Before the Louvre housed one of the most significant art collections in the world, it was home to the kings and queens of France. Francois I began the palace we see today. His son Henri II continued his vision. Henri IV would mark the start of the Grande Louvre project that would be carried out for the next three hundred years. For most, the Chateau de Versailles comes to mind when thinking about the endless gilded halls, but one came first and even inspired Versailles: the Palais du Louvre. The Louvre had been abandoned for 9 years and desperately needed restoration.
So, as one does, a new suite of rooms specifically for the summer months was created just a few steps away below the Petite Galerie. With a window and balcony looking out to the Seine, a room that opens onto the garden on one side, and a courtyard on the other, it was perfect for the long, hot summer days.
Impressed by his work, which can still be seen in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Mazarin recommended Romanelli to the king. Sculptor Michel Anguer and his brother Francois studied in Rome and created funerary monuments for the titled and elite. The two artists worked together to seamlessly blend the stories of each room and express the vision and qualities of the queen mother.
The decor of this ceiling came seventy years after Anne's death, but the theme still follows that of her apartments. The center of the ceiling is crowned by the painting of Man Formed by Prometheus and Animated by Minerva , first completed by Jean-Simon Barthelemy in The Goddess of wisdom, Minerva, holds an olive branch, spear, and shield above Prometheus, draped in red fabric, holding the fire he had taken from Jupiter.
Below him is the first human reaching up towards the sky. To the right is Time, always depicted as an old man pulling away from Man, the snake that bites its own tale, the symbol of eternity, knowing that Man would be the end of them in time. This being the entrance to the museum, above Time are allegories of the three arts: painting, sculpture, and architecture, each holding their respected tool.
