The Louvre Museum, Musée du Louvre, is one of France's most iconic buildings. The famous museum and art gallery stands near the heart of its Paris capital. Established in 1793, the museum, housed in the Louvre Palace, is located in the city's 1^st arrondissment.[1]

Originally known as the Louvre Castle, its construction began in the last 12^th century under King Philip II.[2] In 1546, King Francis I converted the castle into the main residence of the French monarchs. The Louvre was later transformed into a place to display royal art collections after King Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles as his main residence in 1692.[3] Now, no longer a royal property, the new National Assembly opened the Louvre Museum to the public in 1793, displaying both aristocratic and 'acquired artworks from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.[4] After many years of expansion, destruction and repair, the 1850s marked the completion of the museum's construction.[5]

Between the 1980s and 90s, the Louvre property expanded under its Cour Napoléon and the Cour du Carrousel courtyards with additional shops, exhibitions rooms, cafeteria and parking. The Louvre became fully operation in 1993 after the departure of the Ministry of Finance. In order to create a centralized welcoming location for visitors, a steel-glass pyramid, designed by American architect, Ieoh Ming Pei, was placed at the heart of the Cour Napoléon.[6]

The collections hold artifacts and pieces that date back to the 1200s. Currently, the Louvre holds 29 collections, including the French Revolution, Napoleon (1769-1821), Mythical Heroes, Ancient Egypt and paintings. Famous pieces includes Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo Aphrodite, Michelangelo's 'The Rebellious Slave' and a painting of Louis XIV (1638-1715), France's Sun King.[7]

[1] "History of the Louvre from Château to Museum." The Seated Scribe | Louvre Museum | Paris. October 25, 2016.

[2] Ruth, Michael. 2017. "Louvre Museum." Salem Press Encyclopedia.

[3] Britannica, the Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Louvre Museum." Encyclopædia Britannica. April 13, 2018.

[4] Ruth, Michael. 2017. "Louvre Museum."

[5] Britannica, the Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Louvre Museum."

[6] "History of the Louvre From Château to Museum." History of the Louvre | Louvre Museum | Paris.

[7] "Selected Works." Selected Works | Louvre Museum | Paris.

This destination is the 2nd stop on the Nazi-Occupied Paris: Entertainment Tour

The Louvre represented the history of France; displaying pieces from each era that affected the country and people. Pieces including a painting of 'July 28: Liberty Leading the People' depicting the 1830 Paris Uprisings and a drawing of 'Napoleon Crowning Himself Emperor before the Pope'.[1] One of the most distressing period of the Louvre's history was the Nazi-occupation during World War II. The country was overwhelmed by the German invasion, and the city was changed forever.

In 1940, the Germans reopened one of Paris' greatest buildings, the Louvre Museum; however, the regime was in for a surprise.

[1] "Selected Works." Selected Works | Louvre Museum | Paris.

The Louvre and its collections had survived monarchies, revolutions and wars; however, in 1939, the museum underwent a massive evacuation. Known for their prowess in collecting art, the French devised a plan to keep their pieces out of German hands. On August 3rd of 1939, six days before France declared war on Germany, Jacques Jaujard, the Director of the French National Museums (Musées Nationaux), shut down the museum for "maintenance reasons".[2] Thousands of pieces from the permanent collection, including the Mona Lisa, were sent all over the country. All that remained were statues too fragile or heavy to remove without suspicion.

In September 1940, the Louvre reopened to the public, with bare walls and empty hallways.[3] In an attempt to restore the pieces, the Vichy government confiscated other art collections for visiting German soldiers and dignitaries to see. A 'Vichy Regime' in France was established when the country fell to Germany; many considered the Vichy as collaborators to the Nazi Regime.[4] However, the purpose of gathering these pieces was not to restore the museum, it was to transport them to Nazi safe-houses. Behind the scenes, the Louvre became a clearinghouse, a holding facility for the Nazis to keep art pieces before sending them to their holding facilities. Famously known as the 'Louvre Sequestration', artworks from museums, collectors, known Jewish families and collaborators were taken.[5] Similar to other German-occupied states, the Jewish population in France was forced to identify themselves with a yellow Star of David and stripped of any possessions, including art pieces.[6] The sad reality was that although most stolen artworks were returned to their owners after the war, many art pieces were unclaimed, as a large number of the Jewish population had perished. The occupation in Paris made it clear to many Parisians that the war needed to be fought against two fronts, the Germans and the collaborators. Although, Jacques Jaujard attempted to protect the collections, several individuals provided insight to the locations of the collections in an attempt to receive protection and benefits from the German regime.[7] In the end, collaborators allowed the Germans to access the city with ease. These collaborators are credited for setting the armistice conditions, providing knowledge on resistance organizations, and in the case of Louvre, access to France's most prized art pieces.

[2] "The Monuments Men." Jaffé, Hans C. L. | Monuments Men Foundation.

[3] "The Monuments Men."

[4] Paxton, Robert O. "Vichy Regime." In Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World. : Oxford University Press, 2008.

[5] "Exhibition The Louvre during the War - Photographs 1938-1947." The Seated Scribe | Louvre Museum | Paris.

[6] Cunard, Nancy. "The Triumph of the Treasures of France." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 87, no. 508 (1945): 168-73.

[7] "The Monuments Men."

Resources

Description of Site: Sources

Britannica, the Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Louvre Museum." Encyclopædia Britannica. April 13, 2018. Accessed February 20, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Louvre-Museum.

Cunard, Nancy. "The Triumph of the Treasures of France." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 87, no. 508 (1945): 168-73. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/869180.

"History of the Louvre from Château to Museum." History of the Louvre | Louvre Museum | Paris. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.louvre.fr/en/histoirelouvres/history-louvre/periode-5#tabs

"History of the Louvre from Château to Museum." The Seated Scribe | Louvre Museum | Paris. October 25, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2019. https://www.louvre.fr/en/histoirelouvres/history-louvre#tabs.

Jennings, Eric. 2002. "Last Exit from Vichy France: The Martinique Escape Route and the Ambiguities of Emigrationpass: [*]." Journal of Modern History74 (2): 289. doi:10.1086/343409.

Ruth, Michael. 2017. "Louvre Museum." Salem Press Encyclopedia. http://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=87323549&site=eds-live&scope=site.

"Selected Works." Selected Works | Louvre Museum | Paris. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.louvre.fr/en/selections.

Significance of Site to Theme: Sources

Cunard, Nancy. "The Triumph of the Treasures of France." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 87, no. 508 (1945): 168-73. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/869180.

"Der Deutsche Wegleiter Für Paris." Gallica. April 22, 1944. Accessed February 20, 2019. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k977557c/f1.image.

"Exhibition The Louvre during the War - Photographs 1938-1947." The Seated Scribe | Louvre Museum | Paris. Accessed February 20, 2019. https://www.louvre.fr/en/expositions/louvre-during-war-photographs-1938-1947?ltype=archives.

"Franco-German Armistice: June 25, 1940." The Avalon Project - Laws of War: Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907. Accessed February 20, 2019. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/frgearm.asp.

Paxton, Robert O. "Vichy Regime." In Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World. : Oxford University Press, 2008. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195176322.001.0001/acref-9780195176322-e-1664.

Poirier, Agnès. "Saviour of France's Art: How the Mona Lisa Was Spirited Away from the Nazis." The Guardian. November 22, 2014. Accessed February 25, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/22/mona-lisa-spirited-away-from-nazis-jacques-jaujard-louvre.

"Selected Works." Selected Works | Louvre Museum | Paris. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.louvre.fr/en/selections.

"The Monuments Men." Jaffé, Hans C. L. | Monuments Men Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2019. https://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/the-heroes/the-monuments-men/jaujard-jacques.