Treasures of the Louvre Page #9

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packed the gallery on a single day,

while large crowds outside

smashed the windows.

I can assure you that if our own

reception is more orderly,

though perhaps as noisy, it contains

no less enthusiasm or gratitude.

APPLAUSE AND LAUGHTER

By the 1960s,

and despite the treasures within,

the Louvre was showing its age.

It was stuck in the past.

So perhaps that's why new wave film

director Jean-Luc Godard decided

to shoot a sequence for his 1964

film Bande A Part there

to show his heroine, Odile, and

would-be criminals Arthur and Franz

attempting to beat the world record

for running through the museum.

Obviously they're up for a bit

of fun in the stuffy museum.

But I also think this is

an artful piece of satire by Godard.

A quick critique of the French

cultural establishment.

So, how could the museum get

a new lease of life?

Well, return to

the idea of building again.

Return to the spirit

of the "Grand Dessein".

In the 1980s, it was the creation

of this structure behind me here

which symbolised the transformation

of the Louvre

into a museum for the modern world.

This is the glass Pyramid designed

by American architect IM Pei.

Finished in 1989,

it's the most visible expression

of the grand projet

of the then President of France,

Francois Mitterrand.

And it's now the Pyramid that

defines the Louvre to the world.

The Louvre was perfect

for Mitterrand.

NEWSREADER:
'The inauguration of

the new entrance to the Louvre

'by President Mitterrand this

afternoon means the public...'

Mitterrand was a politician

with an acute sense of history.

And a vanity to match.

When elected in 1981, he was

looking for projects that would be

lasting testaments

to his presidency.

His culture Minister, Jack Lang,

suggested radical change

for the museum.

Passant et repassant...

TRANSLATION:
'I was going

past the Louvre every day.

'And I remember being shocked

by the dirtiness of the place

'and its general state of disrepair,

'with all the dust

covering everything.

'And I was shocked by the presence

of a large car park,

'right in the middle of the Cours

Napoleon, for all the civil servants.

'So in, I think, July 1981,

I added a little note to Mitterrand

'titled "Le Grand Louvre".

'I said to him,

"What if we totally completed

'"the transformation

from palace the museum?"'

Before things Egyptian

were the shock of the new

in a previous century,

plans for a pyramid structure

reflecting the ambitions of

Mitterrand

as a modern-day pharaoh

created a storm.

Le Monde's critic accused

the government of turning

the courtyard of the Louvre

into an annexe of Disneyland.

"Ooh-la-la! Quelle horreur!"

But I actually think that the Louvre

came out of all this

smelling of roses.

This time, the modernists have won.

When I look at the Pyramid,

I feel like I'm looking at

a great work of modern art

in steel and glass.

Still, I'm curious to know

what the Louvre's great pioneering

Egyptologist, Champollion,

might have made of this tribute

to an ancient culture.

What strikes me, in this city

of most meaningful monuments,

is that this says we are a modern

country, we are go-ahead.

"Nous sommes la France tres cool."

But it's not only the outside

that impresses.

The Pyramid illuminates a huge

reception area underground.

And new areas of the Louvre

have been opened up

to the shining light of culture.

Including the new Richelieu

Galleries in the East Wing,

formerly occupied by the men

from the Ministry of Finance.

The palace would now be all museum.

I'm in the Cours Marly,

and I'm surrounded by statues.

This courtyard area used to be

open to the elements.

But now it's all glassed over,

letting the light

of the Parisian skies flood in.

And that makes it

a really comfortable

and airy place to view art.

Visit today and you understand

that the Grand Louvre project

has been a runaway success.

Before the '80s, 2 million people

visited the Louvre every year.

Now, the figure is closer

to 9 million.

And this grandest of

"grands projets" continues.

In September 2012,

a new gallery opened

to house the riches of the museum's

collection of Islamic art.

Here are 3,000 works in 3,000

square feet of exhibition space.

All housed in the most radical

piece of architecture

to grace the museum

since the Pyramid.

There's a wonderful elusiveness

to the Islamic gallery's

roof and ceiling.

Is it a golden veil?

Undulating sand dunes?

Or perhaps even a flying carpet?

Under this covering,

there are great treasures.

With Islamic strictures against

representations of the human form,

everyday objects become art.

A candlestick adorned with ducks.

A perfume burner

in the shape of a cat.

Both from 11th century

central Asia.

And these calligraphic delights

with their messages from the past.

A lamp that shines

the wisdom of Islam.

A ninth century vase with a love

letter written on its side.

And a plate from Samarkand

with an inscription which reads,

"At first,

magnanimity has a bitter taste.

"But in the end

it feels as sweet as honey."

And in the lower galleries,

I'm looking for a special work

because it gives us one last

reminder of the story of the Louvre.

And here it is -

the Baptistere de Saint Louis.

A masterpiece in brass,

inlaid with gold and silver.

It was made in Syria

in the 14th century,

the work of Mohammed ibn al-Zain.

It's beautiful in its detail.

And here, a coat of arms seemingly

hammered on at a later date.

This is the fleur de lys

of the Bourbon Kings.

How this extraordinary object

got into their hands is not known,

but it was used to baptise

Louis XIII, son of Henry IV

and father of the Sun King,

those great builders of the Louvre.

And it made its way

to the museum in 1793,

confiscated

from the royal collection

by David and the revolutionaries.

But, for this magnificent art,

there's also a much bigger picture.

This shows that the museum

is sensitive and aware,

building a bridge between France

and the Muslim world.

And this fulfils France's historical

role as an influence there,

"une puissance musulmane".

So, under the canny piece

of cultural diplomacy

to project just the right image

of France in today's world.

But let's end where we started,

with the word,

with a medieval word, "louver",

meaning stronghold.

Because when I began this journey,

the Louvre did feel very much

like a cultural fortress.

But time-travelling

through its art and history,

what I've tried to do is open it all

up, literally to "ouvrir le Louvre".

And in the process, I've come to

realise that there's another word

which sums the place up

much, much better.

And this is a very French one,

very Gallic -

"la gloire".

Now, this is a word

which is a little bit difficult

to translate into English.

But what it's about is

power, splendour and beauty.

And that for me,

cher telespectateur,

is the real treasure of the Louvre,

buried deep here

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