The Musee du Louvre was once an actual palace of the Royal family. The original building was built in the 12th century under Philip II. The remnants of the old fortress have been excavated and visitors can walk around the old mote area in the lower levels of the Louvre. In addition, curators have put together a model of what the Musee du Louvre adjacent to the excavated remains.
Over the years, the fortress was expanded on to form what is visible today, the Palais du Louvre.
In 1672, Louis XIV, chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre as a place to display the royal collection. By 1692, the building became occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture where they would remain for a hundred years. The schools would hold salons up until the French Revolution where the National Assembly then decreed that the Louvre be used as a museum to showcase the country's collection of masterpieces.
The collection was grew quickly under Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. It was not until his defeat at Waterloo, that many of the works were returned to their owners, however, many still do remain in the Louvre collection. Under the reigns of both Louis XVIII and Charles X. During the Second Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces.
Holdings have grown steadily through donations and aquisitions since the Third Republic except during both World Wars when much of the collection, including the very famous and very heavy Nike of Samothrace statue was removed and hidden in the French countryside to prevent pillaging from the Nazis invaders. For a detailed documentary on the Louvre during the War, the Rape of Europa furnishes the viewer with an abundance of information and photographs.
Today, the Louvre is divided among eight curatorial departments, including: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; and Prints & Drawings. In addition, the Louvre has expanded to Abu Dhabi where by 2012, a new museum will be built in the downtown area. The Louvre has agreed to loan works on rotation to Abu Dhabi for 10 years. Works will come not only from the Louvre, but also from the Musée Rodin, the Georges Pompidou Centre, the Musée Guimet, the Musée d'Orsay, Versailles and the Musée du quai Branly.
The Louvre was featured in Dan Brown's "DaVinci Code" and has become a huge publicity tool for the museum. Today, people can take a guided DaVinci Code Tour through the museum and retrace the steps that the character of Robert Langdon goes through in the popular fiction book.
