Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre

Take a dazzling virtual tour through the Louvre’s remarkable collection of European paintings from the late medieval period through the early 19th century.

Course Description

Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre offers a unique journey into the world’s most famous museum, showcasing masterpieces from the late Middle Ages through the dawn of the 19th century. Each lecture highlights the Louvre’s extraordinary collection, from the genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael to the brilliance of Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Watteau, Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, and Delacroix. Along the way, you’ll explore the development of major styles—Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism—and discover how the Louvre became a cornerstone of cultural preservation and artistic inspiration.

---

Lecture List

01: Palace to Museum—The Story of the Louvre
History of the Louvre, its transformation from royal palace to museum, and strategies for exploring its collection.
Duration: 34 min

02: Leonardo and the Origins of the Collection
Leonardo’s Mona Lisa anchors this lecture, alongside works by Raphael and early French painters.
Duration: 31 min

03: Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting
Masterpieces by Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and others.
Duration: 33 min

04: Spanish School of Painting
From El Greco to Goya, with Ribera’s Clubfooted Boy as a featured highlight.
Duration: 30 min

05: Rubens and Flemish Painting; Early German
Survey Rubens’s monumental works and Flemish/German masterpieces by artists like Quentin Metsys.
Duration: 32 min

06: Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Dutch Painting
Explore Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Vermeer, and the Dutch “Little Masters.”
Duration: 31 min

07: De La Tour, Le Nain, and 17th-Century Painting
French Baroque painters who defined a uniquely French artistic voice.
Duration: 31 min

08: Claude and Poussin—French Painters in Rome
Contrast Poussin’s intellectual approach with Claude Lorrain’s luminous landscapes.
Duration: 32 min

09: Watteau and Chardin
Two contrasting geniuses: Watteau’s elegance and melancholy versus Chardin’s clarity and realism.
Duration: 31 min

10: Boucher, Fragonard, and the Rococo in France
The Rococo movement’s sensuality and charm, contrasted with Greuze’s moralism.
Duration: 32 min

11: Jacques-Louis David and His School
From revolutionary ideals to Neoclassicism, David’s works reflect a society in transformation.
Duration: 32 min

12: Delacroix and Ingres—The Great Dialectic
A final exploration contrasting Delacroix’s Romanticism with Ingres’s Classical precision.
Duration: 34 min