History - OnThisDay - 10 August 1793 - Opening of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France

Louvre Museum Paris, France

On 10 August 1793, the Louvre museum in Paris, France went open for public
for the first time.

The public was given free access on three days per week, which
was perceived as a major accomplishment and was generally appreciated.

Why 10 August?

On 10 August 1792, King Louis XVI of France was imprisoned and the
royal collection in the Louvre became national property.

Because of the fear of vandalism or theft on 19 August 1792 the
National Assembly pronounced the museum's preparation as urgent.

In October, a committee to "preserve the national memory" began
assembling the collection for display.

The opening

On 10 August 1793, on the first anniversary of the monarchy's demise
the Louvre museum opened. The collection showed 537 paintings and
184 objects of art. To expand and organize the collection the Republic
dedicated 100,000 livres a year.

poster in front of the Louvre, Paris, France

Building a collection

In 1794, revolutionary armies from France began bringing pieces from
Northern Europe to establish the Louvre as a museum and as a sign of
popular sovereignty.

However the early days were very hectic. Privileged artists continued to
live in residence and the unlabelled paintings hung frame to frame from
floor to ceiling.

Louvre Museum in Paris France

Pictures

The pictures in this post were taken on a grey day in 2017. The Louvre Museum in
Paris, France is still one of the most amazing museums of the world. I visited
it already a few times and it never gets boring.