Top Masterpieces, The Louvre Pyramid Paris 2

Top must-see masterpieces at the Louvre Museum, Paris

By
Catalina

January 26, 2019

This post is also available in: Română

Year	1793
Type	Museum
When to visit?	The Louvre is open every day (except Tuesday) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Free admission on the first Saturday of each month from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. as of January 2019. Closed on the following holidays: January 1, May 1, May 8, December 25
Tickets	17 E for Individual Visitor
Getting there	Metro: Louvre – Rivoli Station
Location	Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France, Europe

Top must-see masterpieces at the Louvre

The Louvre Pyramid

The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris.
The pyramid used as an entrance in the Louvre’s courtyard has the exact same proportions as the Great Pyramid of Giza. At its base, the pyramid measures 116 feet wide and 70 feet high. 95 tons of steel and 105 tons of aluminum support the structure.

Great Sphinx of Tanis

Great Sphinx of Tanis ( 2600 BC, Old Kingdom) The Egyptian appellation for a sphinx was Shesep-Ankh, or “Living Image”, a symbolic representation of the close relationship between sun god (lion’s body) and king (human head).
The sphinx was inscribed with the names of the pharaohs Ammenemes II (12th Dynasty, 1929-1895 BC), Merneptah (19th Dynasty, 1212-02 BC), and Shoshenq I (22nd Dynasty, 945-24 BC). According to archaeologists, certain details suggest that this sphinx dates to an earlier period – the Old Kingdom (c. 2600 BC).

Excavated in 1825 among the ruins of the Temple of Amun at Tanis, it’s one of the largest sphinxes outside of Egypt.

Law Code of Hammurabi

Law Code of Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC, Mesopotamia) Hammurabi’s Law Code is the longest surviving text from Old Babylon and is often considered the first written economic formula. Many laws are still in use, such as interest rates, fines for monetary wrongdoing, inheritance laws concerning how private property is taxed or divided. It’s also one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of innocence, requesting that both the accused and accuser provide evidence to make their cases. It’s most famous for its scaled punishments, adjusting an “eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” as graded depending on social status (of slave versus free man).

Law Code of Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC, Mesopotamia), Louvre, Paris 2

Venus de Milo

Venus de Milo (130 BC) Is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture.

Venus de Milo also known as Aphrodite of Milos.

The statue is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch.

It was created sometime between 130 and 100 BC.

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Winged Victory of Samothrace (190 BC, Ancient Greece) The Winged Goddess of Nike presides over the Louvre’s Daru stairs much as she’s perched on the prow of a ship (the grey marble implies the ship’s from Rhodes). Her Hellenistic form merits her place as one of the Louvre’s top three most important pieces. No imagination is necessary to see the wind blowing her cling-wrap thin material or to feel the power of her forward motion and sure-footedness. Meant to be viewed from one angle, note how the sculpture’s roughly hewn on the left. During WWII she was evacuated with the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s Slaves & Venus de Milo to Château de Valençay.

The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Truly priceless, the painting cannot be bought or sold according to French heritage law. As part of the Louvre collection, “Mona Lisa” belongs to the public, and by popular agreement, their hearts belong to her.

When Livingstone blurred the face with a filter, the Mona Lisa looked as if she were smiling cheerfully. But homing in on the fine detail gave her a more demure expression. So Livingstone says that in his painting, da Vinci achieved an unusual effect: the Mona Lisa’s smile changes depending on where you look.

Roman statue of Tiber

The Roman river Tiber appears here as a traditional river-god: a reclining male figure, mature and bearded.
This imposing statue was discovered in Rome in 1512, on the site of the Iseum Campense, an ancient temple dedicated to Isis and Sarapis.
It is difficult to date this statue precisely. The Tiber and the Nile were often represented during the reign of Hadrian (AD 117-138);

The Wedding at Cana – Les Noces de Cana – By Paolo Veronese

This is the biggest painting displayed in the Louvre museum. The painting was stolen by Napoleon and brought to Paris. Represents a wedding party in Cana, Galilee in which Jesus Christ performs his first miracle by turning water into wine.

The Cour Marly in the Musée du Louvre

I really loved this hall. Filled with natural light and a forest of ficus trees is great to take pictures and to relax admiring the amazing statues. The courtyard houses an army of grand marble statuary.

The Inverted Pyramid

The Inverted Pyramid is located in the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground shopping mall inaugurated in 1993 that adjoins the Hall Napoléon of the Louvre. At the end of The Da Vinci Code, Langdon discovers that Inverted Pyramid houses the grave of Mary Magdalene.

Legend has it that the Louvre is haunted by a legendary character, the Belphegor ghost. About this it is said that it is a mummy with evil powers, which hides during the day in the Pyramid of Pei, and at night haunts the entire museum.