The Louvre Museum, standing since the 12th century, has attracted millions of visitors yearly and is still one of the biggest museums in the world.
Since the museum opened in 1793, and the structure was much older, every room and artwork in the Louvre carried an interesting backstory.
Visitors planning to discover more about the artworks in the Museum must first know all about the historical journey of the Louvre.
In this article, we’ll discover the Louvre’s transformation from a Fortress and Palace to finally being a museum!
A timeline of the History of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France
12th Century: King Philip constructed the fortress as protection from the West.
14th Century: Transformed into a Palace as a residential place for the Royal Family.
1568 AD: King Francis I renovated the structure to resemble French Renaissance architectural styles.
1793 AD: The Louvre Museum officially opened to the public.
1871 AD: Richelieu Wing was damaged because of a fire.
1928 AD: The Museum extended into Salle du Manege to form a lobby.
1983 AD: Beginning of the Grand Louvre Project.
1988 AD: I.M.Pei’s Glass Pyramid structure inaugurated.
1993 AD: An inverted pyramid in the Louvre is inaugurated.
1997 AD: Sully and Denon Wings are inaugurated.
How did the Louvre get its Name?
When the Louvre Museum opened in 1793, it was named Museum des Arts.
However, during the reign of Emperor Napoleon from 1804 to 1814, Napoleon insisted the name of the Musuem be Musee Napoleon.
He was a great art lover who kept all the art he received after capturing the surrounding territories at the Louvre.
When his reign ended, the museum began gaining worldwide popularity for its massive art collection, and the name Louvre was given to it.
Researchers believe that the 12th-century fortress land inspired the name Louvre since wolves lived on that land before it was used for construction.
The word “Louves” in French translates to female wolf in English, which inspired the name Louvre!
The Story of the Louvre Before it Became a Museum
The building was constructed in the 12th century under King Philip II, who wanted to protect his people from attacks from the Western kingdoms.
Sadly, it is still unknown if the building was already standing in this place or commissioned by the King.
Art historian and writer D. Soulie describes the structure as a rectangular Philippian fortress with a massive watch tower at the center.
In the 14th century, the structure became a palace and residential area for the French royal family.
In 1546, the French King Francis I began renovating the structure in a new architectural style, inspired by the French Renaissance period.
Over the centuries, Emperors and Kings kept expanding the structure till it reached its monumental size of 60,600 square meters!
The Royal family left the Louvre when King Louis decided to move further away into Versailles in 1682.
It became a temporary hub for artists and writers who used the rooms to create art and practice their craft as the building fell into disrepair.
You can still see remains of the fortress structure of the Louvre at the Lower levels in the rooms of the Salle Basse collection from the 13th century.
The Birth of the Museum des Arts
During the French Revolution in 1793, the Museum was finally opened to the public to display the collection as a recollection of past events.
Before it opened in 1792, King Louis was put behind bars, leaving the art collection in the Museum open to theft.
To avoid such a destructive outcome, the National Assembly opened the structure as a Museum on 10th August 1793 and called it the Museum des Arts!
A collection of 537 paintings and 187 other objects were put out for display in the Museum.
The French armies also gathered valuable art pieces to display at the Museum, including the Apollo Belvedere and Laocoon and his Sons sculptures from the Vatican City.
The Musee Napoleon: Under Emperor Napoleon’s Rule
When Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, he appointed Dominique Vivant Denon as the Museum’s new director.
During this period, the name changed from Museum des Arts to Musee Napoleon.
France gained control of many neighboring countries under Napoleon, and all the wealth in artwork form taken from there was displayed at the Louvre.
The Treaty of Tolentino between Paris and the Papal States also increased the art collection at the Louvre.
As per another Treaty of Campio Fornio, the French Revolutionary Wars ended.
Italian cities had to give away valuable art pieces, like the San Marco’s Horses of Saint Mark, to Napoleon in exchange for peace.
Most of the artworks were returned to the families and countries they were taken from after the reign of Napoleon ended.
Till the beginning of the dawning of the Second Empire, the Museum fell into the hands of whichever Emperor was in power.
They added and removed exhibitions as per their choice, and it became like a personal display collection room for them.
The Second Empire: New Building Additions
Under the rule of Napoleon III in 1852, a new Colonnade Wing was added to the Museum.
He bought over 600 paintings and other gold items from the Campana Collection to put on display in the Louvre.
A new Napoleon III section, holding 20,000 artifacts, was added to accommodate all these additional art pieces.
Louis Visconti and Hector Lefuel were the main contributors to the construction, as they added the new space, now called the Cour Napoleon at the Musuem.
The Grand Galerie, the longest room of the Louvre, was shortened in the 1860s when Lefuel wanted to connect it to the Tuileries Garden.
Louvre during the World Wars
During World War I, the Louvre remained safe, except for the fire set to the Tuileries Palace in 1871.
This fire damaged the Richelieu Wing of the Louvre.
In 1928, the Salle du Manege became a part of the Museum as an entrance lobby area.
A massive collection of new artworks was collected from the west and east of France, with new Iranian and Islamic art introduced to the collection in the 19th century.
An elaborate plan was orchestrated to save the massive collection of art from the Nazis, and the works were transported to Chateau de Chambord.
During the warring period, the Nazis used the space as a storage room to pack and ship all the artworks taken from wealthy French families back to Germany.
The Grand Louvre: The Glass Pyramid Construction!
In 1983, the Louvre became a part of the Grand Louvre Project to create a new entrance for the structure.
Chinese architect I.M.Pei was awarded the project and designed a modern glass pyramid structure with an underground lobby area!
This structure was inaugurated in 1988, followed by an inverted pyramid constructed as a skylight underground in 1993.
Like the iconic Eiffel Tower structure, the Glass pyramid of the Louvre also faced criticisms that created an interesting controversy.
Check out our Louvre Museum Facts article to know more about the 666 Da Vinci Code Controversy.
In 1997, the new Sully and Denon Wings were also inaugurated as official wings of the Louvre Museum!
The Louvre Museum Today
At present, the Louvre Musuem is the biggest Museum in the world, attracting a massive crowd of 30,000 visitors daily.
It has three wings, the Denon Wing, the Sully Wing, and the Richelieu Wing, which cover over 400 rooms.
It has 35,000 artworks on display, including Da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa!
The Louvre collaborated with over 75 countries to conduct cross-exhibitions and spread art knowledge worldwide.
It is now a symbol of culture in Paris and holds the heart of the artistic history of France and other European countries!
Contents
FAQs on Louvre Museum History
1. Why is the Louvre so important to French culture?
The Louvre was previously the main residence for the royal family of France before it became a Musuem in 1793. You can see over 35,000 art pieces at the Louvre, the oldest dating back 9000 years ago.
2. What is the first name of the Louvre?
When the Louvre Museum opened in 1793 it was called the Museum des Arts.
3. How did the Louvre get its name?
The Louvre is named after the history of the land, as before a fortress was erected here it belonged to the wolves. Female Wolves are called Louve in French, which inspires the name Louvre.
4. What is the oldest thing at the Louvre?
The Ain Ghazal Statue is the oldest artifact in the Louvre.
5. What happened to the Louvre during the WWII?
All items inside the Louvre were relocated to Chateau de Chambord during WWII to keep them from falling into the hands of the Nazis.
6. When were the Wings added to the Louvre Museum?
The Sully and Denon wings were added to the Louvre in 1997. The Richelieu wing was added to the Museum in 1871 AD.
7. What was the Grand Louvre Project?
The Grand Louvre Project began in 1983 AD and aimed to create an attractive structure for the Museum. The glass pyramid was added by architect I.M.Pei during this project renovation.