Louvren (franska: Musée du Louvre eller officiellt Grand Louvre) är det största nationalmuseet i Frankrike, det mest besökta museet i världen och ett historiskt monument. Louvren är beläget i Paris 1:a arrondissement och tillhör världens främsta konstmuseer både vad gäller storlek och samling, med hyllade konstverk av bland annat Titian, Rafael och Leonardo da Vinci. Museet ställer ut Mona Lisa, Venus från Milo och Nike från Samothrake.
Louvren förvaltas av den franska staten under Réunion des Musées Nationaux och ställer ut både antik och modern konst. Museet är känt för att ha flera av världens mest berömda konstverk, som till exempel Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa, Anna själv tredje, Madonnan i grottan (första versionen), Alexander från Antiochias Venus de Milo, Hieronymus Boschs Narrskeppet samt Damen från Auxerre.
Louvren byggdes som ett kungligt palats för Filip II August i centrala Paris i ena änden av gatan Champs-Élysées. Delar av palatset öppnades som museum för offentligheten 8 november 1793, under den franska revolutionen.
Den centrala gårdsplanen, som domineras av Louvrepyramiden i glas, byggd 1988, är museets huvudentré. Glaspyramiden utfördes av I.M. Pei och är så stor att museet anlitar bergsklättrare för att tvätta den.
År 2005 hade Louvren 7,3 miljoner besökare, ett rekord som till stora delar berodde på Dan Browns roman från 2003, Da Vinci-koden. Ökningen av antalet besökare var 22 procent jämfört med tidigare rekord och gjorde Louvren till det mest besökta monumentet i Paris. (wikipedia, 2013-04-08, bild: Alvesgaspar)
The Musée du Louvre (French pronunciation: [myze dy luvʁ])—in English, the Louvre Museum or simply The Louvre—is one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). With more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.[5]
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture.[6] In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years.[7] During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings. (wikipedia, 2013-04-08, picture: Alvesgaspar)
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