"Louvre Museum"
The Louvre Museum is one of the most famous and largest art museums in the world. It is located in the center of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine River. The Louvre was originally built in 1190 by King Philip II of France as a fortress. Its purpose was to protect against attacks from the north. Later, after Louis XIV moved to the Palace of Versailles, the building began to be used primarily for storing art collections.
The museum opened in 1793. That same year, as a result of the French bourgeois revolution, the Bourbon dynasty was overthrown, and King Louis XVI was executed. It was decided that a museum would be established in one of the grand royal palace buildings in Paris. The Louvre Palace was built in the 12th century. For a time, it served as a fortress and prison. From the 15th to the 16th centuries, it became a place for storing rare art collections of French kings. The museum was opened to the public and became one of the centers where the most important works of world art were exhibited. Officially operating as a museum, the Louvre Museum houses more than 35,000 works of art.
Among the most interesting parts of the Louvre Palace are the Caryatid Hall and the Apollo Gallery. The Caryatid Hall, which connects to the Lescot wing of the palace, is considered the oldest hall of the Louvre. The graceful female figures carved in the hall signify the development of high craftsmanship, and the lines of female charm and beauty are skillfully celebrated.
The paintings in the museum are selected according to the period in which they were created. A valuable collection of personal belongings and art pieces once owned by many kings, as well as numerous works bought by individuals who collected art in France using their personal funds, are kept here. Additionally, during the Renaissance period, countless sculptures and objects belonging to estates were brought into the museum.
The Apollo Gallery reflects the court life of the 17th century. After a fire in 1661, the gallery was restored by Levo, and the interior was rearranged by Charles Le Brun, the court painter and a renowned master of the time.
Currently, the Louvre’s collections number over 250,000 items. Among the world’s most famous museums, the Louvre is the only one that provides a complete and comprehensive view of the development of Western European and Eastern art. The Louvre consists mainly of six departments.
One of the most famous architectural elements of the Louvre Museum is its glass pyramid. Designed by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei in 1989, this pyramid serves as the main entrance to the museum. Today, the Louvre Museum remains one of humanity’s greatest cultural centers.
