30 years of the Louvre Pyramid

Inaugurated on 29 March 1989 by the President of the Republic, François Mitterrand, the Pyramid of the Louvre has been a landmark in the history of French museums. Designed by architect Ieoh Ming Pei, it is the symbol of a museum open to the world. Discover a selection of articles resulting from a collaboration between the Louvre and its partners: the Saint-Gobain group, the contemporary artist JR, the streetwear brand Homecore, the porcelain manufacturer Bernardaud or the Palais des thé house.

JR at the Louvre

Around JR's intervention at the Louvre, the artist and the museum created an ephemeral and exclusive collection to pay tribute to this iconic monument.


Homecore

JR and Alexandre Guarneri, creator of the committed brand Homecore, are long-time partners who share the passion of others, discoveries and beautiful things.

To celebrate the pioneering and disruptive spirit of the Pyramid, they teamed up with the Louvre to offer a T-shirt, sweatshirt and jacket.


The Skateroom

An example of a committed creation combining art and social impact, The Skateroom publishes original skateboards. With the Louvre and JR, he signed a triptych to hang on the wall to celebrate the monument's 30th anniversary.

Louvre and Palais des Thés

Wishing to create a tea in its own image, the Louvre has chosen to work with Palais des Thés. A link between the Palais du Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries, the Pyramid revolves around it a diversity of perspectives and landscapes that play on its transparency and reflections. A sensory richness whose evocation is collected in two creations specially created by Palais des Thés for the Louvre Museum.

The construction of the Pyramid

A bit of history

From Philippe Auguste's fortress to the museum opened to all in 1793, from Henri IV's Grand Gallery to the reception of works from Egypt or Mesopotamia during the 19th century, the Louvre's history is a march towards the universal that has been embodied through spectacular architectural changes. The Grand Louvre project is one of these emblematic achievements. In the early 1980s, it extended the exhibition spaces, revolutionized museography and visitor reception, notably by bringing into a museum for the first time a range of services (cafeteria, bookshop, etc.) that all museums in the world now offer. The impetus it gave attracted a more international audience and led, in the 2000s, to the arrival of non-European collections at the Pavillon des Sessions, the creation of the Department of Islamic Arts and the establishment of the Louvre in Lens and then in Abu Dhabi. The Pyramid, inaugurated in 1989, is the symbol of the Great Louvre.


" I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become an art, it must be built on a basis of necessity. " Ieoh Ming Pei

A visionary architect

Pei has received numerous awards and honours in the field of architecture, including the AIA Gold Medal in 1979, the Praemium Imperiale in 1989 and a Cooper-Hewitt Award, Smithsonian Design Museum in 2003. In 1983, he won the Pritsker Prize, sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for Architecture".

The Pyramid in numbers

  • 793 glass lozenges
  • 1254 m² of surface area
  • 200 tons
  • 30 m wide by 20 m high
The Louvre pyramid turns 30

The Louvre pyramid turns 30

29 March 2019 31 August 2019 Exhibition has ended
Inaugurated on 29 March 1989 by the President of the Republic, François Mitterrand, the Pyramid of the Louvre has been a landmark in the history of French museums. Designed by architect Ieoh Ming Pei, it is the symbol of a museum open to the world. Throughout 2019, the Louvre is celebrating this anniversary with a series of festive events. Consult here the detailed schedule from March to May. Take note of the highlights of this anniversary!
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