The Louvre: The History, The Collections, The Architecture

If you enjoyed your last visit to the Musee du Louvre, then this magnificent book is for you because it will take you right back there, minus the crowds standing in front of your favorite paintings or statues.  This book, printed in Italy, was originally published in French by top-tier publisher Citadelles & Mazenod, known for their exceptional art reproductions.  What you get here is what you actually see when you visit the Louvre -- that is, no digitally enhanced color saturated reproduction eye candy for your coffee table book.  No, instead, for example, you will see the Mona Lisa behind its thick, reflecting glass case, a little blurry, because that's how it is in the museum.  On the other hand, on the opposite wall where the Mona Lisa hangs in the Salle des Etats, the book presents Veronese's massive Wedding Feast at Cana in all its spectacular color-bursting glory because that's how you will see it in the Louvre (and it's on a full two page beautiful color spread without borders).Thus, paintings are shown in a variety of ways: some full page without borders, some with frames as you would see them in the museum (but most without), and a few closeups focusing on essential details. The point of this variety is to give you as close to a museum experience as possible. If you just want full dimension reproductions of paintings without frames, there are plenty of books already covering that. The same goes for statues: some are shown in the traditional full frontal manner. But others are shown from the side or behind, as though you were walking around them. If a few illustrations don’t fit the traditional mold of books about museums, then perhaps some leeway (and even enthusiasm!) can be given to the publisher of a 600 page art book for being a little avant garde on occasion. Again, recreating the museum experience is the purpose of this book.Of course, the iconic spaces like the Grande Galerie, galerie d’Apollon, Salon Denon (salles Mollien and Daru), Cour Marly, and the Napoleon III appartements, and others, are wonderfully covered in exquisite detail.The book is written in an easy to read, conversational style, just like having the author as your tour guide through the galleries. At less than $100.00, this book is a bargain. Only one caution: the book has no index. This could make finding your favs a journey on occasion — just like strolling through the world’s largest museum.

This is definitely one of the most beautiful books about the Louvre, but, if you are seeking a good survey of the museum’s collections, you won't find this book very satisfying. The book traces the evolution of the museum and its unparalleled collections, and the photos of both the building and the art are gorgeous. As a sampler of the collections, however, it is very unsatisfactory. While there are abundant and gorgeous photos of the architecture, the photos of the art are too few and often unsatisfying. Many sculptures are photographed only from the back, or only as details (feet, hands, buttocks, etc.). There are a few excellent straightforward photos of paintings, but too many show the entire frame as well, which adds little and greatly reduces the space devoted to the painting. Additionally, there are numerous “artistic” shots of parts of frames, tantalizing bits of paintings (not closeups of interesting details, but seemingly random bits), and artworks from strange angles (through doorways, as reflections, etc.). This is all very nice, but quite frustrating for a reader seeking a representative selection of the collections. With these serious reservations, I recommend the book to readers interested in beautiful photos of the museum's architecture and how the collections are displayed. If you seek a good guide to the collections, you will find the books published by Abrams (Paintings in the Louvre, 1987) or Koenemann (Louvre, 2019) more satisfying; the latter is an especially good buy. Really, if you are interested in the art rather than the architecture, almost any other book is a better choice.

This book offers, for a budget price, a trip to the center of the art world of Paris (and of most of European art). It is a sumptuously illustrated book with top level printing. The essays accompanying it are intelligent and have the unique aspect of incorporating a tremendous amount of detail about the architecture of the Louvre (inside and out). Additionally, there is a significant emphasis in the photographs selected to show the deep collection of sculpture from the 19th century back to Classical Greece. So, rather than the common, large format art book of a museum, mostly filled with paintings, this one gives at least equal space to the complex architecture of the Louvre and the remarkable three-dimensional lovely sculpture, spread throughout.

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The reproduced art work is superb. It brings back my beautiful memories of the Louvre. Some of the pictures brought me back to standing in front of the actual artwork.

This book accomplishes the difficult task of telling the complicated story of a world class museum, and its history, which is fascinating. The story is very well told, very clear and compelling.

The book lacks diagrams and floorplans of the Louvre that the reader should have in order to follow the history of the building and installations. Especially for someone who has not visited since 1984. Also more photos of the paintings would have been appreciated. Lastly, typos and English translation problems are noticeable.

Wonderful overview of the Louvre's history and collections