The Grande Galerie (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃d ɡalʁi]), in the past also known as the Galerie du Bord de l'Eau (Waterside Gallery), is a wing of the Louvre Palace, perhaps more properly referred to as the Aile de la Grande Galerie (Grand Gallery Wing),[1] since it houses the longest and largest room of the museum, also referred to as the Grande Galerie, one of the museum's most iconic spaces.
This unusually long wing was constructed beginning in 1595 on the initiative of King Henry IV[2] and was completed in late 1607.[3]: 69 It contained an elevated enclosed passageway linking the old Louvre Palace with the Tuileries Palace. The passageway was used for various purposes until the creation of the Louvre Museum in 1793, when it became the exhibition gallery it remains to this day.[4] Originally 460 meters long, the room was reduced to its current length of 288 meters following the remodeling of its western section in the 1860s in the wake of Napoleon III's Louvre expansion.[5]
- ^ Andrew Ayers (2004), "Palais du Louvre. The Grand Dessein: the Louvre of Henri IV"", p. 35, in The Architecture of Paris: An Architectural Guide. Stuttgart/London: Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 9783930698967.
- ^ Christiane Aulanier (1950). Le Salon Carré (PDF). Editions des Musées Nationaux.
- ^ Jacques Hillairet. Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris. Vol. II. Paris: Editions de Minuit.
- ^ Geneviève Bresc-Bautier (2008). The Louvre, a Tale of a Palace. Paris: Louvre éditions.
- ^ Eric Biétry-Rivierre (19 January 2015). "Le Louvre repense sa Grande Galerie". Le Figaro.