Eight million people visit the Louvre every year, and most of them sprint past the Egyptian wing on their way to Mona Lisa. They miss the best stories in the […]
The Truth About the Hands of Venus de Milo
She has been armless since the day she arrived in Paris, yet the debate about her missing limbs never ends. A French naval officer found the statue in 1820 on […]
Why the Louvre Pyramid Is Still Controversial
When François Mitterrand unveiled I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid in 1989, Paris reacted as if someone had parked a spaceship in the courtyard of its oldest palace. Thirty-six years later, […]
Nica of Samothrace: Drama on the Stairs 2,000 Years Later
She lands forever and never quite touches the ground. The Winged Victory of Samothrace has stood at the top of the Daru staircase since 1884, wings spread, cloak pressed against […]
The Mona Lisa’s Biggest Mysteries Finally Revealed
The smile lasts four centuries and still refuses to explain itself. Leonardo da Vinci finished the portrait around 1517, yet every year millions stand in front of the small poplar […]