P33 - France- Musee du Louvre

Musee du Louvre, Paris, France

The Musée du Louvre — in English the Louvre Museum — is a historic monument in Paris and the national museum of France. It is a central landmark of the city, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (neighbourhood). Nearly 35,000 objects from the 6th millennium BC to the 19th century AD are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet).

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1672, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.

The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being confiscated church and royal property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon when the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After his defeat at Waterloo, many works seized by Napoleon's armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic, except during the two World Wars. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; and Prints and Drawings.

羅浮宮（法語：Musée du Louvre）位于法国巴黎市中心的塞纳河边，原是法国的王宫，现在是卢浮宫博物馆，拥有的艺术收藏达40万件，包括雕塑，绘画，美术工艺及古代东方，古代埃及和古希腊罗马等7个门类。

法国国王对艺术品的收集始于弗朗索瓦一世时期，弗朗索瓦一世曾从意大利购买了包括油画蒙娜丽莎在内的大量艺术品。至路易十四时期，法国王室已经收集了约2000幅油画、150多座雕刻、700多张素描、以及其他大量美术作品。路易十五和路易十六时期继续从意大利、佛兰德斯和西班牙购入艺术作品。法国大革命期间的1793年8月10日，共和政府决定将收归国有的王室收藏集中于卢浮宫，并将其作为博物馆向公众开放，命名为“中央艺术博物馆”。11月8日，博物馆正式开放，展出了587件艺术品。此后共和政府又用从教堂、贵族和地方政府等处没收来的艺术品源源不断地补充博物馆收藏。

拿破仑在征服欧洲各国的同时，将被征服国家的艺术品大量运往法国，送至卢浮宫（此时已改名为“拿破仑博物馆”）展出，还增加了古罗马和古埃及艺术品展厅。但随着1815年拿破仑的第二次退位和终生放逐，卢浮宫藏品中约有5000多件艺术品被归还给原来所属国。

此后的100多年里，卢浮宫的收藏范围不断扩大，加入了东方（远东）、亚述、古埃及等时代的藏品。随着藏品数量的增多，展览空间越来越小。1981年，法国政府决定将卢浮宫建筑群的全部建筑划拨博物馆，并对卢浮宫实施了大规模的整修。由美籍设计师贝聿铭设计的位于卢浮宫中央广场“拿破仑庭院”上的透明金字塔建筑。

References sources : wikipedia