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The Salon Carré - canvas, 1861, Castiglione.
The library of Charles V - installed in one of the towers
of the original fortress of Philippe August - was eventually dispersed.
François I began a new collection of art with 12 paintings
from Italy.
These included works by Titian, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci, the
most famous being the
Joconde - or Mona Lisa.
The royal collection grew and by the reign of Louis XIII,
numbered roughly 200 pieces.
Henri II, and Catherine de Médicis continued to
enlarge the collection, as did others.
When Louis XIV died in 1715,
there were 2,500 pieces of art and objects.
Until the Revolution, this collection was strictly for
the private pleasure of the Court.
Finally, the idea of a museum (originating
with Louis XVI) was realized on
10 August 1793, when the
Musée de la République opened to
the public.
Napoléon greatly increased the collections by exacting
tribute from the countries he conquored, but most of these
were returned in 1815 after his defeat at Waterloo.
Under Louis XVIII the Venus de Milo was aquired
(for 6000F) shortly after it was rediscovered on the
Island of Melos in 1820.
In 1848 the museum became the property of the State.
With an annual budget devoted to aquiring new art,
the collections continued to grow.
Private donations also augmented the Museum's holdings.
In 1947 the impressionist paintings were moved
to the Jeu de Paume and
l'Orangerie.
(In 1986 these were transfered to the
Musée d'Orsay.)
Today, the catalogue lists nearly 300,000 works,
only a fraction of which are on display at any one time.
Le Grand Louvre - begun in 1981 is transforming the museum once
again enlarging it substantially. The Richelieu Wing - which had
``temporarily'' housed part of the Ministry of Finance since the
18th century - was opened in 1993.
The Richelieu Wing of the Louvre
opened in November of 1993
In the coming years the
organization of the museum and how the collections are displayed
will be changed signficantly. However, Le Grand Louvre promises
to put more works on display than ever before.
Many of the worlds most precious works of art
are among the
Treasures of the Louvre.
These include:
The Richelieu Wing of the Louvre
opened in November of 1993