Table of Contents

USER'S GUIDE 6 General Information 6 * Hours 7 * Tickets 7 * Passes 8 * Transportation 9 * Wheelchair Access 9 * The Louvre, Museum and Monument 10 * Getting Your Bearings 11 * Getting to the Pyramid 15 * Getting into the Museum 16 * Avoiding Lines 18 * Services in the Hall of the Pyramid 18 * Places to Eat and Relax 18 AN ARRAY OF TOURS 20 Introductory Tour A (three hours) 21 Introductory Tour B (three hours) 23 Classic Tour C (one day) 26 Classic Tour D (one day) 26 Comprehensive Tour E (four half-days) 27 THE LOUVRE: HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURAL TOURS 31 From Castle to Palace (1190-1682) 31 A Medieval Fortress 31 Remains of the Medieval Louvre: A Tour 32 The Palace of the Valois 33 The Lescot Louvre: A Tour 35 The Grand (and Unfinished) Louvre of the Bourbons 38 The Bourbon Additions: A Tour 43 The Birth and Triumph of the Museum (1682-2000) 47 Rough Draft for a Palace of the Arts 47 From the Museum Central des Arts to the Musee du Louvre 48 Fontaine's Louvre 50 The New Louvre of Napoleon III 52 The Napoleonic Louvres: A Tour 56 The Grand Louvre: 65 History of the Collections 68 THE COLLECTIONS 73 Egyptian Antiquities 73 Access and Tour 75 * History of the Collection 76 * Plates 78 Oriental Antiquities and Islamic Art 117 Access and Tour 119 * History of the Collection 119 * Plates 121 Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities 153 Access and Tour 155 * History of the Collection 157 * Plates 158 French Painting 197 Access and Tour 199 * History of the Collection 199 * Plates 201 Northern European Painting 269 Access and Tour 271 * History of the Collection 272 * Plates 274 Italian and Spanish Painting Access and Tour 333 * History of the Collection 333 * Plates 336 Sculpture 397 Access and Tour 399 * History of the Collection 400 * Plates 402 Objets d'Art 449 Access and Tour 451 * History of the Collection 451 * Plates 454 Prints and Drawings 493 Access and Tour 495 * History of the Collection 496 * Plates 497 Chronology 527 Suggestions for Further Reading 530 Index 531

About the Author

Claude Mignot is a professor of art history at the University of Tours, specializing in the history of Parisian art and architecture from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century.