Musée du Louvre

Statue in marble, about 190 BC. Found in Samothrace in 1863

The Louvre is a museum in Paris has millions of visitors every year because of its art collection. It is the most popular art museum in the world.

The most famous arts in the Louvre is the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Other paintings include works of Rembrandt, Giambattista Pittoni, Caravaggio, Rubens, Titian and Eugène Delacroix.

There are also statues inside the Louvre. The most famous statues are the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

History of the Louvre

Philip II of France built a castle called the Castle of the Louvre. It used to be where the museum is. They used the castle as a fortress to defend Paris against the Vikings. Charles V, King of France turned the castle into a palace. However, Francis I, King of France, knocked it down and built a new palace.

Henry IV, King of France added the Grande Galerie to the Louvre. The Grande Galerie is more than a quarter of a mile long and one hundred feet wide. The Grande Galerie was built along the River Seine. It was the longest building in the world.

The Louvre with the Louvre Pyramid in the middle

Other websites

• Media related to Musée du Louvre at Wikimedia Commons

• Free photos of Louvre
• Fullscreen Virtual Tour by Virtualsweden
• History of the Louvre
• Excerpt of Michael T. Cannell's book on I.M. Pei — discusses controversy over Pei's pyramid.
• Official École du Louvre website Archived 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine (Requires Flash)