Justina's Writing Corner

The Louvre Museum is considered one of the world’s most-visited museums. Its French name, Palais de Louvre means the Louvre Palace. 

The Louvre was initially built as a fortress in 1190 by King Philip II. It was about 98 feet tall and created to protect the western edge of Paris. In the 16th century, it was reconstructed to serve as a royal palace. Similar to many other historical buildings, the Lourvre Museum was built and reconstructed many times during the centuries. 

While living in this palace during their reign, monarchs would expand The Louvre. In fact, today, it covers a total area of 652,300 square feet. Today, it covers a total area of 652,300 square feet.

 In 1682, King Louis XIV moved the royal residence to Versailles and changed the Louvre to house various art academies to offer regular exhibitions of its members’ works. 

In August 1793, the National Assembly opened the Louvre as a museum with a collection of 537 paintings but it was closed in 1796 because of structural problems with the building. In 1801, Napoleon reopened the museum, expanded the collection, and renamed it Musée Napoléon. He wanted “to create a museum of France with a wonderful collection of art from around the world” as stated by Napoleon.org.  

The museum is not only a historic landmark in Paris but also serves as a home to some of the best-known works of art such as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. The Louvre’s collection includes Egyptian antiques, ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, paintings by the Old Masters,  works by notable European artists from before 1800, crown jewels, and other artifacts from French nobles. It includes more than 35,000 works that are divided into eight departments: Near Eastern Antiquities; Egyptian Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculptures; Decorative Arts; Paintings; and Prints and Drawings, according to an article posted on the Louvre Official Website. 

In 1983, the Louvre underwent a renovation plan called the Grand Louvre for a new design for the main entrance. Architect I.M. Pei was awarded the project and designed an underground lobby and modern glass pyramid structure in the courtyard which attracted millions of people to the museum. 

“It is one of the most magnificent museums that I had ever seen,” said junior Justina Liu who had visited the Lourvre Museum this summer. 

“I have to say, the museum’s new renovation really incorporated renaissance and modern architecture,” junior Emily Yen stated after seeing images of the building. 

Along with being the most-visited museum in the world, the Louvre not only holds many masterpieces but it is also a historical architectural building.