The Louvre: The World's Best Museum?

Paris, City of Light, and of art. A playland for lovers and a painter's dream. What better place to situate the Louvre, considered by many to be the world's best museum of art? What makes this museum so worthy of that honor?
　　The museum building, or, more properly, the complex of buildings themselves is a good place to start. As with most Western and a few Asian and South American museums, large palaces or other traditional architecture are used to house museums of art and of natural science. In the case of the Louvre, officially known as Palais du Louvre (the Palace of the Louvre), the main building used today was formerly the fortress of King Philip Augustus in the 12th century. Not until 1546 did King Francis I begin to redesign and add onto the fortress. Subsequent kings did the same, especially during the 17th century with major additions by Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Not only did these kings and their ministers add to the buildings, they also stocked within their rooms the finest art that money could buy. After the French Revolution, the Palais du Louvre was opened to the public. In the early 19th century, both Napoleon and Napoleon III added to both the structures and the collections. A controversial see-through glass pyramid-shaped structure was added by the architect I. M. Pei in the 1980s. As a consequence of centuries of continuous construction and the amassing of art treasures, today the Louvre offers a world-class collection of both French and foreign art.
　　The outer shell of a museum, however, no matter how artistic or historic, cannot alone make a museum truly great. The inner collections are of course of paramount interest to both the art researcher and art lover alike. The Louvre does not disappoint them. Three of the West's premier works of art are here: the statues Victory of Samothrace and Venus de Milo accompany Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. These alone attract art devotees from around the world, but far more awaits them. The French painting collection is, not surprisingly, unsurpassed. Other major painting collections include works from the middle ages and Renaissance. The treasures of the French royalty are on display here, too, such as their bronzes, miniatures, pottery, tapestries, jewelry, and furniture. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian antiquities as well as early Christian artifacts are also considered important collections. This clearly is not a museum to be seen in one morning!
　　Finally, the site of the museum complex contributes to the mystique of the Louvre. Paris has long been considered one of the world's most charming cities, with its endless winding streets amidst spectacular royal and religious architecture. The fortress built by King Philip Augustus was situated on the right bank of the Seine, overlooking —— at that time —— splendid bucolic scenery. Today this prime location is within walking distance of many major Parisian tourist attractions, like the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Royal Palace, and the National Library. One could easily spend a whole week touring the heart of Paris centered around the Louvre.
　　Taken altogether, then, the Louvre holds its own as one of the best museums —— if not the best —— among the dozens of major and internationally famous art museums around the world. Its many and varied buildings, the unparalleled collection of prestigious works of art, and the delightful site of the grounds overlooking France's most famous river all contribute to make the Palais du Louvre a must-see attraction for the serious art connoisseur and art museum-goer alike. Meet you at the Louvre!

　　巴黎：光和艺术之都，恋人们的游地和画家心中的梦想。还有什么更好的地方来安置这许多人心目中全世界最好的艺术博物馆卢浮宫呢？到底是什么使这座博物馆如此值得推崇呢？
　　这座博物馆的建筑，或者更确切地说，这座复合建筑物本身就是一个很好的开始。就像大部分西方和一些亚洲和南美洲的博物馆一样，大型宫殿或其它传统建筑被用来做为艺术和自然科学博物馆。以卢浮宫来说（正式名称为罗浮之宫殿），现今所用的主要建筑以前是12世纪时菲利浦‧奥古斯都国王的堡垒。直到1546年国王弗朗西斯一世才开始重新设计和扩建该堡垒。接下来的国王们也如法泡制，尤其在17世纪期间，路易十三和路易十四更是大肆修建。这些国王及其大臣们不仅增盖建筑物，而且在其房间内典藏了所能买到的最好艺术品。法国大革命之后，卢浮宫对外开放。19世纪初期，拿破仑和拿破仑三世两人都扩建了建筑物并增加其中的收藏品。1980年代，建筑家贝聿铭增建一座倍受争议的透明玻璃金字塔型建筑。由于几世纪来不停地增建和搜罗艺术珍品的结果，今天卢浮宫提供了世界级法国艺术和国外艺术两方面的收藏。
　　然而，不管有多么具有艺术性或历史意义，光是博物馆的外壳并不能使一座博物馆真正伟大。对艺术研究及爱好者而言，最让他们感兴趣的当然还是里面的收藏品。这一点卢浮宫不会让他们失望。西方首要艺术珍品其中有三件便收藏于此处：“胜利女神雕像”、“爱神维纳斯雕像”以及李奥纳多‧达‧芬奇最有名的画作“蒙娜莉萨的微笑”。光是这些就吸引了世界各地的忠实艺术爱好者，但还有更多等着他们去欣赏的呢。法国画作收藏显然是无人可及的。其它重要的绘画收藏还包括中古世纪和文艺复兴时期的作品。法国王室的珍宝也在此地展出，例如他们的铜器，袖珍画、陶器、挂毯、珠宝和家具等等。希腊、罗马、埃及和美索不达米亚的古物以及早期基督教手工艺品也都被认为是重要的收藏品。这显然不是花一个早上时间就能逛完的博物馆！
　　最后，这座综合博物馆的位置增添了卢浮宫的神秘气息。巴黎长久以来一直被认为是世上最迷人的城市之一，无止尽的街道蜿蜒在雄伟的皇室和宗教建筑之间。菲利浦国王所建的堡垒就坐落在塞纳-马恩省河的右岸，俯瞰着——在当时——秀丽的田园景色。今天这个主要位置距离巴黎许多重要的观光景点如圣母院大教堂、皇宫和国立图书馆都不远，走路过去即可到达。你很容易就可以花整个礼拜游览以卢浮宫为中心的巴黎市中心。
　　因此，整体看来，卢浮宫在全世界几十个闻名国际的主要艺术博物馆之中，就算不是最好的，也必定是最好的博物馆之一。它为数众多和多样的建筑，无可比拟的艺术名作收藏，以及俯瞰法国最著名河流的理想占地位置，使得卢浮宫成为艺术鉴赏行家和美术馆常客不容错过的观光点。咱们卢浮宫见吧！