The Invention of Louvre

A cultural icon of France， the Louvre Museum is now very popular with Chinese people. Chinese tourists have become the second largest foreign group to visit the Louvre with 820，000 trips in 2015， trailing only those from the United States. To better satisfy Chinese demand for Louvre art， the Louvre and the National Museum of China are jointly holding the exhibition“L’invention du Louvre” in the National Museum of China in Beijing， which displays 126 treasures that create a timeline of the history of the Louvre.

The exhibition is divided into five parts： The Royal Palace and Royal Collection， the Louvre and the Enlightenment Movement， the Napoleon Museum， the Royal Palace to the World Museum， and Today’s Louvre.

French “Forbidden City”

“For centuries， just like the Forbidden City in Beijing， the Louvre was the main residence of the royal family，” explains French co-curator Néguine Mathieux. “It was an ostentatious place of power and art. This exhibition recounts the birth of the first universal museum at the end of the French Revolution.”

The history of the Louvre dates back to the end of the 12th Century when Philip II built the Louvre Tower， a military defense project， on the right bank of the Seine. That project was gradually expanded into a royal palace. During the Valois Dynasty （1328-1589）， Francis I was obsessed with art from the Italian Renaissance as well as Northern European realism. In his wake， French kings across the ages tended to buy or commission art to demonstrate their individual taste. Heavily influenced by the Enlightenment Movement， the Louvre officially became a museum and was opened to the public in 1793. The royal collection of the palace naturally became the national collection. Napoleon and his successors contributed greatly to expanding the museum’s collection. Since the 19th Century， the Louvre has become a treasure trove of world art. To this day， the Louvre is still expanding its collection with donations from generous collectors.

The 126 treasures exhibited illuminate the history of the Louvre， showing how a private royal palace became a globallyrenowned public museum. “Chinese people have become one of the most important and biggest groups visiting the Louvre，”stresses another curator， Pascal Torres.“And the Louvre is so special. It holds the greatest collection of precious relics and art from the period before the French Revolution. We hope that this exhibition tracing the history of the Louvre and introducing the categorization of the museum’s collection can help Chinese visitors better prepare their visits to the Louvre.”

Creative Louvre

“The exhibition is a journey into French history，” remarks Néguine Mathieux. “But also， Paris， the royal court and the universal museum were all very important art centers， so this exhibition is just as much a journey into the history of occidental art.”

The exhibition’s theme， “L’invention du Louvre，” was inspired by Denis Diderot， a French philosopher and writer. He proposed the concept of “L’invention du Louvre” in his book Encyclopédie， which he coined in honor of the contributions ofétienne La Font de Saint-Yenne， France’s earliest critic， to the birth of the Louvre.

In Saint-Yenne’s time， Louis XIV moved into the Palace of Versailles. He deserted the Louvre and planned to demolish it. In 1750， Louis XV officially enacted a plan to tear down the palace but failed due to a lack of funds to hire manpower. At that impasse， étienne La Font de SaintYenne suggested that the royal collection at Versailles be moved to the Louvre， which then wouldn’t need to be renovated or demolished. He lobbied for the intact part of the Louvre to be opened to the public as a museum. At that time， such a proposition was considered revolutionary.

“The Louvre was actually invented and conceived，” explains Pascal Torres.“Open to people from around the world， the museum radiates a spirit that inspired the selection of exhibits. Whether the crown jewel from the private collection of Louis XIV， artworks from the time of Francis I or the statue of Henry II， when we selected items for this exhibition， we tried to convey the idea of ‘invent’ and ‘conceive.’”

Tailored for China

It wasn’t easy to select only 126 exhibits from the 38，000 treasures in the Louvre. “The 126 pieces in the exhibition were chosen for the history they tell us about the palace and the museum，”says Néguine Mathieux. They chose exhibits based not on school or genre， but on the historical periods of the Louvre they represent.

Curators also selected some exhibits especially for the Chinese audience. “It is a pleasure to bring back to China some Chinese objects that were made in the 17th Century and brought to France during that period， which were recently discovered during the archaeological excavations organized for the construction of the Louvre Pyramid.”

In the Islamic art section， curators chose a Mughal Empire piece decorated with jade， which is an iconic material in Chinese culture. And the concise shape of an ancient Greek horse head is reminiscent of its ancient Chinese counterpart.

But the most familiar works to the Chinese audience， like Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo， didn’t make it into the exhibition. French curators affirm that it is rare for the most precious items ever to be moved out of the Louvre. “We are grateful for everything they brought，” says Chinese co-curator Yang Guimei. “This exhibition is not just about art treasures but the birth of the Louvre， a world-class art palace. Combining beauty and history is a great way to foster communication between our two national museums.”