The Louvre Museum

Learn more

• Learn more about ancient cultures, architecture, art, art history, fine art, and France.

Legal

Established in 1793 by the French Republic, the Louvre Museum is one of the earliest European art museums. Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating from the birth of the great civilizations right up to the first half of the 19th century. The collections include sculpture, Greek, Etruscan, Egyptian and Roman antiquities, paintings, prints, and drawings.

Begin your online visit to the Louvre online by taking a virtual tour of both the exterior and interior of the museum and get a glimpse of the Sphinx courtyard as well as the Coptic Egypt gallery. This section presents 70 360-degree images which allow virtual visitors to discover about fifty rooms of the museum. You can also consult the history of the Louvre section to learn about the long history of this museum.

Next, take a look at a selection of the works of art from each of the seven departments of the museum including Oriental antiquities, Egyptian antiquities, sculptures, painting, objets d’art, and more. Clicking on an image will bring up additional contextual and historical information about the piece.

A Closer Look is a fascinating exploration of selected works of art. In particular, take a closer look at the Mona Lisa. An in depth look at the painting tells about its history, how it was made, who the sitter for the portrait may have been, and the work’s importance in Leonardo da Vinci’s career. Use the magnifying glass to zoom in on specific areas of the portrait to see exceptional detail. The exploration is meticulously explained by two narrators.

Check out the Kaleidoscope section. Visitors can select a visual theme and continually changing images of artifacts and works of art are displayed. Mouse over an image for a description of the piece, its creator and the approximate date it was created. By clicking on the image, a more detailed description is given.