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French School.
The first five rooms contain the French masters down to
Louis XIV.
1st Room. Older Pictures: Death of Christ and saints
on a gold ground; series of portraits by François Clouet, dit
Janet (d. 1572) and his pupils, etc.
2nd Room. Twenty-two pictures by Eustache Lesueur (d. at
Paris 1655) from the life of St. Bruno.
3rd Room. Scenes from classical mythology, most of them
by Lesueur.
4th Room. Fifteen large sea-pieces by Joseph Vernet (d. 1789),
representing the harbours of France.
A large, oblong hall is next entered, principally dedicated
to pictures by Nicholas Poussin (d. at Rome 1665), and by
Claude Lorrain (d. at Rome 1682), all of which deserve careful
inspection. Among them may be mentioned, r.:
435. Nicolas Poussin, Rape of the Sabines.
298. Jean Jouvenet (d. in Paris 1717), Raising of Lazarus.
521. E. Lesueur, St. Paul preaching at Ephesus.
297. Jouvenet, Miraculous draught of fishes.
222. Claude Lorrain, Seaport.
496. Santerre (d. at Paris 1717), Susanna bathing.
225. Claude Lorrain, Harbour.
415. Nicholas Poussin, Rebecca at the well.
A lofty saloon with vaulted ceiling is now entered, containing
four large pictures by C. Lebrun from the life of Alexander.
In the four lunettes of the ceiling are paintings by Charles Müller,
bearing reference to the history of French art: St. Louis and the
Sainte Chapelle, Francis I. in the studio of one of his artists,
Louis XIV. commencing the construction of the Louvre, Napoleon
l. directing the Louvre to be completed. To the r. of this
is situated the Salle des Etats, in which the annual opening of
the Chambers by the Emperor takes place. Opposite the visitor,
on the l. side:
432. N. Poussin, Baptism in the Jordan.
475. Rigaud (d. at Paris 1743), Portrait of Louis XIV.
349. Mignard (d. at Paris 1695), The Virgin with a bunch
of grapes.
446. Poussin, Time rescues Truth from the attacks of Envy
and Discord, ordered by Cardinal Richelieu as a ceiling-painting.
223. Cl. Lorrain, Disembarcation of Cleopatra at Tarsus.
250. Lesueur, St. Gervasius and St. Protasius refuse to offer
sacrifice to Jupiter.
476. Rigaud, Portrait of Philip V of Spain (d. 1746).
76. C. Lebrun (d. at Paris 1690), Death of Meleager.
In the Second Saloon pictures by modern masters, on the r.:
329. C. van Loo (d. at Paris 1765), Hunters' breakfast.
261. Greuze (d. at Paris 1805), The paternal curse.
262. Greuze, The chastised son.
*263. Greuze, The broken pitcher.
330. C. van Loo, Portrait of Maria Lescziuska, Consort of
Louis XV.
*82. Madame Lebrun (Elisabeth Louise Vigée, d. 1842), Portrait
of herself and daughter.
276. Gros (d. at Paris 1835), Francis I. and Charles V. visiting
the tombs of St. Denis.
154. David (d. at Brussels 1825), Paris and Helen.
633. C. Vernet (father of Horace, son of Joseph), Hunting scene
in the forest of Meudon.
*281. Guérin (d. at Rome 1833), Æneas relating to Dido the
fate of Troy.
On the short wall:
499. Sigalon (d. at Rome 1837), The love-letter.
*494. L. Robert (d. at Venice 1835), Festival of the Madonna del
Arco at Naples.
*493. L. Robert, Reaper in the Pontinian marches.
On the left side (towards the Place Napoléon):
577. Tocqué (d. at Paris 1772), Portrait of Maria Lesczinska.
150. David, Oath of the Horatii.
321. Lethière, Brutus condemning his sons to death.
235. Gérard (d. 1837), Entry of Henry IV. into Paris.
A passage now leads to the Galerie des Sept Mètres, so-called
from its breadth, which contains a selection of pictures of the
older Italian school. At the entrance *Diana, an ancient marble
statue found at Gabii near Rome. On the W. wall:
r. 252. Andrea Mantegna (d. 1506), Wisdom conquers Vice.
43. Giorgione (Barbarelli, d. 1511), Madonna with saints and
portrait of the person for whom the picture was painted.
472 Titian, Portrait of a man.
*384. Raphael, Portrait of the Princess Joan of Arragon.
89. Titian, Portrait of a man.
437. Andrea del Sarto, Caritas, a woman with three children.
88. Bordone, Vertumnus and Pomona.
*95. Johann Stephan of Calcar (born at Calcar on the Lower
Rhine in 1499, d. at Naples in 1546, one of Titian's best pupils),
Portrait of a man.
469. Titian, Portrait of Francis I. of France.
*277. Palma ("Il Vecchio", d. 1548), Adoration of the Shepherds.
241 Luini, Virgin and sleeping Child.
On the E. wall:
l. *251. Andrea Mantegna, Dance of the Muses, an allegory.
470. Titian, Portrait of Alphonso of Avalos, Marquis of Guasto,
commander of the armies of the emperor Charles V. in Italy and
his wife Mary of Arragon, a celebrated beauty, to whom Cupid
Flora and Zephyr are represented as doing homage.
99. P. Veronese, Ahasuerus and Esther ("l'évanouissement
d'Esther").
459. Titian, Holy Family with St. Catharine and a white rabbit,
("la Vierge au lapin").
480. Leonardo da Vinci, John the Baptist.
385. Raphael, Portrait of a youth, erroneously said to be
Raphael himself.
483. L. da Vinci, Portrait of a woman.
*482. L. da Vinci, The Virgin in the Sepulchre.
379. Raphael, St. Margaret.
283. Raphael, Portrait of Count Balthasar Castiglione.
173. Conegliano (Cima, d. after 1517), Virgin and saints.
186 Raphael, Portrait.
Returning through the Galerie d'Apollon to the large French
picture-gallery (Salle des Sept Cheminées, p. 47), the visitor now
turns to the r. and by a door in the corner enters the halls of
the Musée Napoléon III. (suite of rooms towards the Seine), an
admirable collection of Etrurian and Greek vases, Greek and
Phœnician inscriptions, busts, tombstones, idols, bronzes, statuettes,
antiquities etc., some of them from the Campana collection (p. 56),
Thessaly by Henzey, and from Asia Minor by Perrault.
Paintings on the ceiling: 1 st Room. Alaux, Nic. Poussin being
introduced to Louis XIII. (Phœnician inscriptions; statues, statuettes,
busts and inscriptions from Cyprus; vases, phials and
terracottas from Rhodes; in the cabinets by the window amulets and
ornaments from different districts of Syria, Moabitish pottery etc.
— 2nd Room. Steuben, Francis I at the battle of Marignano.
(Red vases for domestic purposes, amphoræ etc.) — 3rd Room.
Eug. Devéria, Louis XIV. at Versailles inspecting Puget's marble
group of Milo of Crotona (p. 54). (Etruscan vases, commencing
with those of the rudest form.) — 4th Room. Fragonard, Andrea
del Sarto showing his picture of "Caritas" to Francis I. (Etruscan
terracottas, reliefs, cinerary urns etc.) — 5th Room. Heim, Revival.
of the arts in France, with eight small lateral pictures. (Vases
of the most ancient style.) — 6th Room. Fragonard, Francis I.
knighted by Bayard. (Ancient vases.) — 7th Room. Schnetz,
Charlemagne and Alcuin, founder of the university of Paris.
(Vases of more modern style.) — 8th Room. Drolling. Louis XII.
saluted as father of his people by the states-general at Tours.
(Small vessels in clay, drinking-cups etc.) — 9th Room. *Léon
Cogniet, Bonaparte in Egypt. (Objects in glass; also a collection
of *frescoes from houses of Pompeii, presented in 1825 by Francis I.
of Naples.)
The visitor should now retrace his steps to the Salle des
Sept Cheminées and by a door to the l. enter the Musée de
Charles X., which contains a valuable collection of smaller Greek,
Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian *Antiquities; the paintings on the
ceilings date from 1827, and are as follows:
1st Room. Ingres, *Deification of Homer. — Collection of vases
of glass and enamel.
2nd Room. Heim, Jupiter entrusts Vulcan with the fire for
the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii. — Vases on the
table well deserving inspection, found in S. Italy.
3rd Room. Meynier, Nymphs of Parthenope (Naples) emigrating
to the Seine. — Collection of beautiful Greek terracottas,
statuettes, urns etc.
4th Room. Picot, Cybele protecting Herculaneum from total
destruction. — Etruscan vases in the glass cases.
5th Room (passage-room, the so-called throne-room). Gros,
Allegorical painting in honour of Louis XIV. — This and the
four following rooms contain Egyptian Antiquities.
6th Room. Picot, France unveils Egypt. — Egyptian Antiquities:
carved stones with hieroglyphics (scarabæi), amulets, figures
of animals, idols, Isis and Osiris, figures in brass and clay.
7th Room. Abel de Pujol, Egypt seeking Joseph's protection
from the seven plagues. — Collection of mummies, scarabæi,
archæologist Champollion.
8th Room. *Horace Vernet, Raphael and Michael Angelo in
the presence of Pope Julius II. — Collection of Egyptian implements,
weapons, manufactures, ornaments and carving.
9th Room. Gros, "Le génie de la France aide l'art et l'humanité".
— Collection of mummies, inscriptions, bronze utensils,
weapons, scarabæi.
In the centre of the large Staircase Hall which is now entered,
sarcophagi and statues; among the latter Rameses II. in a sitting
posture. In the recess a colossal black statue of Isis.
Turning to the l. the visitor now enters the Musée des Souverains.
The first two rooms, with richly gilded ceilings, contain
Sèvres vases and a silver statue of Henry IV. when a boy,
the third contains a complete model of a chapel of Henry III.
(1578); in the fourth, armour of French monarchs; the chair of king
Dagobert; the reputed crown of Charlemagne ("dite de Charlemagne",
for it is a well known fact that the genuine crown is
at Vienna), worn by Napoleon at his coronation; reminiscences of
French kings; prayer-books (one of Charles the Bald, richly ornamented
with carved ivory and precious stones); weapons, the
font of "St. Louis"; costumes of various orders; the helmet and
shield of Charles IX., richly plated with gold; the sceptre, "main
de justice", sword and spurs of Charlemagne; a valuable cabinet
of Marie Antoinette; candelabra of polished stones, presented to
Marie de Medicis by the republic of Venice; *jewel casket of
queen Anna; writing-table of Louis XVIII. employed by him when
a prisoner; coronation robes of Charles X.; secretaire of Louis Philippe,
bearing traces of having been broken open (February, 1848).
The fifth room is a spacious apartment, exclusively devoted
to *Souvenirs of Napoleon I. It contains the emperor's camp
bed, his grey coat and the three-cornered hat, the round hat he
wore in St. Helena, his state and coronation robes, richly decorated
saddles etc.: also the cradle of the king of Rome, "ayant depuis
servi au Duc de Bordeaux".
The three next rooms contain the Picture Gallery of the
Musée Napoléon III., devoted exclusively to mediæval paintings.
1st Room. Byzantine Pictures, most of them figures of saints
on a gold ground, some with Greek inscriptions.
2nd Room. On the principal wall: 263. Portrait of Pope
Sixtus IV., of the Flemish school; 267. Portrait of Dante, of the
same school; 270. Portrait of Thomas Aquinas, by a Flemish master;
99. A battle, a curious picture by Paolo Uccello, who died in Florence
about 1479 in his 83rd year; 236. Dante and Beatrix, two
portraits in the same frame, of the Italian school.
3rd Room. 279. Francis Pourbus (Flemish school of the 16th
cent.), Portrait of Marie de Medicis; 225, Raphael's School,
Gregory II.; 247. Sassoferrato, Virgin and Child; 246. Same master;
250. Copy of the same subject.
The visitor now enters a suite of apartments of various sizes
(a staircase ascends from the first of these to the Naval Muscum),
occupying one half of the N. wing and comprising Mediæval and
Renaissance Curiosities of the Musée Napoléon III. The first
two rooms contain carved Oak Furniture and Italian Fayence.
The next room contains specimens of the Fayence Work of the
celebrated Bernard de Palissy (d. 1589), consisting principally of
dishes with moulded representations of snakes, frogs, lizards, fishes,
plants etc.
The 4th Room is devoted to Metallic and Bronze Articles, such
as knives, locks, embossed plates etc. Two Bronze Reliefs are
here especially worthy of note, the originals of which were
executed in marble by Pierre Bontemps in 1552 for the tombstone
of Francis I. in the burial chapel of St. Denis; they are
placed on the side walls opposite to each other. On the wall
opposite to the window is a beautiful enamel picture from the
manufactory of Limoges, representing the various events of the
Passion.
In the 5th Room mediæval Glass and Porcelain. Opposite to
the window, on the wall, a Glass Mosaic, representing the lion
of Venice, executed by Antonio Fasolo in the manufactory of Murano
in the 16th cent.
The 6th Room, the Salle Sauvageot, contains a collection of
mediæval miniature pictures, carved wood. vases etc., bequeathed
to the Louvre by M. Sauvageot. Between the windows a life-size
portrait of Henry II.
In the 7th Room, the last of the Musée Napoléon III., the
attention of the visitor will be arrested by an *Altarpiece of carved
ivory, about 6 ft. in height, a perfect master-piece of its kind,
dating from the end of the 14th cent. It was brought from the
town of Poissy, and stands by the wall, opposite the window.
The 8th Room, the central apartment of this N. wing, situated
immediately over the entrance to the Cour du Louvre from the
Rue de Rivoli, contains Crayon Drawings, most of them portraits.
The following suite of rooms, occupying half of the N.
and half of the W. wings, is devoted exclusively to a very extensive
and valuable collection of Drawings, of great interest in
the study of art, some of which are not without attraction for
the ordinary visitor.
9th Room. Drawings of the Early French School.
10th Room. Crayon Drawings, miniatures, Chinese pictures etc.
11th Room. Drawings of the Modern French School. Here
is preserved an unfinished oil painting by David, probably intended
Paume (p. 170). One of the four finished heads is that of Mirabean.
The nude figures serve to show the amount of care David
bestowed on anatomical proportions.
12th Room. Modern French School. Antoine Watteau.
13th Room. French School. Charles Lebrun.
14th Room. Lesueur, Sketches of his illustrations of the life
of St. Bruno (p. 65).
15th Room. Claude Lorrain, N. Poussin, Lesueur.
16th Room. Dutch and German Schools: Dürer, Holbein,
Rubens, Rembrandt, Teniers etc. On the wall facing the visitor:
Cavalry skirmish, sketch by Rubens from Leon. da Vinci.
17th Room. Bolognese School. Ceiling Painting: Mauzaisse,
Divine Wisdom giving laws to kings and legislators.
18th Room. Italian School: Drawings, two in crayons, by
Correggio. Ceiling-painting: Drolling, Law descends to the earth.
19th Room. Italian School: Drawings by the most celebrated
masters, Leon. da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Raphael, those
of the first particularly well executed. On the ceiling: Blondel,
France receives the Charter from Louis XVIII.
20th Room. Earlier Italian School. On the ceiling: Blondel,
France victorious after the battle of Bouvines.
At the egress from the collection of drawings are placed the
tools with which the foundation-stone of the New Louvre was
laid, July 25th, 1852. They were presented by the architect
Visconti, who died before the completion of the structure.
Contiguous to the small ante-chamber, with bronze copies of
celebrated antiques, on the r., is the Hall of the Bronzes of the
Musée Napoléon III. The handsome door of wrought iron leads
to an isolated saloon, containing a valuable collection of ancient
utensils, weapons and statuettes. A magnificent view is enjoyed
hence. In the centre-cabinet are preserved ornaments in gold
and silver, mirrors, buckles, keys, seals, bracelets; also a gilded
helmet found at Amfreville in the Departement Eure, in 1861.
By the window a gilded bronze statue of Apollo, over life-size;
l. antique Apollo; then seats, candelabra, busts and statuettes.
In the cabinet on the r. several toilet caskets with engraving,
found at Palestrina near Rome, vases, lamps etc. In the cabinets
by the wall are statuettes; l. beautiful selection of *Roman
weapons, helmets, shields, swords, lances etc.
Having thus completed his circuit of the first floor of the
Louvre, the visitor should not omit now to proceed to the *Musée
de la Marine, situated on the second floor (ascent by the stair
mentioned at p. 70; comp. ground-plan, p. 57).
This museum contains a valuable collection of various objects
connected with ship-building, navigation etc., such as models of
weapons and relics of historical interest. For the non-professional
visitor the following objects are perhaps those most deserving
of inspection:
1st Room. The French fleet from 1786 to 1824. No. 33.
Large plastic representation of the embarkation and transport of
the obelisk of Luxor (p. 8); 34. The erection of the obelisk in
the Place de la Concorde. On the principal wall an inscription
to the memory of the heroic Lieutenant Bellot of the French
navy, who perished in 1853 in an Arctic expedition, placed there
by English residents in France.
2nd Room. 150. Machine for adjusting the masts of a ship.
3. Relief-plan of the town and harbour of Brest: Models of ships.
3rd Room. Models of pumps and machines; 349. Ship in the
stocks about to be launched; 5. Relief-plan of the town and
harbour of Lorient; 522. Model of the "Valmy", a ship of the
line of the first class.
4th Room 621. Large model of a 120 gun ship, occupying
the entire apartment
5th Room. 960. Bell from the chapel of the citadel of St. Jean
d'Ulloa (Mexico), which was pierced by a cannon-ball from a
French corvette in 1838; small sailing-vessels etc.
6th Room. 885 to 958. Large obelisk decorated with relics
of the frigates "Boussole" and "Astrolabe", which had been sent
on a voyage of discovery under the command of Captain de Lapérouse
in 1783, and foundered at sea. Traces of the ill-fated
expedition had been discovered by the English Captain Dillon in
the island of Ticopia in 1828, whereupon a French vessel was despatched
for the purpose of bringing home the relics 956. Letter
written by Lapérouse; 780. Bust of Lapérouse. — Busts of
celebrated French navigators and naval heroes. — Models of ships.
7th Room. 721. Model of the steam vessel of war "le Véloce".
8th Room. Rigging and ships chains. Two relief-plans of
Toulon, dating from 1790 and 1850.
9th Room. Fire-arms of various calibres.
10th Room Scientific instruments, sextants etc.; also a very
large geographical globe.
11th Room. 640. Model of "le Louis XV.", a man of war of
the middle of the last century. 640. Model of "La Réale", an
admiral's ship built at the close of the 17th cent. and artistically
adorned by the celebrated sculptor Puget (p. 54). The original
carving in gilded wood (No 760—775) hangs on the wall.
4. Relief-plan of the town and harbour of Rochefort.
The adjoining rooms contain the Musée Ethnographique,
recently founded.
1st Room. Curiosities from Africa, most of them presented
by M. Delaporte, consul at Cairo. 32. Model of the slip from
launched at Toulon in 1829; 659. Model of the machine by
means of which the "Rivoli", a ship of 72 guns, was raised in
the harbour of Venice in 1812.
2nd Room. A collection of the spoil captured in various
French naval expeditions, consisting principally of curiosities from
Japan, China and Mexico. Model of the pagoda of Juggernaut
in India surmounted by the image of Wischnu, the principal
deity of the Indians, to whose shrine every Indian is bound to
make a pilgrimage at least once in his life.
Beyond this are three rooms with curiosities from China,
most of them collected during the French expedition of 1860:
porcelain, paintings, boxes, idols, models of Chinese buildings,
weapons etc.
American Antiquities. The commencement of a collection
of implements, tools, idols and ornaments, most of them of stone,
from Mexico, Chili and Peru, resembling in many respects the
Egyptian antiquities, and proving that the aboriginal inhabitants
of America were, on the discovery of America by Columbus (1492)
not far behind the Egyptians in civilization. The collection is
temporarily placed in a passage on the second floor near the
outlet of the Musée Ethnographique.
On quitting the old Palais du Louvre, the visitor should direct
his steps to the magnificent New Buildings connecting the Louvre
with the Tuileries on the N. side. This gigantic work was commenced
in 1848 from designs by Visconti and rapidly completed
(1850—56) under Napoleon III. at a cost, as it is estimated, of
75 million francs (3 million L.).
The portal is decorated with a group representing Intelligence
and Labour, the former unfolding the plan of the edifice, the
latter with a cornucopia; beneath is a statue of France leaning
on a sceptre.
In niches on the exterior, at the entrance to the Place du
Carrousel in the Rue de Rivoli (Pavillon de Rohan), are placed
statues of the following celebrated generals of the first Republic
and Empire: Hoche, Kléber, Lannes, Masséna, Desaix, Marceau,
Soult and Ney.
The galleries of this new structure (Place Napoléon) are occupied
by a long series of statues of literary celebrities: La
Fontaine, Pascal, Mézeray, Molière, Boileau, Fénélon, La Rochefoucauld,
Corneille etc.
The ministerial offices of the state and imperial household
are now situated in this edifice. Here, too, is the Louvre Library
(private library of the emperor). On the ground-floor the Impérial
Stud, comprising the Emperor's private saddle-horses (among
Solferino) and the gorgeous carriages of state. A second extensive
stud is situated on the Quai d'Orsay, at the corner of the
Avenue Rapp, at the extremity of the Pont de l'Alma (p. 85).
Permission to inspect these establishments is obtained by addressing
a written application (p. 92) to General Fleury, "Premier
Ecuyer de S. M. l'Empereur", at the Tuileries.
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