The Louvre

INTRODUCTION:

         法国在十七世纪到十八世纪初的路易十三和路易十四专制王权极盛时期，开始竭力崇尚古典主义建筑风格，建造了很多古典主义风格的建筑，特别推崇古希腊。古典主义建筑造型严谨，普遍应用古典柱式，内部装饰丰富多彩。
         法国古典主义建筑的代表作是规模巨大、造型雄伟的宫廷建筑和纪念性的广场建筑群。这一时期法国王室和权臣建造的离宫别馆和园林，为欧洲其他国家所仿效。代表作品有巴黎卢浮宫、凡尔赛宫和巴黎伤兵院新教堂等。

         The Louvre or Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre, pronounced: [myze dy luvʁ]) is one of the world's largest museums and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). With more than 9.7 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.

         The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre), originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces.

         The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments:Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts;Paintings; Prints and Drawings.