Adventures in the Louvre
How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum
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The Louvre is the most famous museum in the world, attracting millions of visitors every year with its masterpieces. In Adventures in the Louvre, Elaine Sciolino immerses herself in this magical space and helps us fall in love with what was once a forbidding fortress. Exploring galleries, basements, rooftops, and gardens, Sciolino demystifies the Louvre, introducing us to her favorite artworks, both legendary and overlooked, and to the people who are the museum's lifeblood: the curators, the artisans producing frames and engravings, the builders overseeing restorations, the firefighters protecting the aging structure. Blending investigative journalism, travelogue, history, and memoir, Sciolino walks her readers through the museum's front gates and immerses them in its irresistible, engrossing world of beauty and culture. Adventures in the Louvre reveals the secrets of this grand monument of Paris and basks in its timeless, seductive power.
About this Author
Elaine Sciolino, contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times, is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Only Street in Paris, as well as The Seine and La Seduction. She lives in Paris.
Reviews
"Delightful."
"Elaine brings her journalist's perspective for making sense of [the Louvre] in her latest book...helping us find new ways to enjoy the massive Louvre...She writes about its allure, romance, and even its secrets."
"Visiting the Louvre is something everyone should do. But to do it well is another matter. Here, [Sciolino] shares a wealth of knowledge about the people and things that make the museum worth its sterling reputation, and also passes along her own hard-earned advice on what any visitor--whether it's the first time or their 50th--can do to make their time there truly unforgettable."
"An institution and collection that has been a quiet witness to so much history and change is bound to have stories to tell. Elaine Sciolino...has captured many of these stories in her newest book...At the Louvre, she spoke to everyone, from the guards to the lead curators, and received unprecedented access to rooms I didn't even know existed."
"Deftly weaving history and memoir, former New York Times Paris bureau chief Sciolino offers a spirited journey through France's most storied museum, the Louvre...An intimate visit with a generous, genial guide."
"Sciolino (The Only Street in Paris) takes readers on an affectionate and expressive tour...A charmingly effusive love letter sure to delight art history buffs."
"Sciolino is the Louvre whisperer. With wit, charm and a scholar's bent, she walks us through the galleries, shining her light on beloved masterpieces as well as on treasures tucked deep into gallery corners, the ones that are easy to miss but that can be revelations even to those who know the museum well. Habitués will make discoveries in these pages and first-timers will count themselves lucky to have this book as a companion. And if food is your passion--it's mine!--you'll revel in Sciolino's tour of the Louvre as a sumptuous feast."
"In its manifold splendors, the Louvre gave Henry James something of a panic attack. He did not have Elaine Sciolino, but we do: She has written a rich, rewarding introduction to the greatest collection of art in the world, from its trio of celebrated grandes dames to its hidden treasures, from its rooftop and tunnels to its dedicated fire brigade and three rooms of empty frames. A spirited, sumptuous book that makes the Louvre feel welcoming--even if you arrive on a Tuesday, when it's closed."
"Elaine Sciolino writes with the curiosity of a journalist, the humanity of a storyteller, and the joyful disrespect of an American. She is amused and ironic, but always impartial as she describes the glories, oddities and flaws of the Louvre. Alongside the masterpieces, she discovers the curators, guards, technicians, and firefighters who maintain them. With this enchanting book, we will find our way in a grand museum whose meanderings reflect the strange and glorious history of France."
"I have read many books about museums, but Elaine Sciolino's stands out. This is essential reading for anyone visiting the Louvre--for those who already know it inside out and for those who have never been. You will get to know one of the most important museums in the world in ways that are illuminating, thought-provoking, surprising, amusing. A marvel of observation and insight."
"People are always asking the best way to "do" the Louvre, and I've finally found it: with Elaine Sciolino's Adventures in the Louvre by your side. An indispensable, enchanting companion reminding us that the art world's most intimidating institution is also a lot of fun."
"Adventures in the Louvre...details how [Sciolino] cracked the museum's polished, secretive surface to find something far deeply human and intimate beneath. In her relatable, passionate, and colorful telling, she describes the history of the palace-turned-museum--which is also the story of France."
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