LOUVRE, PALACE OF THE, the extensive buildings in Paris inclosing a quadrangular square at the e. end of the court of the palace of the Tuileries, and now connected with the latter. They are on the n. bank of the Seine, in the center of the city. The s. facade is on the quay of the Seine called quai du Louvre, the n. on the rue Rivoli, the a. on the rue du Louvre facing the old church of St. Germain les Auxerrols. and the w. facing the magnificent, recently built facades of the palace of the Tuileries. The site is supposed to have been originally' a limiting rendezvous and king's castle. History does not reach back of the time when it was used as a royal habitation. A "new tower ' was erected in the center of the court in 1204, and used as an arsenal and prison. Francis I. took it down in 1527 because it was unsightly and darkened the courtyard; Charles V. had previously made some additions, among them a library room with 959 vols., the germ of the present bibliotheque nationale, with its 3,300,000 volumes. When Francis I. entertained Charles V. in 1539, he endeavored to disguise the bad condition of the old palace inside and out by temporary walls, repairs, and furniture; but was so dissatisfied with the result that he decided on its entire reconstruction on a new plan. The old Gothic edifices in the midst of fortified towers and prison walls were razed, and the present design of the quadrangular inclosure was adopted. The old conrt inclosed about 400 ft. square, and the inclosing palaces have 4 outer facades, 538 ft. and 576 ft. long, respectively. The w. side was built after designs by Pierre Lescot, mostly in the reign of Francis I. Henry II. commenced and Henry IV. finished the long gallery w. of the s.w. corner of the original quadrangle, with its main facade on the Seine. This is not properly a part of the Louvre, but a connecting- link between the old and distinct palatial groups of the Louvre and the Tuileries. Being first connected with the Louvre, it has taken its name. It was completed in 1608, and is still one of the most ornate buildings in France. The sculptures of Jean Gougon in the friezes of the facade upon the Seine are the most exquisite examples of architectural sculpture in existence. Louis XIII. about 1624 had the w. side of the quadrangle completed. Under Louis XIV. the s. side was first completed; and then, by order of Colbert, architects were requested to send in designs for the e. side. The most beautiful design proved to be that of a phy sician, an amateur architect, Claude Perrault. Fortunately, its beauty secured its adop tion, and that facade is now one of the classic models of the world. The e. facade was begun in 1665 and finished in 1670, and is known as the colonnade of the Louvre. It is 555 ft. long and 90 ft. high. But the edifice, of which it was only the facade, was not finished at that time. Louis XIV. concentrated all his extravagance on Versailles, and for many years this most noble portion of the Louvre was roofless, and going to destruc tion. Its basement story was used for stables, and its upper portions were temporarily covered to make rooms for artists and employees of the court. " It was a grand free
hotel, where each one made his bed in his own fashion, and looked out for himself." In 1754 the e. colonnade and the facade now fronting the rue 1?iroli were encumbered with temporary constructions that almost shut them from view. Louis XV. was induced to order their demolition, and to finish the designs that Perrault had conceived. But it was not done when the revolution of 1789 opened. The entire place on the e. and n. was still almost hidden behind the crowd of houses built against and in the midst of the unfinished palace buildings. Hills of rubbish encumbered the court. This remained the condition of this noble building until the last years of the first republic, when the work of clearing away the parasites was begun. -When Napoleon's victories in Italy gave him the spoils of its works of art in the beginning of the present century, he ordered the restoration and completion of the buildings, and made them the reposi tories of the art works of France. The facade facing the court to the w. was remodeled and finished in his reign. He also conteinplated the work, subsequently done by Napo leon III., of connecting the Tuileries with the Louvre by a continuous line of palaces on the n. and s. sides. Fortunately, he executed but a small part of the project, and that after designs so inferior to other parts that they still stand between exquisite exam ples of architectural art on each side, which preceded and succeeded them, as inarplots in the midst of that aggregation of beautiful palaces. The government of Louis XVIII. and Charles X. continued the work of finishing the interior of the Louvre. In the reign of Louis Philippe the plan of connecting the Louvre with the Tuileries was agitated. Dr. Thiers demanded 100,000,000 francs for this and a mass of other work which he desired to have undertaken. Fourteen millions was the sum named for the completion of the Louvre and the Tuileries. It was refused. Louis Philippe gave the project little sup port. When lie a-as deposed in 1848, the provisional or republican government at once began the great work. Thiers and gen. Cavaignac secured the passage of a law which authorized the work subsequently pushed to completion by Napoleon III. The plan, by Visconti, was the same which, with slight modifications, has been made to redound almost exclusively to the credit of the emperor; though fully conceived and entered on before he was in the government. Yet it must be conceded that it is doubtful if such magnificent additions could have gone forward to completion under agovernment more popular and liable to more frequent changes in legislation. In connection with the grand avenues which he projected and completed, this work of connecting the Tuileries and the Louvre is the most splendid moninnent of expenditure in ornamental construction of modern times. The cost has probably been not less than $15,000,000. It was fairly underway in 1854, and completed in 1859. The palaces of the Louvre and the Tui leries combined, with their inclosed courts, cover about 60 acres.