Louvre History & Architecture

• PHOTOS

Beginning in the central outdoor Cour Carré and Cour Napoléon, we'll discuss the colorful history of the Louvre building, which has morphed from outpost to fortress, royal residence to treasure house and museum. We'll commence the walk by examining the exteriors of the museum while considering the various building campaigns that produced it. With reference to those buildings that no longer exist (the Tuileries, for example), we'll see how details in the building's architectural styles - the restrained imperial classicism of the East facade versus the Renaissance reliefs on Lescot's pavilion in the Cour Carré, for instance - speak to the Louvre's role as a focus of Parisian urban planning from King Francois Ier through President Francois Mitterand.

From there, we'll proceed to the interior of the museum to see the Sully wing's extensive display on the history of the Louvre. Here, we'll begin to discuss the museum's various collections in broader terms with reference to moments in Frenc

Beginning in the central outdoor Cour Carré and Cour Napoléon, we'll discuss the colorful history of the Louvre building, which has morphed from outpost to fortress, royal residence to treasure house and museum. We'll commence the walk by examining the exteriors of the museum while considering the various building campaigns that produced it. With reference to those buildings that no longer exist (the Tuileries, for example), we'll see how details in the building's architectural styles - the restrained imperial classicism of the East facade versus the Renaissance reliefs on Lescot's pavilion in the Cour Carré, for instance - speak to the Louvre's role as a focus of Parisian urban planning from King Francois Ier through President Francois Mitterand.

From there, we'll proceed to the interior of the museum to see the Sully wing's extensive display on the history of the Louvre. Here, we'll begin to discuss the museum's various collections in broader terms with reference to moments in French history. For example: As we move downstairs to view the foundations of Philippe Auguste's tower, which were excavated during the construction of I.M. Pei's Grand Louvre project, we'll consider Pei's controversial pyramid as an evocation of the Egyptian spoils that Napoleon had brought back from his middle eastern campaigns.

This two-hour itinerary comprises the first in a five-class mini-course we offer in the "Treasures of Parisian Art" designed to give travelers an in-depth, nearly comprehensive understanding of the Louvre, the world's largest museum. Although we've designed each itinerary to fit into a chronological continuum with the others, travelers with limited time are free to sign up for one or more installments as single itineraries. Ideally, this particular itinerary is meant to be a primer to the museum, designed to give visitors the background with which to view the Louvre's collections and structure in the larger context of French social and political history.