A selection of artwork from Paris’ world-renowned Louvre Museum are on display in Hong Kong, offering art-lovers a rare opportunity to view some of the institution’s cultural treasures on their doorstep.

 

RMN - Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Thierry Ollivier

 

The “Inventing le Louvre: From Palace to Museum Over 800 Years” exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum features some 130 works, including paintings, sculptures, ceramics and tapestries from various periods spanning centuries.

The exhibition is being held to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong’s Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government.

 

RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

 

It explores the history of the Louvre from modern times, marked by renovations and profound changes (architectural, functional and museographical), to the origins of the very idea of the museum, born from the royal collections of Francois I and Louis XIV. Along the way, the exhibition explores the contributions of Napoleon I and the visionary ideas of the “Republics” and intellectual movements that followed. Throughout the 20th century, the Louvre Museum continued to expand, increasing the number of outstanding collections. This led to the museum’s frequent introduction of new financial and administrative means to keep its vitality and charm as one of the most important museums in the world.

 

Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Ollivier

 

The exhibition illustrates the diversity and richness of the museum’s collections. The artworks in the collection are also from different periods, such as a statue of French writer Jean de La Fontaine and a fragment of a horse head dating from before 500 B.C.