At the museum was also the famous portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocond painted by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. The painting has been acclaimed to be the best known, the most visited, written about, sung about and most parodied work of art in the world...which is clear after seeing the surprising crowd of people and security guards surrounding it.
The collection is
divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern
Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture;
Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings. It was great to see, and encouraging
to think about seeing such a vast collection of work inspired by culture.
What I was quite interested in too, was learning
much more about the French revolution, which during this time the Louvre
was transformed into a public museum. It was declared by the Assembly during
this time that the Louvre would be "a place for bringing together monuments
of all the sciences and arts”.