![]() Pei went to Mitterrand and accepted the commission. The new entrance would be in the middle of the courtyard, marked with a translucent sculptural gesture to both define the visitor’s arrival and to light the underground addition, all while respecting the historic buildings. Brand new infrastructure underground could create a functional and welcoming reception area, as well as a system of public spaces and circulation for visitors to access the collections. Pei saw a solution: He could place a new entrance in the gravel-filled Cour Napoléon, an exterior courtyard enclosed by the museum’s existing buildings. He also studied the historic landscape architecture of famed French designer André Le Nôtre. ![]() Pei made several clandestine trips to Paris to study the Louvre, walking its galleries and grounds. Never mind that the French Minister of Finance had claimed the Richelieu Wing for its offices, shuttering it from the public and refusing to leave even when the museum grew desperate for the space. Galleries accounted for the bulk of the interior, leaving curators no behind-the-scene space to manage, store, and care for the artworks. Here was one of the finest collections of art in the world, yet the historic buildings that housed it were in disrepair, the galleries were disjointed, and more than one visitor got lost down the labyrinthine corridors in search of one of only two public restrooms. The challenges of what Mitterrand called his Grand Louvre project were myriad. Pei wanted time to consider the project’s scope before agreeing to take it on. For four months, Pei did not tell his team in New York that François Mitterrand, the French president, had personally asked him to overhaul one of the world’s most celebrated art museums. Pei, FAIA, received one of the most illustrious commissions of his career-the modernization of the Louvre-he kept the project a secret from his firm. ![]() Irene Ledyaeva Pyramid at the Grand Louvre in Paris, designed by I.M. ![]()
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