Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre

Taking viewers on a personal tour of the Louvre museum in Paris, Professor Richard Brettell (one of the world's foremost authorities on Impressionism and French painting from 1830-1930) hosts this 12-lecture series focusing on the most famous area of the Louvre—the Department of Paintings—covering European paintings from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century. Brettell opens with the history of the Louvre itself, originally built as King Philippe Auguste's Chateau Forte (fortified palace) in the 1100s, and later expanded by Catherine de Medici, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. After the French Revolution, the Louvre became the General Museum of Art—the first public art museum, in which the citizenry had access to cultural treasures previously held by the church and the monarchy. Following the introduction, Brettell launches into an overview of the artworks themselves, beginning with the High Renaissance, moving through the Baroque period, the Spanish and Flemish schools, 17th-century artists, and the Rococo style, before concluding with a look at the work of Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, and Delacroix. Brettell brings a lot of interesting detail to this survey (including tidbits about the pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei), and shares a number of touring tips as well. A must-see for those planning a museum visit, or for interested art aficionados and armchair travelers, Museum Masterpieces—which also has a separately available course guidebook and transcript—is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (L. Stevens)