The Louvre Palace and the Pyramid at night #1 is a photograph by RicardMN Photography which was uploaded on August 2nd, 2013.
The Louvre Palace and the Pyramid at night #1
The Musee du Louvre (in English, the Louvre Museum or simply The Louvre) is one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument. It is in... more
Title
The Louvre Palace and the Pyramid at night #1
Artist
RicardMN Photography
Medium
Photograph
Description
The Musee du Louvre (in English, the Louvre Museum or simply The Louvre) is one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument. It is in Paris, France.
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. 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. Today, 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 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.
In 1983, French President Francois Mitterrand proposed, as one of his Grands Projets, the Grand Louvre plan to renovate the building and relocate the Finance Ministry, allowing displays throughout the building. Architect I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the main court, the Cour Napoleon. The pyramid and its underground lobby were inaugurated on 15 October 1988; the pyramid was completed in 1989. The second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversee (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993.
FEATURED PHOTO, City and Architecture group, 08/05/2013
Uploaded
August 2nd, 2013
