Louvre [antikvár]

Preface There are several ways of visiting the Louvre. Those with little time to spare are anxious not to miss the major landmarks, the "star" works known from countless reproductions all over the world: the Mona Lisa first and foremost, along with the Venus de M Ho, the Victory of Samothmce and works such as Michelangelo's Slaves, David's Coronation of Napoléon, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People or the Seated Scribe. It is quite another matter for people studying a particular period, artist or technique: they spend hours in front of the works and come back again and again. But between the tourist pressed for time and the unflagging specialist, there is room for every kind of attentive and often enthusiastic visitor: art lovers, artists or simple sightseer all keen to familiarize themselves with how our building works so as to get the most out of their visits. This book is designed with them in mind. For their benefit, the most significant works in each of the seven departments have been selected from thousands more which they may discover for themselves and quite possibly prefer. There is a good reason why this is not a room-by-room guide like others of its kind. The Louvre is currently undergoing long-term and thorough reorganization. The decision to incorporate the former Ministry of Finance into the museum and to create a spacious entrance under the Cour Napoléon marked by the Pyramid has led to the complete transformation of the museum, with a vast redistribution of the collections throughout the whole palace. The advantages are obvious. The public will be given a better reception, the museum circuits will be more logical and, lasdy, most important of all, works of art will be displayed more advantageously. Certain sections can already be seen in their definitive state: the medieval casde of the Louvre, some of the ground floor rooms of the Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities in the Denon