. In contrast, the prophets of the Old Testament are a constant source of conflict and ambition.
In this picture, Guido Reni’s style is embodied. David seems to be in his thirties, with a youthful glow and silky smooth skin. The colors and textures of his costume enhance the picture, while his hat and feathers provide depth and perspective to the composition. David is seen after he has killed Goliath, thus he is not anticipating anything, but instead is reflecting on what has already occurred. What’s in store for shepherd David, who’s just starting out?
Death Of The Virgin
Caravaggio’s Death of the Virgin is where it is because of its prominence on the list. To begin with, the painting was meant to be installed at Rome’s Santa Maria del Scala, but the church declined to accept the work. Has it ever happened that an artwork that had been purchased was afterwards turned down? If so, you should look into Caravaggio more!
It’s possible that the picture was rejected because of its crudeness. This picture properly represents the poverty of Christ and the Apostles. Many of Caravaggio’s models were homeless people, prostitutes or beggars. A dismal and poisonous existence may be clearly seen in his paintings.
His description of the queen of Christendom’s scene is likely to be more accurate than any other account of the event. Somber faces and the colorless body of Mary didn’t fit the concept of the Virgin’s last moments on Earth, therefore it was thrown out of the window.
As they stare at her with skepticism, you can just feel the tension in the room. The final link to Jesus Christ, their savior, has been severed, and they now stand alone. Mary Magdeline slumped to one side, her hands clasped behind her back. Two other apostles share this emblem of hesitation and uncertainty.
Peter is most likely standing behind the two uncertain and depressed apostles who are standing next to her. Given that he doesn’t have the traditional allegory of holding the keys to heaven, it’s difficult to tell for sure. The figure, on the other hand, has a confident and urgent expression on his face. Peter was Jesus’ successor and the first Pope. For him, it will be his responsibility to unite the gang.
The Monzon Lion
The Department of Islamic Arts is fortunate to have this piece as one of its signature pieces. It is said to have originated in Spain around the 12th or 13th century and acted as a fountain spout. It is one of the few bronze items whose origins have been pinpointed.
Veronese’s The Wedding at Cana (1562-1563, oil on canvas), Le Sueur’s The Sermon of Saint Paul at Ephesus (1649, oil on canvas), and Coypel’s Young Black Holding a Basket of Fruit and Young Woman Caressing a Dog are among the other works at the Louvre that include black people (1682, oil on canvas).
Are there any female artists at the Louvre?
The collection includes works by 21 female artists, including Marie-Guillemine Benoist, Élise Bruyère, Élisabeth Sophie Chéron, Eugénie Dalton, Madeleine Goblot, Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot, Joséphine Houssaye, Angelica Kauffmann, Adèle de Kercado, Adélade Labille-Guiard, Judith Leyster, and Catherine Lusurier.
Who is the CEO of the Louvre?
President Emmanuel Macron named Laurence des Cars, 54, president of the Musée d’Orsay and of the Musée de l’Orangerie, on Wednesday as the next president-director of the Louvre.
What heart is in the Louvre?
The Louvre’s architectural heart is the Pavillon de l’Horloge. French architect Jacques Lemercier designed it during Louis XIII’s reign (1610–1643), but it only came to be known as the “Clock Pavilion” after clocks were added to its two major facades in the 19th century.