Louvre: Portrait of a Museum

by Nicholas D'Archimbaud

From Mona Lisa's smile to Napoleon's plundered treasures and I. M. Pei's controversial glass pyramid, Portrait of a Museum presents one of the world's greatest and most popular museums not as a sum of its masterpieces, but as a living, changing institution that reflects the artistic, political, and social history of the western world. It features 650 magnificent reproductions, previously unpublished archival plans and documents, and lively essays on the museum's history and collections.

Genres: Art

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous pictures made me want to pack up and live at the Louvre for a month. The building itself has undergone an amazing history, continued in bursts and pauses depending on French politics. The sum of the work done, though, is currently a well-organized, well-filled center of arts. The deliberation in which this goal was achieved made an interesting story at the beginning of this book.

After the history of the museum, the different departments are highlighted, with a history of the art and artists on display there. Great info, but a skim for me this time, as I was focusing on the building of the museum and the establishment of the collections.

Overall, this book is an excellent overview of art history.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has many good photographs. However, I think the editor did the authors a real disservice as they were laying the book out. Way too many of the small pictures around the edges were too small to see much of. I was also shocked to find at least five grammatical errors.

[Martha Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say? The Louvre. Art. Love it.

[Foxtower · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me the book is better than the museum. With the book I can get a broader view and enjoy the art at my leisure, whereas the actual museum is so huge and so overwhelming I soon became saturated!