Second Empire style – Napoleon’s initial letter ‘N’ appears
in many a pediment and roundel.

Pei’s pyramid dates from the 1980s and opened in time for the bicentennial of the French Revolution. First conceived in the early 1980s as a way of rationalising this

vast museum, Pei’s brilliantly simple design acts as a focal point for the whole complex, while its transparency does nothing to distract from the surrounding buildings. Sitting atop the Carrousel du Louvre, this visitor’s complex contains galleries, cloakrooms, shops, lavatories and parking facilities all dug out of the previously underutilised courtyard. The museum’s treasures date back to François I’s collection – he had purchased a number of important Italian paintings, including the famous Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). By the reign of Louis XIV there were still only about 200 or so works of art but donations and purchases have increased the collection steadily ever since. The museum was

Pyramide, Musée du Louvre

Tuileries

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