Louvre: Portrait of a Museum
This sumptuous, 335-page book, which is illustrated with 650  original photographs by the author as well as hundreds of works of art  in the Louvre's vast holdings (plus archival plans and documents), is  the next best thing to being in Paris, at the great museum  itself. This history of 600 years of royal patronage, architectural  adjustment, and voracious collecting of sculptures, treasures,  paintings, and antiquities is for the cultured traveler, the  intelligent tourist, and the art-loving amateur. The picture captions  are warmly written and discursive, often with only minimal details  about size and materials, and the text is much too user-friendly for  art historians. But there is a great deal of information here, which  could be absorbed only through long hours of perusal. The book is  divided into three main sections: Eight Centuries of History;  Architecture; and The Louvre's Seven Departments, including painting,  Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian antiquities, sculpture, and the  decorative arts. The building itself is treated to a long discussion  of the kings, queens, and presidents who have tried and failed to have  the last word on its appearance and use. Torn down, rebuilt,  redesigned, and, finally, wrenched into the late 20th century by  I.M. Pei's controversial glass pyramid, the Louvre is an evolving work  of art. (This book looks like the sort a parent leaves open on a  coffee table, attempting to edify the children, but note the two or  three full-page reproductions of artworks depicting tumescent male  organs.)--Peggy Moorman