The Grand Archetectual Presence of the Louvre Palace

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INTRODUCTION
The Louvre is one of Paris’ most beautiful and historic monuments. It’s one of the world’s largest museums and is a central landmark of Paris itself. The museum today contains nearly 35,000 works of art and is held within an area of 60,600 square meters. With nearly 10,000 visitors a year, the Louvre has become the world’s most visited museum. Out of all the wonderful sights in Paris it was the Louvre’s grand and architectural presence that captured my attention most. The contrast between old and new jumps out at you, but at the same time they work well together. The striking glass pyramid sits seamlessly in the Cour Napoléon, which is the main court of the Louvre Palace, whilst being wrapped by the old palace itself.
Since the Louvre was first built as a fortress in the 12th century it has undergone many extensions and renovations to make it what it is today. It was first classed as a museum in August 1793 when it held an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of these works were from a royal background and the rest consisted of confiscated church property. Unfortun...

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