Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Louvre Museum finds its origins in the royal collections, gathered in the royal residences and in the Louvre itself, notably in the antiques room and the cabinet of the King's paintings. During the reign of Louis XV, the idea of a museum accessible to the public emerged, culminating in the official opening of the museum on 18 November 1793. The initial collections, enriched by the revolutionary seizures (goods of emigrants, churches and the Academy), spread with the confiscated works in the conquered territories and then returned in 1815. This heritage revolves around fine arts, antiques and decorative arts, reflecting the monarchic heritage and the political upheavals of the period.

From 1820, the museum diversified its collections with the addition of sculptures, Egyptian antiques gathered by Champollion, and, as early as 1847, objects from the French excavations in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. These acquisitions, combined with regular donations and bequests, transformed the Louvre into an encyclopedic place, covering Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848, as well as ancient civilizations. The building itself, a former seat of royal power, underwent major metamorphoses: under the Second Empire, it lost its residential function with the destruction of the Tuileries Palace in 1871, becoming under the Third Republic a museum palace extended along the banks of the Seine.

Today, the Louvre is distinguished by its organisation in eight thematic departments (eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Islamic, painting, etc.), supplemented by a section dedicated to its architectural history and a space dedicated to gardens and outdoor works. Its status as "museum museum" is rooted in a bicentennial history, where each era has left a mark, from the initial royal collections to the Republican installations. The site also includes the Tuileries Garden and the Eugène Delacroix Museum, highlighting its place in the Parisian heritage and its central role in the history of art and France.

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