5 little-known facts about one of the most popular museums in the world: the Secrets of the Louvre

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the heart of France, in the center of Paris, there is one of the largest and probably the most popular museum in the world - the Louvre. This museum is the most famous landmark in the French capital. Tourists from all over the world strive to get here by all means. After all, this is not just a beautiful castle where kings once lived or a magnificent architectural monument, but one of the most famous museums. As Paris attracts all romantics, and all connoisseurs of art - the Louvre. The most amazing facts about the world famous museum in its long troubled history, further in the review.

1. In the beginning it was just a fortress

The foundation of the Louvre was laid by the first king of France, Philip II (or Philip Augustus) at the end of the 12th century. This monarch is known for being the first to introduce the title “King of France” instead of the title “King of the Franks”. In addition, he transferred power to the heir without crowning it during his lifetime. Philip II was one of the most successful rulers of medieval Europe. He began building a defensive outpost near what was then the western border of Paris, along the banks of the River Seine.

This bastion was created to prevent invasions from the north. Around it was a traditional moat, inside a massive, perfectly fortified tower, as high as a modern nine-story building. Later, already in the 14th century, the city spread far beyond this fortress. Then, on the outskirts of Paris, a new series of defensive structures was built, and the fortress itself was no longer used for such purposes. Today, visitors to the Louvre can view the remains of part of the medieval stonework of the fortress in the 13th century Salle Basse.

2. The fortress of Philip Augustus was destroyed to give way to the royal residence

The original design of the building was first changed by Charles V in the 14th century. He had very ambitious plans for the Louvre. The Hundred Years War intervened in them and they were not destined to come true.

The rulers succeeded each other on the French throne, preferring to build palaces in other places. The Louvre was not used until the early 16th century. King Francis I ordered it to be demolished in 1527 in order to build a new luxurious Renaissance complex in its place.

Francis was a worthy ruler of the Renaissance: an amateur poet and a writer. He helped standardize the French language. It was also the first European monarch in history to establish diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire. Francis became famous as a famous patron and inspirer of the arts. The king had a close relationship with Leonardo da Vinci. The ruler of France convinced the famous artist and scientist to move to this country. The work that was done under Francis at the Louvre marked the beginning of a century of expansion.

3. The buildings of the Louvre were once dilapidated, abandoned and rotted

After the construction of the Palace of Versailles was completed, the French court moved further from Paris and the Louvre. The building remained unfinished and eventually fell into disrepair. The structures that remained open temporarily became the home of a number of cultural groups. There were painters, sculptors and writers there. Construction was reactivated only a century later. The Bourbons sponsored the upkeep of the Louvre with true royal generosity. It flourished until the fall of the monarchy and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.

The king was overthrown and was imprisoned with his family in the Tuileries. The newly created National Assembly decided to transfer the Louvre to the government to create a national museum. The Louvre first opened its doors to the public on August 10, 1793.

4. The celebrated Mona Lisa has not always exhibited at the Louvre

A number of works by Leonardo da Vinci were included in the collection of Francis I, including the famous La Gioconda. This is one of the most famous paintings in the world. According to legend, Francis was even present at the bedside of da Vinci when he died. After the artist's death in 1519, the king bought this painting from his assistant. However, instead of decorating the walls of the Louvre, the painting spent centuries traveling through royal palaces, spending time in Fontainebleau and Versailles.

It was only after the fall of the monarchy and the creation of the Louvre Museum that the Mona Lisa found a more permanent home. And so it remained, with a few rare exceptions. For example, when Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, he hung a picture on the wall of his bedroom. The canvas was taken to a safe, secret location during the Franco-Prussian War and World War II. And in 1911 the painting was stolen right from the walls of the museum by an Italian criminal. He claimed that his motive was the repatriation of the painting to da Vinci's homeland.

For two years, visitors to the Louvre were greeted with a free space on the wall where the Mona Lisa once stood. After its return, the painting did not leave the museum for another half a century. Then the first lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy, persuaded French officials to allow the greatest artist's painting to visit museums in New York and Washington.

5. Napoleon Bonaparte temporarily renamed the museum in his honor

When Napoleon came to power, he renamed the Louvre after himself. Soon, the Napoleon Museum was overflowing with art war spoils. Bonaparte's great army swept across the continent like a whirlwind. Among the cultural artifacts that made it to Paris were hundreds of paintings and sculptures, including a set of antique bronze horses from the façade of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The latter became part of a triumphal arch outside the Louvre. Another horse statue that stood at the top of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. Napoleon ordered that the statue, known as the Quadriga, be packed and sent to France for a demonstration at the Louvre. Instead, it was kept intact until the fall of Napoleon in 1814. After that, more than 5,000 works of art were returned to their rightful owners. The greatest museum in Paris has regained its name, which still bears it today.

6. The Louvre became a collection center for all the art stolen by the Nazis during World War II

More than a century later, as another great and invincible army swept across Europe, the curators began hastily to prepare to evacuate tens of thousands of works of art from the Louvre. The Mona Lisa was taken out first, and then all the other valuable works that could be transported. A caravan of nearly four dozen trucks headed for the French province. There, priceless artifacts and works of art were safely housed in several private castles. After Paris was occupied by the Germans, the Nazis ordered the opening of the Louvre. It was a useless gesture: empty walls and ghostly corridors were now home only to those sculptures that were too difficult to move. The ones that remained were covered with sackcloth.

The Louvre is empty as a museum with no art to display. The invaders decided to confiscate part of it and turned it into an information center. There they cataloged, packaged and dispatched artwork and expensive personal items confiscated from wealthy French (mostly Jewish) families to Germany.

The room occupied six huge halls in the Louvre. Despite its full scale, it was still not the largest art theft operation in Paris during World War II. Under the leadership of Hermann Goering, thousands of confiscated masterpieces were processed at the nearby Jeu de Paume Museum. Many of them were intended for the personal collections of the Nazi high command. Works that were considered morally degenerate (including works by Picasso and Salvador Dali) were sold to various collectors or burned at a public fire at Jeu de Paume in 1942.

Thanks to one fearless guardian who served as a double agent at the time, many of the items that passed through Jeu de Paume were eventually returned. The Louvre is even now, more than seven decades later, criticized for its role in the greatest cultural robbery in history and its reluctance to return controversial works of art.

Many works of art have not yet been found. Read our article 8 world masterpieces that are missing: what is known about them today.