The expansion of the Louvre under Napoleon III in the 1850s, known at the time and until the 1980s as the Nouveau Louvre or Louvre de Napoléon III, was an iconic project of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s ...

and a centerpiece of its ambitious transformation of Paris. Its design was initially produced by Louis Visconti and, after Visconti's death in late 1853, modified and executed by Hector Lefuel. It represented the completion of a centuries-long project, sometimes referred to as the ''grand dessein'' ("grand design"), to connect the old

Louvre Palace The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and t ...

around the Cour Carrée with the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, fr ...

to the west. Following the Tuileries' arson at the end of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

in 1871 and demolition a decade later,

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

's ''nouveau Louvre'' became the eastern end of Paris's ''

axe historique The ''Axe historique'' (; "historical axis") is a line of monuments, buildings, and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris, France, to the west. It is also known as the ''Voie Triomphale'' (; "triumphal way"). The Axe Historique ...

'' centered on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

. The project was initially intended for mixed ceremonial, museum, housing, military and administrative use, including the offices of the and which after 1871 were attributed to the Finance Ministry. Since 1993, all its spaces have been used by the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Project development

Following the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundati ...

, the provisional government adopted a decree on the continuation of the rue de Rivoli toward the east and the completion of the

's north wing, building on the steps taken to that effect under Napoleon. Architect Louis Visconti and his disciple Émile Trélat produced a draft design for completing the entire palace and presented it to the Legislative Assembly in 1849. These plans were not implemented, however, until President Louis-Napoleon was in a position to prioritize them following his successful coup d'état on 2 December 1851, even before he would formally rebrand himself as Emperor Napoleon III. On Louis-Napoleon's order, Minister

François-Xavier Joseph de Casabianca François-Xavier Joseph de Casabianca (27 June 1796 – 24 May 1881) was a French aristocrat, lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, Minister of Finance and then President of the Council of State in the governmen ...

commissioned Visconti to design the new Louvre's plans on 30 January 1852, and the first stone was laid on 25 July 1852. After Visconti died of a heart attack on 29 December 1853, Hector Lefuel, by then the architect of the

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of mo ...

, was appointed to replace him. Lefuel modified Visconti's project, keeping its broad architectural outlines but opting for a considerably more exuberant decoration program that came to define the ''nouveau Louvre'' in the eyes of many observers. Old houses and other buildings that still encroached on the central space of the Louvre-Tuileries complex, between the Cour Carrée and the place du Carrousel, were swept clear. The project was swiftly executed, under the close attention of Napoleon III who visited the works on multiple occasions. The new buildings were substantially completed at the time of their inauguration by the emperor on 14 August 1857. The next day, which was the National Day as the date of "", the public was invited to roam the new buildings. The young American architect

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

, who had studied under Lefuel at the École des Beaux-Arts, worked on the Louvre as a junior architect between April 1854 and September 1855, as also did Italian architect Marco Treves from May 1854 to September 1857. Following Hunt's graduation, Lefuel made him inspector of the Louvre work and allowed him to design the façade of the facing the rue de Rivoli. File:Louvre et Tuileries Percier et Fontaine 1.jpg, One of many earlier unrealized proposals for the completion of the Louvre, by Percier and Fontaine (1807 or 1808) File:Réunion des Tuileries au Louvre 1852–1857 Getty Museum vol1 02 Plan of the Louvre by Charles Vasserot 1830 – Getty Museum (crop).jpg, Plan of the unfinished Louvre by Charles Vasserot, showing the jumble of buildings on the location of the present-day Cour Napoléon (1830) File:Réunion des Tuileries au Louvre 1852–1857 Getty Museum vol1 03 Plan for the Nouveau Louvre by Visconti – Getty Museum (crop).jpg, Design of the Louvre expansion by Louis Visconti (1853) File:Napoléon III et Visconti.JPG, Visconti presents the plans for the Nouveau Louvre to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie in 1853 at the Tuileries, painting by Jean-Baptiste-Ange Tissier (1865) File:Réunion des Tuileries au Louvre 1852–1857 Getty Museum vol1 01 Vue perspective (adjusted).jpg, Engraving dedicated "to His Majesty the Emperor" showcasing Visconti's design, by Rudolf Pfnor (1853) File:Lens - Inauguration du Louvre-Lens le 4 décembre 2012, la Galerie du Temps, n° 205.JPG, Celebratory tapestry cartoon showing the expanded Louvre between a cherub holding a ribbon inscribed with (lower left) and two angels holding the emperor's profile (upper right), by (1857); now at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Description

The Nouveau Louvre mostly consists of two sets of buildings or wings, on the northern and southern sides of the central space that is now called the Cour Napoléon. The new buildings were structured around a sequence of

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s that were given names of French statesmen from

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

(North Wing) and Napoleonic times (South Wing), still used to this day: from the northwest to the southwest, , , , (the project's new name for the pre-existing pavillon de l'Horloge), topping the eponymous staircase, , and also featuring a monumental staircase. (From 1989, the names of the three central pavilions have also been given to the entire respective wings of the Louvre museum complex. Thus, the Louvre's North Wing is now known as , its eastern square of buildings around the Cour Carrée is the , and the South Wing is the .) Lefuel created two octagonal gardens at the center of the Cour Napoléon (now replaced by the

Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal structure designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard ( Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three small ...

). In multiple parts of the project, Napoleon III emphasized his role as continuator of the great French monarchs of the past, and as the one who completed their unfinished work. On both sides of the Pavillon Sully, black marble plaques bear gilded inscriptions that read, respectively: "1541. François Ier commence le Louvre. 1564. Catherine de Médicis commence les Tuileries" and "1852-1857. Napoléon III réunit les Tuileries au Louvre." Separately, Napoleon III created a Musée des Souverains in the Louvre's Colonnade Wing to similarly emphasize the continuity of his rule with the long legacy of French monarchy and thus bolster his legitimacy. On the eastern side of the Cour Napoléon, the project entailed no new building but rather the exterior refacing of the pre-existing palace whose interior rooms were left unchanged. For the central pavillon de l'Horloge's new western façade, Visconti took inspiration from both its eastern side designed by Jacques Lemercier in the 1620s and from the central pavilion of the

, itself influenced by Lemercier's. The same inspiration shaped the pavilions named after Richelieu and Denon on the Cour Napoléon's northern and southern sides. Lefuel transformed Visconti's understated original design and added a profusion of elaborate sculptural detail. Despite being criticized by a number of observers, e.g. by Ludovic Vitet,

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

and

Horace de Viel-Castel Marc-Roch-Horace de Salviac, comte de Viel-Castel, known as Horace de Viel-Castel (16 August 1802 Paris – 1 October 1864), was an art lover and collector, and director of the Louvre until 1863. A Bonapartist, he staunchly supported Napoleon III. ...

, Lefuel's treatment of the square-dome-roofed pavilions became a seminal model for

Second Empire architecture Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as ...

in France and elsewhere. Inside the North Wing were prestige apartments for some of the regime's principal figures, including those of the Minister of State (long mistakenly attributed to the Duke of Morny and now known as the ), served by a monumental staircase later known as the ; administrative offices for the , the short-lived (1858-1860), the (separated from the in 1860), and (briefly) the created in early 1870; the Directorate of Telegraphs; barracks for the Imperial Guard; and the (formerly under Napoleon and under the Restoration), personal property of the emperor but open to the public, on the upper floor between the Pavillon Richelieu and the rue de Rivoli. The latter was acceded by the monumental (known since the late 19th century as ), with sculpted decoration by Lefuel's friend Marie-Noémi Cadiot. Initial plans to locate the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the North Wing's eastern half were abandoned in the late 1850s. The South Wing was largely devoted to a series of new spaces for the

that were dubbed the . These included, on the upper ground floor, a new entrance lobby flanked by two long stone-clad galleries, respectively named after Napoleon's ministers Pierre Daru () and Nicolas François Mollien (), with the monumental staircases bearing those same names at both ends; and on the first floor, high-ceilinged exhibition rooms for large paintings, the and , with the in the middle, whose lavish interior decoration was completed in 1866. On the same floor, between the Pavillon Denon and the Grande Galerie, Lefuel created a large Estates Hall () for state events and ceremonies. Below these prestige spaces was an extensive complex of stables for up to 149 horses and 34 carriages. At the center of it is the brick-and-stone , a monumental indoor space for horse-riding under the Salle des États, between two interior courts named after Caulaincourt (west) and Visconti (east). (The ''cour Caulaincourt'' was renamed after Lefuel following the architect's death in 1880.) The stables were nominally supervised by Great Equerry () , whose spacious apartment was on the western side of the Cour Lefuel and adorned with a porticoed balcony. The South wing also included barracks for the Cent-gardes Squadron and lodgings for the palace's service personnel. File:Louvre aile Richelieu.jpg, North Wing File:Escalier du ministre (Louvre) 2.jpg, Escalier du Ministre File:Escalier Lefuel (Louvre) 1.jpg, Escalier Lefuel File:Escalier Colbert (Louvre).jpg, Escalier Colbert File:Appartements Napoléon III 4.jpg, Appartements Napoléon III File:Decorative arts in the Louvre - Room 83 - 03.JPG, Appartements Napoléon III File:Galerie Daru - Musée du Louvre.jpg, Galerie Daru File:Paris - Musée du Louvre (30612872064).jpg, Salle Daru File:Roof, Louvre.jpg, Pavillon Denon ceiling File:Cour Lefuel (Louvre) 2.jpg, Cour Lefuel with ramps to the salle du Manège File:Palais du Louvre - Salle du Manège -0a.jpg, Interior of the salle du Manège File:Paris Louvre Nordseite 2.jpg, Pavillon de la Bibliothèque on the rue de Rivoli

Statuary

Initially, Visconti's plan was to erect equestrian statues of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

and

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

at the center of the Cour Napoléon's two octagonal gardens, and another one of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe ...

in the Cour Carrée. This was ostensibly intended to emphasize his claim to legitimacy as the inheritor of France's two (royal and imperial) strands of monarchical development. This program, however, was not realized. Nevertheless, sculptural profusion was one of the defining features of Lefuel's approach. Arguably the most salient component is the series of 86 statues of celebrated figures (''hommes illustres'') from French history and culture, selected by Napoleon III himself, each one labelled with their name. These include, following the order of the wings from northwest to southwest: * North Wing, western side: La Fontaine, by Jean-Louis Jaley; Pascal, by

François Lanno François Gaspard Aimé Lanno (1800 in Rennes – 1871 in Beaumont-du-Gâtinais) was a French sculptor. He was a pupil of François-Frédéric Lemot and Pierre Cartellier. In 1827, he won jointly with Jean-Louis Jaley the Prix de Rome for ...

; Mézeray, by Louis-Joseph Daumas;

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

, by Bernard Seurre; Boileau, by Charles Émile Seurre; Fénelon, by Jean-Marie Bonnassieux; La Rochefoucauld, by ; and Corneille, by

Henri Lemaire Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire (9 January 1798, Valenciennes - 2 August 1880, Paris) was a French sculptor, working in a neoclassical academic style. Life and career He was a pupil of Pierre Cartellier, and won the Prix de Rome for sculpture ...

. * North Wing, southern side:

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florent ...

, by ; François Rabelais, by Élias Robert (now a copy); Malherbe, by

Jean-Jules Allasseur Jean-Jules Allasseur (13 June 1818 — 1903) was a French sculptor, a pupil of Pierre-Jean David called David d'Angers at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, who produced portrait sculptures, memorial allegories and decorative architectural sculptu ...

; Abelard, by

Jules Cavelier Pierre-Jules Cavelier (30 August 1814, Paris – 28 January 1894, Paris) was a French academic sculptor. Biography The son of a silversmith and furniture maker, Cavelier was born in Paris. He was a student of the sculptors David d'Angers a ...

; Colbert, by Raymond Gayrard (copy); Mazarin, by

Pierre Hébert Pierre Hébert (Villabé, 1804 – Paris, 1869) was a French sculptor. His son, Pierre-Eugène-Emile Hébert (1828–1893) and his daughter Hélène Bertaux were also sculptors. Selected works * ''Boy playing with a tortoise'' (''Enfant ...

; Buffon, by Eugène André Oudiné; Froissart, by

;

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

, by ;

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

, by

Charles-François Lebœuf Charles-François Lebœuf, called Nanteuil (9 August 1792 – 1 November 1865) was a French sculptor.Lemaistre 1998. Career Born in Paris, he studied with Pierre Cartellier at the École des Beaux-Arts, winning the Grand Prix de Rome in Sculptu ...

;

Mathieu Molé Mathieu Molé (1584 – 3 January 1656) was a French statesman. Biography The son of Edouard Molé (d. 1614), who was for a time ''procureur-général'', he was educated at the University of Orléans. Admitted conseiller in 1606, he was ''pré ...

, by

;

Turgot Turgot may refer to: * Turgot of Durham ( – 1115), Prior of Durham and Bishop of St Andrews * Michel-Étienne Turgot (1690–1751), mayor of Paris * Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781), French economist and statesman * Louis Félix Étienn ...

, by ; Saint Bernard, by François Jouffroy; La Bruyère, by ; Suger, by ;

Jacques Auguste de Thou Jacques Auguste de Thou (Thuanus) (8 October 1553, Paris – 7 May 1617, Paris) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parliament of Paris. Life Jacques Auguste de Thou was the grandson of , president of the Parliament ...

, by Auguste-Louis Deligand; Bourdaloue, by Louis Desprez; Racine, by ;

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

, by ;

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), French bishop and theologian, uncle of Louis * Louis Bossuet (1663–1742), French parliamentarian, nephew of Jacques-Bénigne See als ...

, by Louis Desprez; Condorcet, by ;

Denis Papin Denis Papin FRS (; 22 August 1647 – 26 August 1713) was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker and of the steam engine. Early ...

, by ; Sully, by (copy); Vauban, by Gustave Crauck;

Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS ( Jacques-Léonard Maillet Jacques-Léonard Maillet (12 July 1823 - 14 February 1894) was a French academic sculptor of modest reputation, whose themes were of neoclassical and biblical inspiration; his public commissions were in large part for the programs of decorative ...

; and

Jérôme Lalande Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande (; 11 July 1732 – 4 April 1807) was a French astronomer, freemason and writer. Biography Lalande was born at Bourg-en-Bresse (now in the département of Ain) to Pierre Lefrançois and Marie‐Anne‐ ...

, by Jean-Joseph Perraud. * Eastern side of the ''Cour Napoléon'': Louvois, by

Aimé Millet Aimé Millet (September 28, 1819 – January 14, 1891) was a noted French sculptor, who was born and died in Paris. Millet was the son of miniaturist Frédéric Millet (1796–1859) and uncle to Chicago architectural decorator Julian Louis Mi ...

; Saint-Simon, by

; Joinville, by ; Esprit Fléchier, by

; Commynes, by Eugène-Louis Lequesne;

Jacques Amyot Jacques Amyot (; 30 October 15136 February 1593), French Renaissance bishop, scholar, writer and translator, was born of poor parents, at Melun. Biography Amyot found his way to the University of Paris, where he supported himself by serving some ...

, by ; Mignard, by ;

Massillon Jean-Baptiste Massillon, CO (24 June 1663, Hyères – 28 September 1742, Beauregard-l'Évêque), was a French Catholic prelate and famous preacher who served as Bishop of Clermont from 1717 until his death. Biography Early years Massillon wa ...

, by François Jouffroy; Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau, by Georges Diebolt; Jean Goujon, by Bernard Seurre;

Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque Painting, Baroque era. He spent most ...

, by

Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay (; Nantes 2 April 1804 – 24 March 1865 Paris) was a French painter and sculptor. Life and career Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay was born in Nantes, France on 2 April 1804. His father, '' Joseph Jan Baptiste de Bay'', 1829, was ...

; Grétry, by ; Jean-François Regnard, by Théodore-Charles Gruyère; Jacques Cœur, by Élias Robert; Enguerrand de Marigny, by ; Chénier, by Auguste Préault; , by ; and Antoine Coysevox, by . * South Wing, northern side: Jean Cousin the Younger, by ; Le Nôtre, by Jean-Auguste Barre; Clodion, by ;

Germain Pilon Germain Pilon (c. 1525 – 3 February 1590)Connat & Colombier 1951; Thirion 1996. was a French Renaissance sculptor. Biography He was born in Paris and trained with his father, Andre Pilon. Documents show that he and his father executed severa ...

, by Louis Desprez; Ange-Jacques Gabriel, by ; Le Pautre, by ; Michel de l'Hôpital, by Eugène Guillaume; Lemercier, by Antoine Laurent Dantan; Descartes, by

Gabriel Garraud In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

; Ambroise Paré, by ;

Richelieu Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to: People * Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister * Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal * Louis François Armand ...

, by Jean-Auguste Barre; Montaigne, by ; Houdon, by François Rude (copy);

Étienne Dupérac Étienne Dupérac (or du Pérac) (–March 1604) was a French architect, painter, engraver, and garden designer.Jacques Ange Cordier Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

; Jean de Brosse, by Auguste Ottin; Cassini de Thury, by ; d'Aguesseau, by Louis-Denis Caillouette;

Hardouin-Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand T ...

, by Jean-Joseph Perraud;

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

, by François Rude (copy); Gérard Audran, by

Jacques-Léonard Maillet Jacques-Léonard Maillet (12 July 1823 - 14 February 1894) was a French academic sculptor of modest reputation, whose themes were of neoclassical and biblical inspiration; his public commissions were in large part for the programs of decorative ...

; Jacques Sarazin, by

Honoré-Jean-Aristide Husson Honoré Jean Aristide Husson (born in Paris on 1 July 1803, died in Meudon on 30 July 1864) was a French academic sculptor of the 19th century. Biography He was the pupil of David d'Angers. In 1827, he won the 2nd Prix de Rome in 1827 and in 1830 ...

; Nicolas Coustou, by ; Le Sueur, by

; Claude Perrault, by

; Philippe de Champaigne, by ; and Puget, by Antoine Étex. * South Wing, western side: Lescot, by Henri de Triqueti; Bullant, by ; Le Brun, by Jean-Claude Petit; Pierre Chambiges, by ; Libéral Bruand, by Armand Toussaint; Philibert de l'Orme, by

Jean-Pierre Dantan Jean-Pierre Dantan (28 December 1800, in Paris – 6 September 1869, in Baden-Baden), known as Dantan the Younger, was a French portrait sculptor. His subjects include many famous figures from the realms of politics (for example, Talleyrand ...

;

Palissy Palissy was the trade name under which the English firm of A.E. Jones and Sons, of Stoke-on-Trent, marketed their china and pottery. The name was chosen as a tribute to Bernard Palissy, the famous French potter of the 16th century, creator of ...

, by

Victor Huguenin Jean Pierre Victor Huguenin (21 February 1802 – 8 January 1860) was a French sculptor. Career Jean Pierre Victor Huguenin was born in Dole, Jura, on 21 February 1802. His father was a musician. Victor Huguenin studied under Jules Ramey at the ...

; and Rigaud, by . File:La Fontaine cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Pascal cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Mezeray cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Moliere cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Boileau cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Fenelon cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Gregory of Tours cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Rabelais cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Malherbe cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Abelard cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Colbert cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Mazarin cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Buffon cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Froissart cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Rousseau cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Mathieu Mole cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Turgot cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Saint Bernard cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:La Bruyère cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Suger cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Jacques-Auguste de Thou cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Bourdaloue cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Racine cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Condorcet cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Denis Papin cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Sully cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Vauban cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Lavoisier cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Lalande cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Louvois cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Saint-Simon cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Joinville cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Flechier cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Commynes cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Amyot cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Mignard cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg File:Ducerceau cour Napoleon Louvre.jpg Among the abundant

architectural sculpture Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that ...

of the Nouveau Louvre, the pediments of the three main pavilions stand out: * Pavillon Richelieu: "France distributing crowns to its worthiest children", by

Francisque Joseph Duret Francisque Joseph Duret (; 19 October 1804 – 26 May 1865) was a French sculptor, son and pupil of François-Joseph Duret (1732–1816). Life and career Before becoming a sculptor, Francisque Duret had shown interest in pursuing a career in the ...

(in which the figure of France has been viewed as a likeness of Empress Eugénie); * Pavillon Sully: "Napoleon I above History and Arts", by Antoine-Louis Barye and Pierre-Charles Simart; * Pavillon Denon: "Napoleon III surrounded by Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and the Fine Arts", by Simart. The latter group includes the depiction of a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

, then representing cutting-edge technological progress, and the only surviving public portrayal of Napoleon III in Paris. File:Paris - Palais du Louvre - PA00085992 - 431.jpg, Pediment, Pavillon Richelieu File:Napoleon 1er dominant l’Histoire et les Arts.jpg, Pediment, Pavillon Sully File:MuséeLouvreDetFrt-042.jpg, Pediment, Pavillon Denon The South Wing's was another opportunity for Lefuel to foster a rich structural program, which was executed in 1861 after the Nouveau Louvre's inauguration. Outside in the Cour Lefuel, four bronze groups of wild animals by Pierre Louis Rouillard stand at the start of the two horse ramps : , , , and . At the top of the ramps above the entrance to the manège, a monumental group, also by Rouillard, features three surging horses that echo Robert Le Lorrain's at the . Inside, the idiosyncratic hunting-themed capitals feature heads of horses and other animals, by Emmanuel Frémiet,

Rouillard Rouillard can refer to: *Carole Rouillard (born 1960), Canadian long-distance runner *Pierre Louis Rouillard Pierre Louis Rouillard (Paris, 16 January 1820 – Paris, 2 June 1881) was a French sculptor known for his sculptures of animals. He was ...

, Alfred Jacquemart, , and Houguenade. File:Entrance to Riding Hall, Louvre 2014.jpg, Rouillard's ''wild animals'' in the Cour Lefuel File:Palais du Louvre - Cour Lefuel -04.JPG, Rouillard's "dog fighting a wolf" File:Palais du Louvre - Cour Lefuel -09.JPG, Rouillard's "wolf and puppy" File:Palais du Louvre - Cour Lefuel -01.jpg, Rouillard's three horses above the Manège's entrance File:Palais du Louvre - Salle du Manège -2.JPG, One of the capitals of the Salle du Manège

Later history

Louvre 1929 - Histoire de Marie de Medicis

In 1861, the Pavillon de Flore was in serious disrepair. Following the successful completion of the Louvre expansion, Napoleon III endorsed Lefuel's plan to entirely demolish and rebuild both the Pavillon and the wing that connects it to the Nouveau Louvre's South Wing. The project involved the creation of a new ceremonial , closer to the Tuileries than Lefuel's previous Salle des États, in a protruding wing now referred to as the , with covered space for 16 carriages and 32 horse teams known as the . As this structure took the full width of the building, the Grande Galerie was correspondingly cut short by about a third. The Southern façade was completely changed, as Lefuel disliked Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau's

colossal order In classical architecture, a giant order, also known as colossal order, is an order whose columns or pilasters span two (or more) storeys. At the same time, smaller orders may feature in arcades or window and door framings within the storeys t ...

and replacing it with a replica of the earlier design attributed to Louis Métezeau further east. Between the Pavillon de Flore and the Pavillon des Sessions, Lefuel created a monumental passageway (then called the , now Porte des Lions) between 1864 and 1869, adorned with two pairs of monumental lions by Antoine-Louis Barye to the south and lionesses by Auguste Cain to the north, with two additional lionesses by Cain in front of the nearby . At the eastern end of the new project, Lefuel created three monumental archways for the thoroughfare connecting the Pont du Carrousel to the south with the to the north, known as the or . The project was completed in 1869 as an equestrian statue of Napoleon III by Antoine-Louis Barye was placed above the arches of the Grands Guichets. That setting, however, did not last long, as the Second Empire came to its abrupt end. On 6 September 1870, days after the emperor's capture at the

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies ...

, Barye's equestrian statue was topped and destroyed. At the end of the

on 23 May 1871, the

was burned down, as was the Bibliothèque du Louvre. Lefuel, together with

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...

, defended the option of repairing the ruins, but shortly after both died the French parliament decided to tear them down in 1882, largely for political motives associated with the termination of the monarchy. After the remains of the Tuileries were razed in 1883, the layout that had been created by Napoleon III and Lefuel was fundamentally altered. In the context of the Grand Louvre project initiated by President

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, ...

in the 1980s, the French Finance Ministry was compelled to leave the Louvre's North Wing, in which it had been headquartered since 1871. While most of the interior spaces were gutted and rebuilt, the more artistically and historically significant ones were preserved and renovated. These included three monumental staircases, the , and ; the former ministerial office, rebranded as ''Café Richelieu''; and the palatial suite of rooms created by Lefuel and his team for the Minister of State, rebranded as ''appartements Napoléon III''. The ''Café Marly'', located outside of the

Louvre museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in the same wing and opened in 1994, has been designed by in a reinterpretation of the Second Empire style. Meanwhile, the Cour Napoléon was radically transformed with the erection of the

Influence

The ''nouveau Louvre'' was highly influential and became the exemplar of the Napoleon III style, also known as Second Empire architecture, subsequently adopted in numerous buildings in France as well as elsewhere in Europe and in the world. Prominent examples include the Crédit Lyonnais headquarters in Paris, and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, the Old City Hall in Boston (built 1862-1865), the

State, War, and Navy Building The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB)—formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), and originally as the State, War, and Navy Building—is a U.S. government building situated just west of the White House in the U.S. ca ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(built 1871-1888), and the

Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. ...

(built 1871-1901).

Notes

{{Louvre Louvre Palace Second Empire architecture

Project development

Description

Statuary

Later history

Influence

See also

Notes