From Medieval Fortress to Modernist Icon
The Musee du Louvre, located in the heart of Paris along the picturesque Seine river, is the most visited museum in the world. An astounding 9.6 million people passed through its doors in 2019 to marvel at masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinci‘s Mona Lisa, the ancient Greek Venus de Milo, and other priceless treasures representing the pinnacle of human art and civilization over thousands of years.
But the imposing edifice that now houses 35,000 works of art, covering nearly 800,000 square feet of gallery space, did not start its life as a museum. The fascinating story of how the Louvre transformed from a fortress to palace to world-class cultural institution mirrors the sweeping history of Paris and France itself.
From Castle to Palace
The Louvre‘s history begins in the late 12th century. At the time, England‘s King Richard I posed an imminent threat to the French capital. In response, King Philippe Auguste ordered the construction of a defensive fortress along the Seine‘s right bank in 1190. This medieval castle formed the core around which the Louvre would grow over the next 800 years.
The oldest part of the Louvre is its subterranean foundations, but virtually nothing remains above ground of the original fortress. Later French kings began converting the formerly grim stronghold into an opulent royal residence. Charles V was the first to make the Louvre his palace in the 1360s, adding elaborate gardens, libraries, and grand halls.
The 16th century saw explosive growth in the size and splendor of the Louvre. Starting in 1546, Francis I knocked down the original fortress and began constructing a lavish new Renaissance-style palace designed by architect Pierre Lescot. This is the version of the Louvre we largely see today, complete with ornate facades, richly decorated galleries, and the royal apartments. "Virtually every French monarch following francis I left his mark on the Louvre," explains art historian Andrew McClellan.
Henri IV, for instance, finished the Grande Galerie spanning the length of the palace along the Seine and connecting the Louvre to the adjacent Tuileries Palace. And the Sun King himself, Louis XIV, extensively remodeled the palace‘s interiors, hired painters to glorify his reign, and vastly expanded the royal art collection housed there before permanently relocating to Versailles in 1682.
A Royal Collection Turned Public Museum
The destiny of the Louvre and its treasures changed forever with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. Revolutionaries seized royal assets, including the art collection, and the National Constituent Assembly decreed the Louvre would be transformed into a public museum.
On August 10th, 1793, the Musée Central des Arts opened in the Grande Galerie, displaying around 500 paintings and decorative art objects nationalized from the French monarchy, aristocracy, and church. The museum proved immediately popular. "In its early days, the Louvre was free and open to all citizens, who came in astounding numbers," notes art historian Rebecca Spang.
Despite its initial success, converting a palace into a modern museum posed challenges. The new republican government tapped visionary scholars like Alexandre Lenoir to handle the daunting tasks of inventorying, preserving, and displaying the Louvre‘s rapidly growing collection. Lenoir and his fellow "Monuments Men" scoured France and beyond for artistic treasures, recovering everything from ancient sculptures to Renaissance masterpieces.
Imperial Grandeur Under Napoleon
The Louvre entered a new phase after Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in 1799. The ambitious general envisioned the Louvre as a symbol of French glory and his own personal prestige. In 1803, he even renamed it the "Musée Napoléon."
Thanks to Napoleon‘s conquests across Europe and Egypt, the Louvre‘s collection swelled with captured art and antiquities like the famous Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace statues. Andrew McClellan notes that "Napoleon‘s rule…witnessed the arrival of over 5,000 works seized by French armies, catapulting the Louvre to the forefront of European museums."
Napoleon also tasked architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine with extensively renovating the Louvre Palace itself to better showcase its collection. They created monumental gallery spaces, adorned with lavish decor glorifying the emperor and his military triumphs.
After Napoleon‘s defeat in 1815, the Louvre was forced to return many of the artworks seized by his armies to their countries of origin. Despite these losses, the museum‘s collection and reputation continued to grow throughout the 19th century.
Some highlights from this period include:
- The opening of the Louvre‘s first gallery devoted to Egyptian antiquities under Charles X in 1826
- The creation of a dedicated space to display the Venus de Milo after its arrival in 1821
- Major acquisitions like the 13th century B.C. Code of Hammurabi stone tablets in 1901
The Modern Louvre Takes Shape
By the 20th century, the Louvre had solidified its status as one of the world‘s great encyclopedic museums, boasting an unparalleled collection spanning global cultures and over 9,000 years of artistic achievement. But its infrastructure struggled to keep pace with its ever-growing holdings and visitor numbers.
To solve these issues, President François Mitterrand launched the ambitious Grand Louvre project in 1981. Over the next decade, sections of the palace were renovated and modernized, while formerly private apartments were converted to public gallery space. Most famously, the Louvre commissioned architect I.M. Pei to design a striking glass pyramid in the Napoleon Courtyard to serve as the museum‘s new entrance. Though initially controversial, Pei‘s pyramid has become the icon of the modern Louvre.
The Grand Louvre renovations boosted annual visitor numbers from 3.5 million in 1989 to over 5 million by the end of the 1990s. And the 21st century has seen the museum‘s collection and popularity continue to grow, with recent developments including:
- The 2012 opening of a new wing of Islamic art in a modernist glass pavilion
- The 2018 launch of a full-text online database cataloging all 482,000 items in the Louvre‘s holdings
- A record-breaking 10.2 million visitors in 2018, making the Louvre the world‘s most popular museum
Today, the Louvre‘s collection is divided into eight main departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Paintings; Sculptures; Decorative Arts; and Prints and Drawings. "Taken as a whole, the collections of the musée du Louvre aim to provide a panorama of art from antiquity up to the first half of the 19th century," explains the museum‘s website.
The Louvre‘s Enduring Legacy
What began as a fortress has evolved, over 800 years, into a universally renowned cultural landmark. Through regime changes, revolutions, and the turbulence of history, the Louvre has endured as a testament to human creativity and achievement.
Its collection reflects not just the tastes of the kings, emperors, and republics that shaped France, but the shared artistic heritage of civilization itself. From ancient Egyptian mummies to the Mona Lisa‘s enigmatic smile, a trip to the Louvre‘s bustling galleries reminds us of art‘s power to capture the human spirit across the ages.
"The Louvre has become a global community, a shared experience," reflects the museum‘s president and director Jean-Luc Martinez. "Our collection comes from the world…and so the Louvre is not just a national museum, but a universal museum." As it looks towards the future, with plans for satellite campuses and digital outreach, the Louvre aims to build on its legacy as a museum not just of France, but for the world.
