The Louvre Museum has been standing in Paris for eight centuries since it was constructed by King Philip August in the 12th century.
Even though it officially opened to the public in 1793, it has a captivating history and many exciting facts that make it worth exploring more than its attractive collection and structure!
First-time visitors planning to explore the massive Louvre collection must know some facts that make the space so popular among the 7 million visitors coming here yearly.
In this article, we’ll dive into the details of 12 less popular Paris France Louvre Museum Facts so you can show off your knowledge to your family and friends when visiting!
1. The Louvre houses the biggest collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s Masterpieces!
Leonardo Da Vinci is a famous Italian painter known for his small but significantly popular painting and art collection!
Vinci had a more introverted career, unlike Michelangelo and Raphael, who had paintings and were commissioned to paint famous chapels,
He painted scenery he had never seen before making his illusionary work extremely popular.
Around 20 of his paintings are on display worldwide, including his famous Mona Lisa, which is at the Louvre Museum.
Another of his famous works is the fresco of the Last Supper in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Chapel in Milan.
The Louvre Museum houses a quarter of his brilliant painting and sketch collection, with five paintings and 22 drawings on display!
Da Vinci fans can enjoy seeing the most extensive collection of the painter with a Louvre Mona Lisa Ticket.
2. The Mona Lisa and most other Louvre artworks are stolen goods.
Emperor Napoleon waged many wars and overtook many territories during his rule from 1804 to 1814.
During his reign, the countries he captured were forced to pay a large sum and might also have been under pressure to give away their best artworks!
Napoleon was an art lover who also renamed the Louvre during his reign, and the Museum saw a massive collection of artworks flood in during this period.
Before the Mona Lisa was displayed inside the Louvre, it stood as the back-wall decorative piece of Napoleon’s bedroom!
Over 5000 paintings and sculptures were also taken away as spoils of war, including the bronze horses from the facade of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
After Napoleon’s fall, most of the sculptures and paintings were returned to their owners.
3. The Louvre Art Museum was not always a museum.
One of the major facts about Louvre Museum in Paris is that it did not begin as a museum but was a fortress to safeguard the kingdom during the rule of Philipe August II in the 12th century.
He built the structure to keep him and his people safe since he thought the English were planning an invasion of France.
However, since the fortress was along the banks of the Seine River, a part of the border did not have a wall.
Over the years, the expansion of the structure continued, and it became a massive palace that acted as the home of royalty in the 1500s under the reign of Charles V.
Francois I demolished the original structure in 1586 and expanded it to connect to the Tuileries Gardens.
The palace opened to the public in 1684 under King Louis XIII added many wings and galleries, which made the structure fit for a museum.
The Louvre Museum finally opened to the public in 1793 after the beginning of the French Revolution!
You can still see some parts of the fortress structure of the Louvre at the lower level, in the 13th century Salle Basse collection.
Check out our Louvre Museum History article to know more!
4. The Structure of the Louvre is a marvelous collection of five glass pyramids.
Even though most visitors only see the Louvre as one Pyramidal structure, it has five pyramids!
The main pyramid was added by Chinese architect I. M. Pei in 1989, giving it one of the most modern and attractive facade structures worldwide.
The other three pyramids are mini glass structures placed in the courtyard, which function as a reflective surface to cast light onto the exhibits in the Museum.
The final pyramid is the most hidden since it is an inverted pyramid at Carrousel de Louvre Shopping Mall.
The pyramids, especially the main facade pyramid, are the main reason the Louvre is one of the most architecturally significant museums today!
5. You can’t see all of the Louvre in one day as it is the biggest Museum in the world!
The Louvre is impossible to explore in one day, even if you walk around the structure since it covers an area of around 73,000 square meters!
Researchers believe that if visitors spend 30 seconds at every piece of art in the Louvre, they would take at least 100 days to see all the art.
The Museum has a massive collection of over 35,000 objects, paintings, and sculptures to admire.
It is also known as the largest Museum to exist on the Earth even today!
6. The Louvre is the third name of the Museum.
The Louvre Museum was the Museum des Arts when it opened in 1793.
Under Napoleon’s reign in 1804, the Museum’s name changed, and was called Musee Napoleon!
It held most of the spoils of war that Napoleon collected during his reign and took such a name because Napoelon was an art lover.
When Napoleon’s reign ended, the Museum was baptized again and called the Louvre, better suited for its international fame!
Most researchers believe that the name Louvre means a wolf-hunting den, but there is no confirmed meaning of the name.
7. 66% of the paintings at the Louvre are by French artists.
As per the researcher’s latest estimate count, the Louvre is home to artworks by 7,500 artists from all around the world at present.
These paintings are from the 13th to the 19th centuries and constitute the largest collection among other art forms in the Louvre’s galleries.
66% of this massive collection is by French artists, including Jacques Louis David, Eugene Delacroix, and Jean-Louis Andre Theodore Gericault.
Some of the most famous paintings of the Museum, including the Raft of the Medusa, Liberty Leading the People, and the Coronation of Napoleon, were by French artists.
8. A Ghostbuster’s fans’ dream place: The Louvre is Haunted!
The 800-year-old structure of the Louvre is believed to have a ghost of a Mummy named Belphegor.
He haunts the hallways of the Galleries, while another ghost clad in red haunts the Tuileries Gardens.
Some also believe the ghost of a young girl was seen running around the American Art halls of the Louvre.
The Museum is also home to another friendly ghost of Jean l’Ecorcheur, a butcher who worked as Queen Catherine de Medici’s aide in the 16th century.
He was murdered by the Queen as he knew too many secrets about the royal family that could cause more harm than good to the rulers.
9. The Louvre’s Grande Galerie was used for fox hunting.
We know that the Louvre Museum is the biggest in the world, but did you know it was so huge that it worked perfectly as a hunting ground for foxes?
When Emperor Henry IV connected the Grand Galerie of the Louvre to the Tuileries Garden by a 460-meter-long passage.
When the weather in Paris was rainy and dangerous for hunting outside, the hunts would be conducted in this passage of the Museum!
Huntsmen would chase foxes all around the space on horseback!
Sadly, you cannot see this long corridor in the Museum today since it was shortened to 280 meters in the 1860s remodeling.
10. The Museum’s artworks barely escaped from the clutches of the Nazis during the WWII.
During WWII, the Nazis began invading Paris which caused panic among the Museum workers since they were famous for sending all popular artworks back to Germany.
To keep the priceless collection in the Louvre safe, the conservators began preparing to move thousands of these pieces to another secure location as soon as the Nazis entered France.
The Mona Lisa left the space first, followed by other valuables taken by many trucks to houses in the French countryside.
Jacques Jaujard, a Senior Civil Servant, was responsible for heading the relocation of the art.
The last piece to leave the Museum on 3rd September 1939 was the famous statue of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
When the Nazis captured the Louvre and demanded it be opened to the public, their plan failed since the walls of the Museum were completely barren of artworks.
During the World War II period, the Nazis then used the Museum as a storeroom to package the art they planned to ship back to Germany.
This art was stolen from rich French families and the event was called the Louvre sequestration.
11. The Museum became a part of the 666 Conspiracy theory because of the Da Vinci Code.
Dan Brown’s famous book, the Da Vinci Code, proclaimed that 666 glass panels fit together to make the exterior of the Louvre’s pyramid.
However, this information is fake, as the pyramid is made using 607 diamond-shaped panels and 70 triangular panels.
Because of this lie by Dan Brown, most people saw the structure as Satanic, since the number 666 is associated with the Devil in the Bible.
12. Two Louvre Museums exist Today!
The Louvre in Paris is not the only structure with the name today since you can also see another Museum with the same name in Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island!
The Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi was granted permission from the Paris authorities to use the same name for the structure from 2007 to 2037.
This is the second-largest museum on the Arabian Peninsula, and it costs more than €600 million to construct!
Instead of replicating the triangular pyramid structure of the Paris Louvre, the Abu Dhabi Louvre has a more rounded dome surrounded by water on all sides.
Contents
FAQs on Louvre Museum Facts
1. What are five facts about the Louvre?
Five interesting facts about the Louvre are:
- The Louvre has four floors covered in art to explore.
- The first name given to the Museum was the Museum des Arts in 1793.
- The ghost of a Mummy, a young girl. and Jean l’Ecorcheur haunts the Louvre.
- Fox hunting took place in the hallway connecting the Louvre to the Tuileries Garden.
- 66% of paintings in the Louvre are by French artists!
2. Why is the Louvre called the Louvre?
The Louvre was not originally called the Louvre. When the Museum opened in 1793, it was called the Museum des Arts. During Napoleon’s rule, the Museum took the name Musee Napoleon after the Emperor as he was fond of art. Finally, the name Louvre was given to the structure since it suited the Museum’s fame worldwide. Some believe it means a wolf-hunting den.
3. Is the Louvre the largest museum in the world?
The Museum is the largest in the world, over 73,000 square meters.
4. What is the oldest item in the Louvre?
The oldest item in the Museum is a 9,000-year-old Ain Ghazal Statue, dating back to 7000 BC.
5. How many artworks by Leonardo da Vinci are at the Louvre?
There are five paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci at the Louvre, including the world-famous Mona Lisa, and 22 other sketches by him.
6. How long will it take to see all the artworks at the Louvre Museum?
Researchers believe it would take 100 days to see all the artworks at the Louvre if you spent 30 seconds admiring every work.
7. What conspiracy theory did the Louvre fall under?
The Louvre was believed to be a Satanic structure since people believed that it was made up of 666 glass panels as per the Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown’s book gave the Louvre a sinister look, which was completely untrue, as the structure is only made of 607 diamond-shaped panels and 70 triangle-shaped panels.