The Louvre from royal palace to art museum

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The Louvrefrom royal palace to art museum

• The Louvre Royal Residence Temple of the
  Arts,
• by Jean-Pierre Babelon, in Realms of Memory
• March 18, 2003

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Where should I build my castle?

• FORTIFIED URBAN CASTLE
• Secure
• Close to taxpayers
• Growth constrained by city
• Deprives king of natures splendours
• Best for hard times, when king needs to be obeyed
• Keeps taxpayers close at hand
• Dispels notion that king cares only for his own
  pleasure
• Ornamental façades inscribe powerful symbols in
  stone
• CASTLE IN A PLAIN
• Ample land allows for growth
• Close to nature
• Hard to defend
• Can be used as a private getaway for hunting and
  other leisure
• Requires enough control that trused ministers can
  govern in kings absence

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The Louvre What kind of palace? (fortified
urban castle, or castle on a plain?)
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A really cool panoramic view follow this link

• http//www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/The_
  Louvre.html/6a22805-Louvre_Pano.gbi

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Construction history
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A stone book (p. 254)

• Like church portals, palace façades were thus
  books written in stone for those who know how to
  read them.

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17th-century façade
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17th-century façade
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another side of 17th-century façade
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19th-century façade20th-century fountain
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Detail, 19th-century façade
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More detail, 19th-century façades
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Who is this guy?
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A (fuzzy) close-up