Louvre at Night
The Musée du Louvre is another icon that is even more stunning after dark.
The Louvre is housed in the Palais du Louvre, which was built as a fort in the 12th century to store Philippe II’s scrolls, jewels and swords while he lived within spitting distance on the Ile de la Cité. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the museum’s basement.
In the 14th century, Charles V thought the Gothic palace would make a good home. After a few renovations, the Louvre was transformed into a residence.
In the 16th century, François I (whose personal art collection, including Mona Lisa, kicked off the eventual incredible collection) began work on the Louvre we know and love when he renovated the entire structure to French Renaissance style. Too bad he died the next year.
Henri II continued the plans, though, plus added two wings. Later, Henri IV wanted to link the Louvre with Catherine de Médicis’ Palais des Tuileries (to the west). The project got as far as completing the long wing along the Seine that now houses the Grande Galerie. Napoleon I eventually added a parallel wing. Since everyone had to add his touch, Louis XIII and XIV added renovations as well, copying the original façade.
In the 17th century, renovations and additions finally slowed when Louis XIV established his household in the Palace of Versailles. This freed up the Louvre for art. Although many kings housed their private art collections here and allowed artists to host exhibits, the Louvre first opened as a public museum in the 18th century with about 700 paintings and works of art. Napoleon’s subsequent war booty made the Louvre’s art collection the world’s biggest (many pieces were eventually returned to the rightful owners).
Amazingly, throughout the centuries of renovations, the palace maintained a consistent look and a balance of grandeur and symmetry. Then 1989 came along – the year Mitterrand forced modernity upon the structure by commissioning I.M. Pei to construct his controversial Pyramide, which was first hated and is now beloved.
I won’t even attempt to provide an overview of the immense, overwhelming collection. There are over 35,000 objects on display in over 650,000 square feet. Just go as many times as you can; I promise, you will never, ever make a dent in the contents.
Louvre, Paris, France
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