This is a love affair of many years now, even if less due to the distance. If you read my blog ,you know I am an amateur of history and architecture and tried to put a bit of them in all my posts. You have ,also, read I am friend of several wonderful properties in my belle France; one of them is the sublime Musée du Louvre !!! I have found me an old paper picture, and from my cd rom vault of these official visits day/night, and they should be in my blog for you and me. Therefore, here is my take on the wonderful amazing gorgeous the Musée du Louvre of Paris , part II !!! Hope you enjoy this post as I.
The reversed pyramid of the Louvre museum is a pyramid of glass and metal, located in the carousel of the Louvre inaugurated in 1989 ; the inverted pyramid of the architect Leoh Ming Pei weighs 180 tons and measures 16 meters side by 7 meters high. The inverted pyramid is not visible from the outside if we stay at the level of the ground: indeed, it is not only below ground but the center of the square of the carousel where the inaccessible pyramid is inaccessible and It is closed visually by hedges. This pyramid is twice, shown at the beginning and at the end, in the film The Da Vinci Code and the tomb of Marie Madeleine is supposed to be under the stone reproduction at the apex of the inverted pyramid. Do you know the pyramide du Louvre done by the Architect IM Pei in 1988 has 21,65 meters high (71.4 ft) , with a base of 34,50 meters of side (113.9 ft) assembling 673 glass tiles and triangles of glass of 2,1 cm thick ( 5.3 inches) that needed two years of study by Saint Gobain (glass maker).
The famous pyramid of the Louvre museum is made up of glass and metal, located in the middle of the Cour Napoléon courtyard of the museum. It houses the main entrance to the museum. The metal structure which supports the glass facing is made of steel and aluminum and weighs 200 tons; It amounts to round up 22 meters on a square base of 35 meters side. It is covered with 603 diamonds and 70 glass triangles and is the first large construction to use laminated glass. It is awesome and just wonderful just to see it; me many times by it! Located in the 1éme arrondissement or district of Paris, on the right bank between the Seine river and the Rue de Rivoli, the museum is marked by the glass pyramid of its reception hall, erected in the Cour Napoléon and which became emblematic, while the equestrian statue of king Louis XIV is the starting point of the Parisian historical axis. This site is served by the metro station Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre on lines 1 and 7 as well as RATP bus lines 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, and 95. There are about 554 731 works, of which 35 000 exhibited and 264 486 graphic works. These present Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848, that of ancient civilizations that preceded and influenced it such as Oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, the arts of early Christians and Islam. The
Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. It is the most visited paid cultural site in France. I must many works are in storage no space! many seen in the basement of the Chartres Cathedral!!
One of the greatest and by many THE greatest museum in the world, including me! It has about 160 000 square meters of space of which only about 60 000 are use for works open to the public. The idea has long been to expand the space and provide easier and more numerous access to the public. You have sections such as my favorite Egyptian antiquities, then Etruscan/Roman Greek antiquities, Oriental antiquities, Oriental relating to the art of Islam, interior and exterior architectures marvels (especially the apartments to Napoleon III), Graphic Arts, First arts from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, Object d’Arts from all over the world, Paintings of the masters as English, Spanish, Flemish, French, Italians, other Europeans, European sculptures, French sculptures, and Italian sculptures. All marvels too many to mention here.
It is in the galerie d’Apollon or Apollo’s gallery that Louis XIV associates for the first time his royal power with the Divinity of the Sun. Today, the Apollo gallery is home to the Royal Gems and Diamonds collection of the Crown. Through Apollo, the gallery exalts the glory of the Sun King.The gallery presents the sumptuous collection of gems united by the kings of France. These works carved out in precious minerals (Agate, Amethyst, Lapis-Lazuli, Jade, Sardoine or Cristal de Roche) and highlighted by most often spectacular mounts are very luxury objects, appreciated since Antiquity. Louis XIV had a real passion for gems: his collection had around 800 pieces.
See in the picture below, a mahogany-plated oak showcase with gilded bronze walls dating from 1822 and made by the famous Jacob-Desmalter cabinetmaker.
A bit of history tell us that on February 6, 1661, the flames ravaged the sumptuous Petite Galerie or little gallery which dated from the reign of Henri IV. His grandson, Louis XIV, immediately undertakook to rebuild an even more beautiful gallery, and entrusts the works to the architect Louis Le Vau. The 23 -year -old, the young king has just chosen the sun for emblem. It will therefore be the theme of the new gallery that bears the name of the Greek God of Light and the Arts, Apollo. The king’s first painter, Charles Le Brun, is responsible for designing the decor and surrounds himself with the best artists to make it. The first example of a royal gallery, the Galerie d’Apollon or Apollo gallery becomes the field of aesthetic and architectural experiences. Twenty years later, it will serve as a model for one of the symbols of French classicism: the Galerie des Glaces of the Château de Versailles. But soon Louis XIV abandons the Louvre and Paris for Versailles where he ended up settled definitively with the court. The gallery is therefore left unfinished. It was not until two centuries later, in 1850, that the decor was finished. Eugène Delacroix is responsible for making a 12 -meter -wide work to decorate the center of the ceiling, Apollo winner of the Python serpent, a true pictorial manifesto of romanticism. The decor is also completed on the walls where tapestries show the portraits of 28 sovereigns and artists who, over the centuries, have built and embellished the palace.
The official Louvre museum on the galerie d’Apollon: https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/sun-gold-and-diamonds
The Paris tourist office on the Louvre museum : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/musee-du-louvre-p3489
The official Louvre museum : https://www.louvre.fr/en
The Friends of the Louvre museum : https://www.amisdulouvre.fr/
Ahh the Louvre !!! A wonderful monument to mankind, and an even greater museum to the world. A must when in anywhere in my eternal Paris ! You have not visited Paris without the Louvre museum !!! Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Musée du Louvre of Paris , part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 