The Louvre

The history:

The Louvre has a very long history. It is from anno 1190 and is used for several goals.
The Louvre from castle to palace:
The Louvre is build in the middle ages and originally was an castle that was used by the kings
of France. The first castle build on this spot , was built by Filips II in 1190, as a defense
against the multiple attacks from the Vikings which came from the west, through their
primary attack route ‘the seine’.

When “The Templar Order” fell in and around 1307, the Louvre became the hideout for some
royal treasures. Which first was been kept safe by the Templar order.
Karel V made the castle, which because of village expansions had lost its strategic meaning ,
his own royal palace. As a lover of the arts he gave the Louvre an extra part that became an
library. ( it contained circa 12.000 manuscripts )

The palace suffered terribly under the Hundred Years War and French, although I insisted to
the palace to rebuild, it took until 1528 until something definite happened. This year was the
keep of Philip II demolished. Plans were developed to the castle in the prevailing Renaissance
rebuilding and in 1546 Pierre Lescot was appointed to his plan, four wings around a large
courtyard (the Cour Carré), to achieve. This complex is the oldest part of the current
corresponds to the Louvre and 'Sully' wing. The activities spanned the reigns of Francis I,
Henry II and Charles IX, but were then only two of the four wings achieved. 
Catherine de 'Medici from 1564 showed pull a new palace at about 500 meters west of the
Louvre, the Tuileries, and under Henry IV was the palace of the Louvre connected by a wing
along the Seine, the core of the Denon wing. The wings around the Cour Carré were only
completed in the seventeenth century. 
The plan of Henry IV, called le grand design, provides guidance for all future generations
who are expanding and improving the Louvre deal. This process is, by trial and error, until
Louis XIV decided to move his residence to the Palace of Versailles. The Louvre becomes
obsolete in a palace and get different functions.

The collection:

The main collections acquirers were in chonological order the kings Charles V and Francis I,
Queen Marie de Medici, Cardinal de Richelieu, King chronological order the kings Charles V
and Francis I, Queen Marie de Medici, Cardinal de Richelieu, King Louis XIV and Napoleon
Bonaparte. They gathered among other masterpieces as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. 
The collection of the Louvre is divided into eight sections, ranging from works of the great
civilizations of antiquity to the first half of the 19th century. Works from later periods are
housed in other museums in Paris, including the Musee d'Orsay. Antiquities from some
cultures are otherwise provided, as is the Asian art to be found in the Musée Guimet. The
Louvre collections to her own words an encyclopedia of the arts. The collections are as
follows: 

* Oriental antiquities 
* Art of Islam 
* Egyptian antiquities 
* Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities 
* Sculpture 
* Artifacts 
* Western Painting 
* Graphic Art 

Nowadays ( 2011 ) they also have an 3D composure.

A new multimedia feature in the Louvre presents artworks in an imagined or reconstructed 3D
space. You can visit these virtual "galleries" for a whole new look at works of art. 
Tony Cragg - Figure out / Figure in
This is one of the “sculptures” that is being shown this month.

Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus

This exhibition will showcase one of the masterpieces of the Louvre, The Pilgrims at Emmaus,
surrounded by different representations of Christ by Rembrandt and his students.

The Mona Lisa is offcourse the most famous painting in the whole world.
Most people say it is because its so mysterious and it show true happiness.
Its mysterious quality brought about perhaps by the fact that the artist has subtly

shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the exact nature of the smile

cannot be determined. The shadowy quality for which the work is renowned came

to be called "sfumato" or Leonardo's smoke.