Dive into the world of art and explore the Louvre Museum Collection

Egyptian Collection

In 1827, the Louvre opened the first Egyptian Museum, which consisted of four rooms. The museum was built and directed by Jean-François Champollion, the French academic who decoded Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822, to spread knowledge of this enigmatic culture that had long interested Europeans. Egyptology became a science, and the museum's collection grew significantly. 

Find them here: The Department of Egyptian Antiquities now spans 2 floors of the Louvre.

Near Eastern Antiques

he origins of writing can be traced to the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities. The first written words of humanity are preserved there. Visitors can observe the first legal documents and human depictions from the Neolithic age when men began to practice farming and agriculture. The Department of Near Eastern Antiquities is separated into three collections, each covering a geographical area ranging from the eastern Mediterranean to India, via the Arabian peninsula and the Black Sea.

Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities

This department contains works from ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria (the civilization that predated Rome in central Italy). Notable objects include The Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, The Laocoön Group, and Roman portrait sculptures. 

Islamic Artst

The Department of Islamic Arts was established in 2003. However, works associated with this genre had long been in France's possession. The phrase 'Islamic Art' encompasses all of the Islamic world's art forms. The Louvre represents these in a collection of objects dating from the advent of Islam in the seventh century until the late nineteenth century. From Spain to India, North Africa, and Egypt, the collection spans three continents.

Royal Furniture

Before being transformed into a museum, the Louvre was a palace, a fact that’s on full display when you explore both Napoleon III and Anne of Austria’s apartments. The Minister of Official for Napoleon III lived in small private rooms that led to the vast state residences, where the mood was radically different. The drawing and dining rooms feature a swirl of gold, velvet, paintings, and stucco ornamentation, providing a lavish setting for any type of royal gathering.

Arts from around the World

The Pavillon des Sessions, which opened in 2000, houses artworks from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. As a result, the world's most famous museum expanded its scope to encompass cultures from every continent. African sculptures, an Easter Island statue head, Arctic masks, a ceremonial house post from the Solomon Islands, and much more can be seen in the Pavillon des Sessions' big bright halls.
Jean-Michel Wilmotte's modest, unobtrusive exhibition space is the ideal showcase for the range of this exhibition.

Other collections

Aside from these main collections, visit the Rotonde Sully, a few steps from the Pyramid, which houses the Louvre's collection of prints and drawings. Here you can discover sketching and printmaking skills while admiring the art of some of Europe's greatest painters. The graphic arts collection of the Louvre is one of the world's largest, with almost 250,000 pieces ranging from the 11th to the 19th centuries, including drawings, pastels, prints, and miniatures. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Charles Le Brun, Delacroix, Géricault and Ingres, Hans Holbein, and Rembrandt are among the many legendary artists featured here.

In addition to these categories, the Louvre also has a large collection of textiles, jewellery, finery, prints, and documents.