LOUVRE AND HER MOST BEAUTIFUL COLLECTIONS

Louvre Museum or Musee du Louvre is the largest museum in the world. The Louvre Museum has lots of the best collection of antiques and works of art in the world. Even the number of collections of this Museum in Paris has reached 1848 items and also contains about 35,000 other precious objects. And one of the most famous collections in the world is the MONA LISA, the work of Leonardo da Vinci.

A little review of the history of the Louvre Museum. Louvre building was built by King Philippe-Aguste in 1190, but the king who first inhabited Louvre was Charles V (1364-1380). Then Francois I make this building a palace with a Renaissance style and start the royal art collection with 12 paintings from Italy in the 16th century. 1793 Louvre opened to the public by the revolutionaries. And napoleon make this building became a museum.

Louvre Museum

Besides Charles V (1364-1380), some well-known figure, also once inhabited Louvre such as Henri II (1547-1549), Catherine de 'Medici (1519-1589), Henri IV (1589-1610), Louis XIII (1610-1643 ), Louis XIV (1643-1715), Anne d'Autrice (1601-1666), Gauillaume Coustou (1677-1746), Edme Bouchardon (1698-1762), and Francois Boucher (1703-1770).

After a little about the history Louvre Museum, now is the time to go back to the initial topic of the Louvre and her most beautiful collections. In this greatest museums in the world, you can enjoy the works of famous artists and also other historic items. Starting from the Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, Glass Pyramid, Marly Horses, The Raft of the Medusa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, Slaves, Medieval moats, Perrault's Colonnade, The Lacemaker until precious collections such as French Paintings, Islamic Art, Objects d 'Art, Paintings Dutch, Italian Sculpture, Paintings Italian, French Sculpture, Oriental Antiquities, Antiquities Greek, and Egyptian Antiquities.

The Main Tourist Destination of Louvre Museum

• Mona Lisa

Especially for the Mona Lisa, maybe I will talk more than the others because as the author of this blog, I am very interested in the history of Italian art, especially Renaissance period, especially when talking about Leonardo da Vinci. He...he...he...

 

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa also known as La Gioconda, which according to many opinions and rumors, Gioconda is the name of the husband of the model in the painting of Mona Lisa. But now, a lot of speculation that da Vinci himself is the object of this portrait painting. Irrespective of the controversy, the Mona Lisa is a painting which a very high value in terms of any kind.

Mona Lisa showing enigmatic smile of the model who was drugged every person who saw it. Masterpiece is showing paintings by the mastery of two techniques. The first is the Sfumato which is a smooth transition between colors. And the second is Chiaroscuro, a combination of contrast between light and shadow.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an extraordinary person. Not only a great painter, but he was also an architect, engineer, sculptor and scientist. And some his achievements include aerodynamic and anatomical studies. Leonardo was born in the town of Vinci. He studied art in Florence artist named Andrea del Verrocchio. Then he worked on the Duke of Milan as a military engineer and architect. And at the moment working on the Duke of Milan, Leonardo da Vinci made one of the most famous paintings in the world, The Last Supper in 1495. After that, he decided to return to Florence and worked as an architect for Cesare Borgia and began painting the Mona Lisa (1503-1506).

Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa is a favorite painting of da Vinci. And he always brought the painting wherever he went. Also when Francois I brought Leonardo to France in 1516. Then he lived in a house near Amboise in the Loire Valley until he died three years later. And the Mona Lisa is the only portrait of Leonardo da Vinci's enigmatic masterpiece were found.

This painting of a woman with the mysterious smile has been restored very well. You can enjoy the beauty of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre first floor. And the best time to enjoy this famous paintings in the world are in the morning or afternoon because the museum is not too crowded.

• Venus de Milo

 

Venus de Milo

After long enough talk about the Mona Lisa, now turned into a sculpture found on the island of Milos, Greece in 1820, Venus de Milo. This beautiful sculpture dating from the late 2nd century BC. You can enjoy this sleeveless statue at the end of the corridor on the ground floor and dramatically illuminated so that adds the beauty of Venus de Milo.

• Marly Horses

You can enjoy this horse statue of Coustou that being soothed by the horse tamer's on the ground floor of the Louvre. This horse statue carved in 1745 to commemorate the Chateau de Marly-owned Louis XIV. And the replica of Marly Horses are near Place de la Concerde.

• The Raft of the Medusa

 

The Raft of the Medusa

The Raft of the Medusa is a painting of a shipwreck with an atmosphere where victims see the screen on the horizon. This Romantic style painting was created in 1819 by Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) who was inspired by the true story of a shipwreck three years before this painting was made. The Raft of the Medusa is located on the first floor of Musee du Louvre.

• The Winged Victory of Samothrace

You can enjoy these treasures on the first floor of the Louvre. This Hellenistic treasures from 2-3 century BC is on the top of stone boat that looked strong and stately to commemorate the naval victory of Rhodes.

• Slaves

The two statues of slaves (1513-1520) created by Michelangelo to be placed on the the tomb of Pope Julius II in the Rome. The statue was not completed and it looks like trying to live and to rise from their rigidity. You can enjoy this beautiful Michelangelo’s carved on the Louvre first floor.

• The Lacemaker

The Lacemaker is a famous painting by Jan Vermeer made ​​in 1665. This painting shows a woman with a simple impression of everyday life but highlight the incredible beauty. The Lacemaker is one of the flagship Dutch collections in the the Louvre. And you can enjoy this painting in the second floor of the museum.

• Medieval Moats

You can also enjoy other artifacts such as the remains of a medieval fortress that was found at the excavation in the 1980s. You can also look at the drawbridge framework and tower foundation of the Medieval moats.

• Perraults's Colonnade

For those of you who love the art of architecture, you have to visit the eastern part of Louvre. In there, you will find a part of the museum with the magnificent pillars designed by Claude Perrault (1613-1688). The building is part of a Louvre development plan by Louis XIV.

• Glass Pyramid

 

Glass Pyramid of Louvre

This icons of the Louvre museum is located in the museum courtyard. A famous Pyramid in France was designed by IM Pei and an became entrance of Louvre since 1989. This pyramid is not made ​​of stone, it is made with stainless steel tube construction as high as 21 meters. It's better if you enjoy the Louvre Pyramid at night because Pyramid is lit brightly.

Besides the main tourist destinations of Musee du Louvre above, you can also enjoy the wonderful collections and other precious arts such as French Paintings, Islamic Art, Objects d'Art, Paintings Dutch, Italian Sculpture, Paintings Italian, French Sculpture, Oriental Antiquities, Greek Antiquities and Egyptian Antiquities. For that, let us consider one by one on a brief overview of these collections. And I would sort by the location of these collections in the Louvre.

Lower Floor Louvre Collection

• French Sculpture

You can find this masterpiece of French Sculpture such as Marly Horses, the works of Pierre Puget and Tomb of Phileppe Pot, a famous work of Antoine le Moiturier which are in glass-roofed courtyard. In addition to the lower floor, you can also find other French Sculpture in the ground floor of Musee du Louvre.

• Italian Sculpture

Slaves of Michelangelo. Madonna and Child, Donatello works from the 15th century. Intrigued by that charismatic statue? You can enjoy this beautiful works of the Renaissance in collection of Italian Sculpture. Besides in lower floor, you can also find this collection in first floor of the museum.

• Islamic Art

In the lower floor of the Louvre, you can also enjoy a collection of objects which draw the history of Islam from the 7th century until time of the Ottoman Empire (14th century until 19th century). Islamic Art collection is also located on the first floor.

Ground Floor Louvre Collection

• Egyptian Antiquities

For fans of antiques and ancient Egyptian history, you may find interesting things that in ground floor of the Louvre. Although it is outside Egypt, you can enjoy the best collection of objects which includes the funeral, animal mummies, giant sarcophagus until a very famous antiquities such as Seated Scribe of Sakkara and Sphinx in the tomb. Moreover, you can also see the intricate carvings which depict the daily life of Ancient Egypt in this place.

• Greek Antiquities

Besides the collection of Ancient Egypt, in this place you can also enjoy the beautiful art of ancient Greece such as classical marble statue from the 5th century BC, the god of Cycladic sculptures from the third millennium BC until the Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century and to 2nd BC.

• Oriental Antiquities

An amazing collection of Oriental Antiquities includes reconstruction of Assyrian king temple and a historic artifacts such as the world's oldest written law, the Codex of Hammurabi from the 18th century BC. Very interesting and intriguing isn’t it?

First Floor Louvre Collection

• Object d'Art

In this place, you can enjoy interesting art objects were exhibited. There is a collection of jewelry, ceramics and other unique objects from various eras and countries. And perhaps unique stuff from your country is in there.

• Italian Paintings

In this place, a large collection of valuable works of Leonardo da Vinci, including the Mona Lisa. Italian Paintings is one of the producers of the works of the best and most beautiful painting in the world, especially from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance age. And the French nobility, collecting a lot of Italian paintings and arts starting from 1200s-1800s. You will definitely linger enjoy some most beautiful paintings in the world which found in the Louvre Museum.

Second Floor Louvre Collection

• Dutch Paintings

Dutch painting is one measure of the value of art of a valuable painting. You can enjoy the works of famous painters such as Rembrandt who was seeded in this place. There was also potrait painting by Frans Hals and local sights by Vermeer.

• French Paintings

Besides in the first floor of the Louvre, French painting also exhibited in second floor of the museum. There are lots of great collections from the 14th century until 1848. You can enjoy the beauty of a painting by JH. Fragonard, Georges de la Tour and jean Watteau.

That's the wonderful and precious collections that you can enjoy in the Louvre or the Musee du Louvre. Besides works of art and other beautiful objects, you can also visit Le Café Marly that located in Richelieu Wing or the food court in Carrousel du Louvre. Whereas for those of you who want to visit an exclusive restaurant, you can reserve a place in Grand Louvre restaurant that located just below the Glass Pyramid.

You can buy tickets online or directly except on Friday in porte des Lions entrance who located in the west end of the Denon Wing. The main entrance is under the Louvre pyramid. If you already have a ticket, you can go from there or from the Rue de Rivoli. Besides buying tickets online and at the entrance porte des Lions, you can also buy tickets in Carrousel du Louvre.

Entrance to the Louvre Museum connected with Sully wing, Richelieu and Denon. As we have discussed above, the exhibition laid out neatly and attractive in accordance with the country of origin. To complete your traveling in the Louvre, you can enjoy events such as temporary exhibitions and contemporary art held in Pavilion area des Sessions in Denon.

It was a little information about Louvre and her most beautiful collections . Actually a lot of things which can be said about the Louvre Museum. Start from the history of the building, characters involved, until the role of the Louvre to the development of French, and others. But because I'm not a curator, historian or professor, so this is all I can give to you and the traveler. Thank you for reading the small writing. And may be useful. See you in the next article.