The Louvre Collections [antikvár]

Preface This is neither a guidebook, nor a catalogue, it is an anthology. The Louvre is rich in fine objects and masterpieces in their thousands. The constraint was to make a choice and limit ourselves to five hundred items which for a variety of reasons are particularly worthy of attention. It is very much a personal selection, one made by the curators, who treasure the collections in their care and are eager to share their pleasure and knowledge with the reader. The selection draws on objects from all seven departments within the Louvre and covers a vast array of items both chronologically and geographically, from the civilizations of the ancient East and Egypt right up to the Western world in 1848. There are paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings and objets d'art of all kinds and origins spread throughout the rooms of the museum. It would be difficult for a visitor to see them all on one stroll through the museum. This book enables you to set out on an imaginary tour, either making a preparatory trip in your mind's eye or else going back over a visit in your mind after an exhausting day at the Louvre. After more than two centuries as a museum, the Louvre is now enjoying a new lease of life. The lengthy building project to create the "Grand Louvre," with its extra floors that formerly housed the Ministry of Finance, is not yet completed. Not all the works of art have found their permanent home. There will be more construction sites, but already the revamped areas and the new displays allow most departments to display their masterpieces in an exemplary manner. It is to be hoped that this anthology, an indispensable complement to the numerous guidebooks published by the museum, will steer the visitor towards the pleasures and delights of discovery—or rediscovery—of a Louvre undergoing a metamorphosis. Pierre Rosenberg President and Director of the Louvre Museum