Louvre - Genesis of the Museum

In the late 1600's, Louis XIV left the Louvre and established his court at the Palace of Versailles. The King allowed the "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture" to use parts of the Louvre for exhibitions.

On 10th August 1793, in the midst of the "Terror", the bloodiest phase of the French Revolution, the former royal palace became the "Museum Central des Arts". That’s 230 years ago today!

In the very beginning, the art works were organised in only three categories: paintings, sculptures and drawings. Two centuries later, the Louvre claims the title of largest museum in the world with over 35,000 pieces of art on display!

The amazing thing is the actual collections include over half a million works of art! The majority of them being locked up in the basement and other storage locations as there isn't enough room in the galleries to show them!