A fortress, a palace, and now one of the world’s most marvellous museums, the Louvre has undergone several transformations in its centuries of existence on the banks of the river Seine. Enticingly subtitled ‘How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum’, Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino invites us to a place that’s very close to the author’s heart. A gallery companion comprised of history, appraisal and personal vignettes along with some illuminating insider interviews, Sciolino’s labour of love is an oracle for Louvre virgins and veterans alike.
To give you some idea of the sheer vastness of the Louvre, Sciolino tells us that it requires 10,000 gallons of wax per year to keep the parquet floors of its four-hundred-plus rooms looking tip top. Formerly the preserve of royalty, the guillotines of the 1793 Revolution resulted in the doors of the palace being flung open to the general public. With more artworks arriving from Versailles and the homes of the now ex-nobility, it became the ‘building of the nation’.
Over two centuries later, the Louvre holds the honour of being the most visited art museum in the world, although Sciolino is clear that much of this hinges on its possession of a tiny yellowed portrait of ‘a Renaissance woman with a mysterious smile’. Mona Lisa, a silk merchant’s wife from Florence and the unwitting face of a million tote bags, umbrellas, coffee cups, and the odd chaise longue (yes really).
Thankfully, we get Da Vincis’s masterpiece out of the way early on. Mona Lisa’s fame is irrational, letters addressed to her personally arrive from all over the world. She has been declared a harlot, a vampire, even a self-portrait of Leonardo in drag. But she sucks all the oxygen from the room, there are so many fascinating works in the museum and Sciolino is keen to introduce us to them, from the likes of Vermeer and Rembrandt to lesser known pieces that sit quietly in spaces away from the crowds.
Lest you should imagine the Louvre to be a fusty old dinosaur of a place, Sciolino gives us a determinedly 21st century perspective, with some compelling chapters on queer art, dubious acquisitions, and women as both artists and subjects. Also adding some cool credentials are Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who took over the museum in 2018 for a music video ( a fabulous six minutes to be found on the Beyoncé Vevo YouTube channel with accompanying art trail on the Louvre website).
Interviews with Louvre colleagues ranging from curators to window cleaners bring the museum to life. The gardeners’ contribution is particularly lovely, explaining how they often use the Tuileries Garden to complement exhibits, e.g the broken spirit of Michelangelo’s Rebellious Slave being evoked with hollyhocks, spiderflowers and sage, an Egyptian Hieroglyph celebration inspiring the planting of papyrus amongst the flowers.
This wonderfully enriching book will send you down a rabbit hole (the Louvre website has a link to its Collections database, where you can find photographs and information on the many paintings and objects discussed). A delight.
Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino is published by W.W. Norton, 352 pages.
