- (Louvre), in Paris, originally a royal palace; erected on the site of an old castle in the 16th and 19th centuries. (architects P. Lesko, C. Perrault and others), since 1791 an art museum; the richest collection of ancient Egyptian, ancient, Western European... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (French Louvre). The old royal palace in Paris, built in 1204, is now occupied by artistic and various other rarities. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. Louvre ancient royal palace... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

In Paris, originally a royal palace; erected on the site of the castle in the 16th - 19th centuries. (architects P. Lesko, C. Perrault and others), since 1791 an art museum; the richest collection of ancient Egyptian, ancient, Western European art... Modern encyclopedia

- (Louvre) in Paris, an architectural monument and museum, one of the architectural dominants of the historical center of the city. Originally a royal palace on the site of a castle from the early 3rd to 4th centuries. (1546 XIX century, architects P. Lesko, L. Levo, C. Perrault and others;... ... Art encyclopedia

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 museum (22) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

The most remarkable of Parisian public buildings, both for its enormity and architecture, and for the precious collections it contains. The name of this building comes from the Wolf Forest (Luparia, Louverie) that was once located here, in... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Louvre- employee time sheet... Dictionary of abbreviations and abbreviations

- (Louvre) architectural monument in Paris; originally a royal palace, then an art museum, one of the world's greatest art repositories. It was built on the site of a castle in the early 13th and 14th centuries. In 1546 74 P. Lesko erected a palace in the form of... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Louvre) former French palace. kings, since 1793 arts. museum, one of the greatest arts. repositories of the world. Name L. probably comes from Late Lat. lupara gathering places for wolf hunters. Built on the site of a building erected in the 13th century. queens... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Books

• Louvre, Rezko I. (ed), Richly illustrated gift edition in hardcover with three-sided gold edge. One of the greatest museums in the world - the Louvre - opens its doors to you, inviting you to look at… Category: Miniature editions
• Louvre, Rezko I. (ed), The Louvre is the architectural and historical pearl of Paris and one of the greatest museums in the world. The richest collection of the Louvre represents a unique universal history of art: from the Ancient East to... Category:

- (Louvre), in Paris, originally a royal palace; erected on the site of an old castle in the 16th and 19th centuries. (architects P. Lesko, C. Perrault and others), since 1791 an art museum; the richest collection of ancient Egyptian, ancient, Western European... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Louvre- (French Louvre). The old royal palace in Paris, built in 1204, is now occupied by artistic and various other rarities. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. Louvre ancient royal palace... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Louvre- in Paris, originally a royal palace; erected on the site of the castle in the 16th - 19th centuries. (architects P. Lesko, C. Perrault and others), since 1791 an art museum; the richest collection of ancient Egyptian, ancient, Western European art... Modern encyclopedia

Louvre- (Louvre) in Paris, an architectural monument and museum, one of the architectural dominants of the historical center of the city. Originally a royal palace on the site of a castle from the early 3rd to 4th centuries. (1546 XIX century, architects P. Lesko, L. Levo, C. Perrault and others;... ... Art encyclopedia

Louvre- noun, number of synonyms: 1 museum (22) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Louvre- the most remarkable of Parisian public buildings, both for its enormity and architecture, and for the precious collections it contains. The name of this building comes from the Wolf Forest (Luparia, Louverie) that was once located here, in... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Louvre- employee time sheet... Dictionary of abbreviations and abbreviations

Louvre- (Louvre) architectural monument in Paris; originally a royal palace, then an art museum, one of the world's greatest art repositories. It was built on the site of a castle in the early 13th and 14th centuries. In 1546 74 P. Lesko erected a palace in the form of... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Louvre- (Louvre) former French palace. kings, since 1793 arts. museum, one of the greatest arts. repositories of the world. Name L. probably comes from Late Lat. lupara gathering places for wolf hunters. Built on the site of a building erected in the 13th century. queens... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Books

• Louvre, Rezko I. (ed), Richly illustrated gift edition in hardcover with three-sided gold edge. One of the greatest museums in the world - the Louvre - opens its doors to you, inviting you to look at… Category: Miniature editions Buy for 556 RUR
• Louvre, Rezko I. (ed), The Louvre is the architectural and historical pearl of Paris and one of the greatest museums in the world. The richest collection of the Louvre represents a unique universal history of art: from the Ancient East to... Category:

Louvre (Paris) - detailed information about the museum with photos. Opening hours of the Louvre, plans (schemes) and collections of the museum, where to buy tickets, official website.

Louvre Museum in Paris

The Louvre is an art museum in Paris, one of the most famous and largest museums in the world, which is visited annually by about 10 million people.

The original building of the Louvre Palace was a defensive fortress in the lower reaches of the Seine, which later turned into one of the main royal residences.

The Louvre was founded in 1793. The museum is 73,000 sq. meters of works of art from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century, as well as ancient times. It houses about 35,000 artifacts, some of which are 7,000 years old.

In close proximity to the Louvre is the Tuileries Garden, one of the largest and oldest parks in the center of Paris. A wonderful example of landscape art and an open-air sculpture museum, it is also an excellent place for rest and relaxation in the heart of a big city.

Departments of the Louvre

The Louvre is divided into 8 departments:

• Department of Egyptian Antiquities
• Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities
• Department of Oriental Antiquities
• Department of Art of Islamic Countries
• Painting department
• Sculpture Department
• Graphics department
• Art Department

Collections

1. Art of the Ancient Near East (7500 BC - 500 AD)- exhibits found during archaeological excavations are distributed geographically (the territory of modern Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, etc.). The collection includes elements of decoration of palaces and temples, statues, tablets with inscriptions and luxury items and introduces one of the first centers of great civilizations. Level 0 - Richelieu wing and Sully wing
2. Art of Ancient Egypt (4000 - 30 BC)- sculptures and paintings, fragments of temples and tombs, ritual and everyday objects from the Nile Valley - from Egypt to Sudan - are presented as part of a thematic exhibition (level 0), as well as within a chronological exhibition from the end of the prehistoric period to the establishment of Roman rule (level 1). Levels 0 and 1 - Sully wing
3. Art of Ancient Greece(6500 - 30 BC) - the exhibition, located on levels -1 and 0, is built on a chronological basis and reflects the development of ancient Greek art from the end of the prehistoric period until the establishment of Roman rule. Level 1 presents the material culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome (objects made of bronze, gold and silver, ceramics, glass). Levels -1, 0 and 1 - Denon wing and Sully wing
4. Art of Ancient Rome (100 BC - 500 AD)- on level 0, around the courtyard of the French queen Anne of Austria (1615-1643), the collection is presented in chronological order from the end of the Roman Republic to the fall of the Roman Empire. Level 1 presents the material culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Levels 0 and 1 - Denon wing and Sully wing
5. Art of Ancient Italy and Etruria (900 - 200 BC)- sculptures, vases, sarcophagi, weapons, jewelry, interior furnishings - usually found in tombs - give an idea of ​​the civilizations that preceded the Romans in the territory of modern Italy in the first millennium BC. Level 0 - Denon wing
6. Art of the Middle East and Egypt(30 BC - 1800 AD) - mosaics, reproductions of church interiors, painted portraits, pottery and luxury objects provide an insight into the art of the Eastern Mediterranean, from Roman to Muslim times conquests This series continues the art of the Christian communities of Egypt and Sudan from the Middle Ages and Modern History. Levels -2 and -1 - Denon wing
7. Art of the Islamic World (700-1800)- objects made of ceramics, glass and wood, miniatures, carpets and ceremonial weapons, presented in chronological order from the rise of Islam to the 18th century, reflect the splendor of a civilization that stretched from Spain to India. Levels -2 and -1 - Denon wing
8. Sculpture / France (500-1850)- located around the courtyards of Marly and Puget, which display garden sculptures from the 17th to 19th centuries, the chronological exhibition covers the period from the Middle Ages to the Romantic era and introduces the work of major French sculptors such as Goujon, Coustou, Pigalle, Houdon or Bari. Levels -1 and 0 - Richelieu wing
9. Sculpture / Europe (500-1850)- European sculpture is presented geographically: chronological exhibitions on two levels are dedicated to Italy and Northern Europe, where you can see the works of Donatello, Michelangelo, Canova, etc. In a separate room there are examples of Spanish sculpture. Levels -1 and 0 - Denon wing
10. Painting / France (1350-1850)- the world's most complete collection of French painting is presented in chronological order and includes paintings by such masters as Poussin, Georges de la Tour, Watteau, Fragonard, Ingres, Corot and others. Monumental paintings of the 19th century. (David, Delacroix) are exhibited on level 1 in the Denon wing. Level 2 - Richelieu wing and Sully wing / level 1 - Denon wing
11. Painting/Northern Europe (1350-1850)- painting of Northern Europe is presented in chronological order, as well as in accordance with the geographical centers of culture: Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, etc. Visitors will be able to see masterpieces by Van Eyck, Bruegel, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Level 2 - Richelieu wing
12. Painting / Italy (1250-1800)- a collection of Italian painting, one of the richest in the world, is exhibited in the Square Hall, in the Great Gallery and in the adjacent halls. The paintings are presented in chronological order and in accordance with the geographical centers of culture. Among them are masterpieces by Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio and others. Level 1 - Denon wing
13. Painting / Spain (1400-1850)- the exhibition is located in small rooms around the central hall with monumental paintings. The collection is presented in chronological order from the 15th to the 19th centuries. and includes works by such famous painters as El Greco, Zurbaran, Ribera, Murillo, Goya. Level 1 - Denon wing
14. Painting / Great Britain / United States (1550-1850)- The Louvre's collection of British and American painting consists mainly of portraits and landscapes. Artists represented include Gainsborough, West, Raeburn, Lawrence, Turner and Constable. Level 1 - Denon wing
15. Decorative Arts / Europe (500-1850)- presented chronologically from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century. a collection of luxury items (jewelry, weapons, tapestries, glassware, ceramics, artistic enamel, gold, silver and bronze items, precious stones and treasures of the French crown, interior furnishings), as well as recreated interiors reflect the high level of applied art, developed, in particular, thanks to royal orders. Level 1 - Richelieu wing, Sully wing, Denon wing
16. Drawings, engravings, prints / Europe (1350-1850)- this richest collection in the world is exhibited in parts, one by one, due to the sensitivity of the exhibits to light. At temporary exhibitions you can see drawings, engravings, prints, pastels, watercolors, as well as manuscripts of the greatest European artists. Level -1 - Sully wing (Rotunda Sully)
17. Art of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas (700 BC - 1900 AD)- the collection, which includes about a hundred masterpieces from the collection of the Quai Branly Museum, is presented geographically. In this department you can see outstanding works of a number of non-European civilizations of pre-Columbian America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Level 0 - Denon wing

Pavilion of Clocks: introduction to the Louvre- precedes the inspection of the collections and introduces the history of the palace and museum collection. Around the ruins of a medieval castle, the process of gradual transformation of the palace into a museum is presented. Further, at level 1, selected works allow one to appreciate the diversity of the collections. Level 2 is devoted to the modern life of the museum. This educational tour was named after His Royal Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, in gratitude for the invaluable support provided to the museum by the United Arab Emirates.

Small Gallery- here you can learn to better understand works of art and gain knowledge in the field of art history and various
artistic techniques. Each year a new theme is proposed, which becomes the starting point for exploring the museum's collection.

Louvre plans

Plan of the Louvre in Russian - download in PDF

Visiting rules

1. Keep silence.
2. Eating and drinking alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
3. Flash photography is prohibited. Some exposures are prohibited from being photographed at all.

Official site

Louvre opening hours

The Louvre Museum is open daily, except Tuesdays, from 9.00 to 18.00. The halls close at 17.30. Please note, the museum is closed on May 1 and December 25.

On Wednesday and Friday the museum is open until 21.45

Ticket prices and where to buy them?

The cost of a ticket to the Louvre is 15 euros. On Wednesday and Friday after 18.00, young people (under 26 years old) can enter the museum for free. To do this, you only need an ID card.

Brilliant Paris. Story. Legends. Legends Chekulaeva Elena Olegovna

Louvre

Louvre

The Louvre dates back more than 700 years, formerly a medieval fortress, then the palace of the kings of France and today a world-famous museum.

The medieval fortress was built by Philip Augustus at the end of the 12th century. Subsequently, the Louvre was repeatedly rebuilt and completed, changing its appearance. Years passed, kings changed. Some people preferred to live in the Louvre, others outside it. But they all contributed something of their own to the appearance of the palace.

Construction of the Louvre began at the end of the 12th century and ended in the second half of the 19th century. Work on its reconstruction continues to this day.

King Philip Augustus, before setting off on the Third Crusade, ordered the foundation of a fortress to protect the western approach to Paris. The Louvre was intended as a defensive structure and not as a royal residence. The word “Louvre” itself is believed to come from the word “lower” - fortress in the Frankish language. The ancient Louvre of Philip Augustus was a huge structure, the central tower of which was surrounded by another twenty-three powerful towers, not counting the numerous turrets.

Gradually, Paris was populated behind the fortress wall. King Charles V was forced to build new fortifications. He entrusted the reconstruction of the Louvre to the architect Raymond de Temple, famous for his skill in geometry. The Louvre turned into a royal residence, reliably protected by a fortress wall. Part of the fortress was adapted for royal chambers; one of the towers housed the royal library. The tower, which was called “Book Tower”, was located in the place where the so-called “Clock Tower” is now located.

Victor Hugo wrote about the life of kings in the Louvre that it was much simpler than it seemed to be. The house where the king lived had dovecotes, vegetables were grown in the gardens, and there was no special luxury. The Louvre from the time of Charles V looked like a fairytale castle.

Under King Francis I, the reconstruction of the Louvre began in 1546, which determined its modern appearance. Before this, according to established tradition, French kings lived outside of Paris.

Francis I vowed to move his permanent residence to Paris, since it was this city that paid most of the ransom for him when he was in captivity.

This time, the reconstruction of the Louvre was entrusted to the architect Pierre Lescaut, whose name still bears the left wing of the palace.

Perestroika was carried out in the style of the Renaissance. Sculptural images of deities, geniuses of Glory, War and Peace, military attributes and trophies, as well as the frieze, were created by Jean Goujon, who was not called the French Phidias for nothing.

King Henry II, son of Francis I, continued work on decorating the Louvre. With him, a royal monogram with a crown appears on the facade of the Louvre. At some distance from the initial letter of the king’s name “H” (Henri) there are images of two crescents located in such a way that if they are brought closer to “H”, they will get either the letter “C” or the letter “D”. These are the initial letters of two female names dear to Henry II: his wife Catherine de Medici and his beloved Diane de Poitiers.

In the Small Gallery of the Louvre there is a “window of Charles IX”. Presumably, on the night of St. Bartholomew, August 23, 1572, the king personally shot at the Huguenots from it.

The Huguenots, invited to the palace and previously disarmed, found themselves in a mousetrap - all exits from the Louvre were closed and they were deprived of the opportunity to defend themselves. In horror, they rushed inside the palace, trying to escape from certain death... That night, blood flowed in streams along the steps of the palace, and the walls of the Louvre were red from shed blood. By Charles IX’s own admission, all his life he was tormented by nightmares - “these mutilated bodies, these disfigured faces covered in blood.”

A menagerie park was built in the Louvre under Charles IX. His heir Henry III loved to watch bloody animal fights from the windows of his chambers, for example, lions and Great Danes. The menagerie existed until the day Henry III had a dream that he would be torn to pieces by animals. On the same day, all the animals were shot by order of the king.

In the palace there is not only the “window of Charles IX”, but also the “staircase of Henry IV”. The king, mortally wounded during a walk, was brought to the Louvre and laid near the stairs, in the place where the entrance to the museum’s storage services is now. The king came to his senses for a few minutes and was given a sip of wine. He opened his eyes for a second, only to immediately close them forever.

In the 16th century, entry to the Louvre was allowed to everyone, subject to the indispensable condition of being decently dressed and being sure to travel on foot. Only princes of the blood had the right to enter on horseback; the royal family entered on horseback or in carriages.

In the same century, the lower floor of the Great Gallery was given over to craftsmen's workshops. At one time there was a tapestry manufactory located there, and the Mint was established there, which Peter I visited during his stay in Paris.

Under the son of Henry IV, Louis XIII, who continued the “grand plan” of his father, the Louvre finally lost the appearance of a medieval castle and almost quadrupled in size.

Under the leadership of the architect Lemercier, a building is being built symmetrical to the wing of Pierre Lescaut (now this part of the Louvre is called Sully).

The royal monograms on the facade of the building adjacent to the Sully wing indicate the period in which this part of the Louvre was built: the intertwined letters "L" and "A", the initial letters of the names of Louis XIII and Queen Anne of Austria, the letters "L" and "MT" - Louis XIV and Queen Maria Theresa.

During the reign of Louis XIII, his prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu, allocated special chambers in the Louvre to his friend and adviser Théophrastus Renaudot, publisher of the first newspaper in history, which was called the Gazette, probably because it was as cheap as in Venice. At the beginning of the 17th century in Venice, the smallest coin was called “gazetta” and you could use it to buy a street piece of paper, which became known as a newspaper.

After the death of Louis XIII, the Louvre was no longer a medieval castle, but it had not yet fully become a royal palace and for a long time was a vast, half-abandoned construction site.

King Louis XIV did not like the Louvre; he did not feel safe there. In the hope of protecting himself from popular riots, he began to build Versailles. But before finally leaving the Louvre, he ordered the continuation of work on its reconstruction.

Under the leadership of architect Louis Le Vaux, the construction of the Square Courtyard is being completed.

As for the front entrance, it had to be decorated accordingly. Projects for decorating the facade, presented by architects Louis Le Vaux, Jacques Le Mercier and Francois Mansart, were not accepted. The gentleman Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, the famous architect, one of the creators of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, is invited especially from Italy.

The king did not like his project, but no one, not even Louis XIV himself, dared to tell the Italian about this. The king was unusually respectful of the gentleman Bernini. The great architect proposed to demolish everything that had been built before him and rebuild the facade.

In order not to offend the visiting celebrity, even a ceremony was held to lay the first stone. Bernini was then sent home, having first been showered with honors and awards.

As a result, the project of Claude Perrault, a physician by training and lover of architecture, brother of the famous storyteller Charles Perrault, was approved. Construction of the colonnade began, but soon it was interrupted again. Louis XIV devoted all his attention to the construction of the royal palace at Versailles.

The Louvre at this time turned into a kind of hostel. Not only courtiers settled in it, but also all sorts of people who came from nowhere. Vast interior spaces were converted into apartments, and the palace walls were cut through to accommodate chimneys. The square courtyard was filled with various outbuildings, benches and taverns, where laundry was dried and chimneys were smoking.

At the same time, poets, scientists, writers lived in the Louvre...

The Academy of Arts began organizing annual exhibitions of works in the salon of the royal palace chambers, and from that time to the present day such exhibitions began to be called Salons.

Finally, work on rebuilding the Louvre resumes.

In 1664-1674, the architectural ensemble of the Louvre was completed with the construction of the eastern façade. The eastern facade is called the “Colonnade of the Louvre” because of the powerful row of double columns of the “grand order”. Columns with Corinthian capitals are raised above the ground floor and span the second and third floors, creating a powerful, austere and majestic image. The colonnade stretches 173 meters.

Together with C. Perrault, F. de Orbe and L. Levo took part in the construction of the Louvre, who created the new northern and southern wings of the palace.

From the walls of the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, French kings look down on us. On the face of the Sun King (portrait by C. Lebrun) there is a contemptuous grimace. The same expression is in a work of magnificent painting and composition - a portrait of Louis XIV by I. Rigaud. Most of the paintings of the “first painter of the king”, Ch. Lebrun, are rather boring examples of academic classicism.

The initiatives of King Louis XP contributed to the formation of the Louvre's art collection. In 1662, by order of Minister J.-B. Colbert, from a simple workshop of wool dyers on the outskirts of Paris, created the “Royal Furniture Manufactory” or Gobelin Manufactory, where not only woven carpets and tapestries were produced, but also furniture, mosaics, and bronze items. The Beauvais manufactory operated from 1664, Aubusson from 1665, and Savonnerie from 1624. At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, French art, according to the impressions of contemporaries, created a feeling of unbridled luxury and splendor. Huge “picture” tapestries with lush borders - garlands of flowers and fruits, emblems and cartouches, with woven shimmering gold and silver threads, occupied all the walls. They not only corresponded to the character of the “Big Style” interiors, but set the tone for them. The main artist of the Gobelin manufactory was C. Lebrun. The most famous series of tapestries based on his cardboards is “The Months, or Royal Castles” (1666), in which Lebrun successfully combined the classical style of Raphael with the baroque pomp of Rubens. From 1668 to 1682, the series of twelve carpets was repeated seven times. Other series, also based on Lebrun’s cardboards, became famous: “The History of Louis XIV”, “The Elements, or the Seasons”, “The History of Alexander the Great”. France has never known such an abundance of masterpieces of decorative art.

During the Second Republic, an attempt was made to transform the Louvre into a People's Palace.

Emperor Louis Napoleon III, having decided to complete the construction of the Louvre, entrusted the work to the architects Louis Visconti and Lefuel. It is believed that the construction of the Louvre was completed in 1857.

The Royal Palace became a museum in 1793, after the revolution, although French kings were always willing to show their collections. The entrance to the Louvre was open to the general public. In the Great Gallery, “which is longer and larger than all the galleries in the world,” wrote N.M. in 1790. Karamzin, “...there should be a royal museum, or a collection of paintings, statues, antiquities, now scattered in different places.”

Currently, the Louvre Palace houses several museums, or departments: the Ancient East, Egypt, Greek and Roman antiquities, world sculpture and painting.

The Louvre Palace continued to grow in size over the centuries, but was poorly suited for displaying and storing works of art.

In 1983, a project for its reconstruction was adopted to transform its interior from a palace into a museum, presented by the American architect of Chinese origin Ming Bei, the creator of the National Gallery in Washington and the Art Gallery in Boston. The appearance of the architectural ensemble of the Louvre has changed significantly - the Great Pyramid appeared. According to the architect Ming Bei, “the pyramid can only be understood and justified as a part of the underground architecture visible on the surface, necessitated by the need to rebuild the Louvre for museum purposes. It represents the visible crowning element of “buried architecture,” like the dome of a building, obeying an internal and irrefutable logic.”

The Louvre collection includes exhibits dating back to the period of the birth of ancient civilizations. This confirms the encyclopedic purpose of the museum.

Surrounded by fountains, Ming Bei's Pyramid at the entrance to the new museum was a very small part of the unique renovation and expansion work.

The road was laid underground, the Carousel garden was re-arranged, and the terraces covering the Rue Lemont, the era, formed an entire area adjacent to the Tuileries Gardens, which were also completely reconstructed.

By decision of President François Mitterrand, 5,000 employees of the Ministry of Finance from the northern wing of the Louvre were transferred to the Bercy Palace (in the eastern part of Paris). As a result, 22,000 sq. m of exhibition space, and the second stage of the project began. On the day of the bicentenary of the Louvre Museum, November 18, 1993, François Mitterrand inaugurated the Richelieu Wing. It houses unique collections: French sculptures and exhibits related to Eastern Antiquity and the Jesus of Islam; Particularly interesting are those works that were created at the court of Khorsabad.

One of the halls of the Louvre

Mona Lisa

The first floor is dedicated to applied arts, while the second floor houses Flemish and Danish paintings, which benefit from the new natural light. The gallery of French artists begins on this same floor.

However, the complete renovation program of the Grand Louvre is not completed. Its peculiarity remains the multiple expansion of the area. On the one hand, it is planned to reconstruct the museum's galleries, and on the other, to house various museum scientific and educational services in the Louvre palace.

The mystery of Mona Lisa's smile

One of The reason for the bewitching influence of the famous “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, in addition to her mysterious smile, is her gaze, which is directed at the viewer, no matter what angle he is at to the picture.

As the Clarin newspaper reports, citing the English Evening Standard, scientists from Ohio University in the USA and art critics from the London National Gallery came to this conclusion. According to experts, the brilliant artist painted the eyes of Mona Lisa as if she was asking something from the person she was looking at, knowing his secret thoughts.

According to Clarin, recently a scientist from Florence, Giuseppe Pallanti, after a painstaking search in the archives, was able to confirm the assumption that the portrait depicted Lisa Gherardini, the second wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The famous biographer Leonardo Giorgio Vassari wrote about this in the second half of the 16th century. There were other versions on this matter.

According to one legend, Leonardo painted a portrait of the aristocrat Beatrice D'Este, his friend - he painted his self-portrait, imagining himself as a woman. The third version says that the artist, who was allegedly bisexual, painted the portrait from his student and assistant Gian Giacomo Caprotti, who was next to him for 26 years. This version is supported by the fact that Leonardo left this painting as an inheritance when he died in 1519.

The controversy over these versions was especially lively after an Italian immigrant stole La Gioconda from the Louvre in 1911 to return it to his homeland, although Leonardo himself brought the painting with him to France in the last years of his life.

The Italian authorities solemnly returned the famous painting to the Louvre.

American Studies

Christopher Tyler and Leonid Kontsevich from the Eye Research Institute in San Francisco are confident that the secret of the famous work of Leonardo da Vinci lies within ourselves. Mona Lisa's smile is generally neutral. How does it happen that people standing in front of the portrait find in it charm, irony, mockery of the observer, restrained joy and even slight sadness. Where does such a variety of emotions come from in a seemingly meaningless facial expression?

It's all about the psychology of our perception, say the researchers, and the sporadic noise that arises in our "video system." These are fluctuations in the number of photons entering individual retinal cells, direct false activation of absorbent pigments, noise in the functioning of neurons that carry visual signals to the brain.

As a result, the picture is slightly distorted and seems to us more different and alive the more time we look at it. But this is exactly what gallery visitors do - they stand in front of the painting for a long time, trying to unravel its secret. And they deceive themselves.

To test the theory, scientists created a program that introduced random visual noise - the equivalent of snow seen on a badly tuned TV - into the image of da Vinci's painting. Random spots, naturally, slightly changed the small details in her smile. They asked 12 people how they rated the resulting facial expression of the Mona Lisa. And they received a lot of ratings - from “sad” to “happy.”

Perhaps, the researchers say, Leonardo was aware of this effect of human perception. This is one of the explanations why his painting is so soulful.

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (L) author Brockhaus F.A.

Louvre The Louvre is the most remarkable of Parisian public buildings, both for its enormity and architecture, and for the precious collections it contains. The name of this building comes from the “Wolf” forest (Luparia, Louverie) that was once located here, in which stood

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (LU) by the author TSB

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V CENTURY LOUVRE-RIVOLI Paris, capital of the Franks The Louvre-Rivoli station justifies its name in appearance: it is decorated with palace outfits. Not a former fortress or even a luxurious royal residence, but a museum that exhibits, in particular, beauties in stone and on canvas,

From the book I Explore the World. Forensics author Malashkina M. M.

16th CENTURY PALAIS ROYAL - MUSEE DU LOUVRE Light and shadows of the Renaissance When you go up the street from the Palais Royal - Musee du Louvre metro station, you just need to look at the “Midnight Owls' Gazebo” standing at the exit to understand: we will be talking about art. Built on Place Colette in

From the author's book

Louvre The Louvre dates back more than 700 years, formerly a medieval fortress, then the palace of the kings of France and today a world-famous museum. The medieval fortress was built by Philip Augustus at the end of the 12th century. Subsequently, the Louvre was repeatedly rebuilt and completed,

From the author's book

From the author's book

A jeweler from Odessa is deceiving... Louvre In 1890, a young jeweler, Rukhomovsky, came to Odessa. He was very talented and could master any job. For example, he made a miniature coffin of gold and placed a golden skeleton in it. The skeleton consisted of 167 mobile

History of the Louvre dates back more than 700 years. It was originally a medieval fortress, then a royal palace, and today is a world-famous art museum.

The Louvre was founded at the end 12th century King Philip Augustus. Since then, the Louvre has been rebuilt and reconstructed several times.

History of the construction of the Louvre

Almost every French king, even if he did not live permanently in the Louvre, tried to add something of his own to the appearance of this fortress. In total, the construction of the Louvre was completed in the 19th century.

King Philip Augustus built the Louvre not as a royal residence, but as a fortress that was supposed to protect the western approaches to Paris. The word Louvre itself comes from the word "lower", which in the language of the ancient Franks meant a fortress. The Louvre during the time of Philip Augustus was a huge structure, with a central tower and many towers around.

Royal residence

However, it grew, and the Louvre eventually found itself within the city walls. King Charles the Fifth decided to rebuild the castle in such a way that the Louvre would be suitable for the king to stay there. The reconstruction of the fortress was entrusted architect Raymond de Temple, who in those years had already earned the reputation of a skilled builder.

It was the Temple that was turned into a royal residence. At the same time, the architect also took care of protecting the king, surrounding the Louvre with powerful fortress walls.

True, in those years the life of the royal court was very simple. In the house where the king lived, there was also a royal dovecote. IN Louvre gardens They grew vegetables for the royal table, and there was no luxury involved.

Louvre under King Francis I

The king gave a new impetus to the development of the Louvre Francis the First, big lover of architecture Renaissance. It was under Francis the First in 1546 that the reconstruction of the Louvre began, which determined its modern appearance. Before the reign of Francis, French kings did not have a permanent residence in Paris. However, during one of the military campaigns, the king was captured, and it was the residents of Paris who paid most of the ransom for their king. In gratitude, the king vowed to arrange a permanent residence in Paris.

The king appointed the new architect of the construction Pierre Lescaut, after whom the left wing of the Louvre was named. The reconstruction of the Louvre was carried out in the style of the Renaissance. At that time, the interior of the Louvre was enriched with a large number of sculptures, which depicted deities, famous generals, friezes and paintings. Francis' son, Henry II, also continued work on decorating the Louvre. Under him, the façade of the Louvre also appeared royal monogram.

IN Malaya Gallery Louvre can be seen “ window of Charles the Ninth" This is exactly the window from which the king shot at the Huguenots during St. Bartholomew's Night.

During the time of Charles the Ninth, the Louvre was built menagerie. Charles's heir, Henry III, loved to watch bloody fights between animals from the windows of his apartment. The menagerie existed until Henry I didn’t have a dream that he would be torn to pieces by his own animals. After this, the king ordered all the animals to be shot.

It is interesting that in the 16th century anyone could enter the Louvre. At the same time, he had to be decently dressed and also move on foot. Only princes of the blood were allowed to enter the Louvre on horseback.

The next great builder of the Louvre was the king Louis the Thirteenth, who continued the grandiose reconstruction of the Louvre. During the reign of Louis, the Louvre finally ceased to be a medieval fortress and acquired the features of a magnificent palace. And the architect Pierre Lescaut brought Louis's ideas to life.

Louis the Fourteenth didn't like the Louvre. He preferred a country palace to a palace in Paris. Versailles. However, he also continued to invest in the construction of the Louvre. At that time, under the direction of the architect Louis Le Vaux construction was completed Square courtyard of the Louvre.

A facade The Louvre was completed under the direction Claude Perrault(brother of the famous fairy tale author Charles Perrault). True, the entire facade of the Louvre was completed only at the end of the 17th century, since Louis spent all his main funds on Versailles.

But under Louis, the Louvre gradually began to turn into museum, since the king opened access to the treasures of the royal palace to the general public.

Transforming the Louvre into a museum

The construction of the Louvre was finally completed in 1857 under the guidance of architects Louis Visconti And Raphael.

Became a museum in 1793, during the French Revolution. Today the museum houses several museums - the Ancient East, Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the museum of world sculpture and painting.

Louvre on the map of Paris