Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Louvre Museum is housed in a royal palace dating back to 1190, when Philippe Auguste built a castle there to supervise the Seine. Transformed into a royal residence by Charles V in the 14th century, the site became a symbol of the Renaissance under Francis I in the 16th century, which initiated an art collection and modernized architecture. The palace, enlarged by Henri IV with the Grand Dessein aimed at connecting the Louvre with the Tuileries, was partially abandoned after Louis XIV's departure for Versailles in 1678, but retained academies and artists' workshops.

The French Revolution marked a decisive turning point: in 1793, the Louvre Museum was inaugurated as the Central Museum of the Arts of the Republic, exposing the nationalized royal collections and works confiscated from emigrants and churches. Napoleon I greatly enriched the collections with seizures during his military campaigns in Europe, making the Louvre the Napoleon museum and the largest art museum in the world. After its fall in 1815, much of the spoiled works were restored, but the museum retained major pieces such as Les Noces de Cana de Verona.

In the 19th century, the Louvre expanded and was structured with the creation of specialized departments (Eastern Antiquities in 1881, Arts of Islam in 2003) and the acquisition of prestigious collections, such as that of Giampietro Campana in 1861. Archaeological excavations in Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia (e.g. discovery of the Victory of Samothrace in 1863) complete the collections. The Grand Louvre, launched in 1981 under François Mitterrand, modernises the museum with the glass pyramid of Ieoh Ming Pei (1989) and reorganizes the spaces, such as the opening of the halls of the Arts of Islam in 2012.

The museum now houses more than 500,000 works, including 38,000 exhibitions, covering various civilizations: Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Eastern, Islamic, European (Italian, French, Flemish) and sculptures. The iconic pieces include Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Milo's Venus, Hammurabi's Code, and Liberty guiding Delacroix's people. The Louvre, with 8.7 million visitors in 2024, remains the most visited art museum in the world.

His history is also marked by challenges, such as restitutions of works after 1815, thefts (e.g.: The Mona Lisa in 1911), or controversial projects such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi (2017). Recent renovations include the Liévin Conservation Centre (2019) to protect works from the Seine floods, and innovative temporary exhibitions, such as the Gallery of Five Continents (2025), bringing Western and extra-European arts dialogue.

The palace itself, an architectural masterpiece, combines styles ranging from the medieval (Philippe Auguste's dungeon) to the Renaissance (Lescot wing), including classicism (Perrault's Colonnade) and modern (Pyramid of Pei). The adjacent Tuileries gardens complete this UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, highlighting its central role in the cultural and artistic history of France.

Collection

Il est le plus grand des musées d'art du monde par sa surface d'exposition de 72 735 m2. Ses collections comprennent près de 460 000 oeuvres. Celles-ci présentent l'art occidental du Moyen Âge à 1848, ceux des civilisations antiques qui l'ont précédé et influencé (orientales, égyptienne, grecque, étrusque et romaine), et les arts des premiers chrétiens et de l'Islam.

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