塞纳河畔的卢浮宫，法国国家艺术博物馆、17世纪以前法国王室的居住地，就像我国清代的圆明园，几乎每代王室都会拨款扩建——君主政治让她的私藏如虎添翼——拿破仑横扫欧洲，将许多国宝收入囊中——拿破仑帝国崩溃之后，再度物归原主——不断增多的馈赠品、购买和考古学的新发现又丰富了她的藏品……

Louvre, national art museum of France and the palace in which it is housed, is located in Paris, on the Right Bank of the Seine River. The structure, until 1682 a residence of the kings of France, is one of the largest palaces in the world.

It occupies the site of a 13th-century fortress. The building of the Louvre was begun in 1546 in the reign of Francis I, according to the plans of the French architect Pierre Lescot. Additions were made to the structure during the reigns of almost every subsequent French monarch.

The nucleus of the Louvre collections is the group of Italian Renaissance paintings among them several by Leonardo da Vinci owned by Francis I, a collector and patron of note. The holdings were significantly enriched by acquisitions made for the monarchy by Cardinal Richelieu and by Cardinal Mazarin, who was instrumental in purchasing works that had belonged to Charles I of England.

Napoleon deposited in the Louvre the paintings and works of art seized during his European conquests; after his downfall, however, many of these works were restored to their original owners. Since that time increasing numbers of gifts, purchases, and finds brought back from archaeological expeditions have permanently enriched the museum.

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