Exterior of the Louvre Museum
The size of the Louvre Museum alone can be overwhelming; he could spend whole weeks among Egyptian mummies or Greek antiquities. However, if you don't have much time and want to see its main attractions, for example, The Mona Lisa, The Raft of the Medusa or The Winged Victory of Samothrace , simply follow the marked route. The museum setting, in a former royal palace, underwent an extraordinary modernization in the 1980s with elements such as the I. M. Pei glass pyramid, one of the most important examples of modern Paris.
With 35,000 works of art, The Louvre's collection encompasses Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848, as well as works from ancient civilizations and Islamic art. This immense artistic universe of 60,000 square meters is divided into eight departments : Eastern ancient world, Near East, Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, Islamic art, sculptures, decorative arts, paintings, prints and engravings. To make the visit easier, the museum offers guided tours for groups.
If you are interested in ancient art and archeology, the Louvre has a rich selection of pieces from Ancient Egypt, distributed on two floors of the Wing Sully . Among all the works, The Seated Scribe or the spectacular Triad of Osiris stand out. In this wing we will also find the rooms dedicated to Greek antiquities. It is convenient here to stop and pay attention to the statuary, particularly to works such as The Victory of Samothrace or The Venus de Milo.
The Denon Wing, on the ground floor, contains pieces from the Etruscan and Roman periods, with jewels such as the Sarcophagus of the spouses of Cerveteri . On this same floor are the art collections of Mesopotamia, where the Hammurabi Code or Ancient Persia. For its part, floor -1 brings together pieces from Spain, Italy and Northern Europe made between the 5th and 19th centuries and French sculpture.
On the first floor, there are rooms dedicated to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 17th century, Napoleon's Apartments and the impressive sample of Spanish and Italian painting from the 13th to 18th centuries and large-format French paintings (not to forget The Coronation Napoleon, David, The Wedding at Cana, Veronese or Leonardo's Mona Lisa, one of the great stars of the museum).
The second floor is entirely dedicated to painting, with French works from the 14th to 19th centuries and masterpieces by Flemish, Dutch and German artists. We highlight The Turkish Bath, by Ingres, Dürer's Self-Portrait or The Virgin of Chancellor Rollin, by Van Eyck.
In any case, we recommend that you give up seeing everything , as it is unfathomable even for several days.
Map: See map
Address: 34 quai Louvre, Paris Show map
Telephone: 00 33 1 40 20 50 50
Price: Normal rate: €9; reduced: €6
Schedule: Wed-Mon: from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Guy: Museums and art galleries
Official Web: Go to the web
Twitter: @MuseeLouvre
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