Projet d'aménagement de la Grande Galerie du Louvre 1796

Editor: Here we have Hubert Robert’s “Projet d'aménagement de la Grande Galerie du Louvre” from 1796, an oil painting showing... well, the Grand Gallery of the Louvre! It’s just crammed with paintings and people. It makes me think of a bustling marketplace of art. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: A marketplace of art, exactly! But it’s a dream, an aspiration really. Robert painted this during a time of upheaval. It is before the Louvre became the museum we know and love, at a moment when it was being imagined, debated, even. To me, it speaks to the power of art to transcend political turmoil and to offer a vision of collective memory and cultural progress. Look at how light floods in—almost divine, right? It illuminates art, history, and people all mingling. Editor: It definitely feels optimistic. Was it ever realised this way? Curator: Partially, yes! The Louvre did open as a museum during the French Revolution, albeit perhaps not with quite so many masterpieces cheek-by-jowl! Robert had a deeply personal connection; he was appointed Keeper of the Paintings! He even lived in the Louvre, only to be imprisoned during the Revolution, accused of being a royalist. And… he spent his time painting! Editor: Wow. That’s intense. So the Louvre – this picture – is about dreaming big but also the turbulent reality of history. Curator: Precisely! Art imitating life and influencing it too, you could say. Robert reminds us that museums aren't neutral spaces; they are shaped by political and personal narratives. Editor: I'll never look at the Louvre in quite the same way again!