Top Four Pieces of Art to See at the Louvre

In an informal poll, several hundred Passports participants who visited Paris two years ago were asked to name their four favorite exhibits at the world-renowned Louvre Museum. Choosing from among over 300,000 artworks housed on 5 different floors was no easy task, not that anyone ever sees them all.  These were their favorites.

1. The Mona Lisa

No surprise here. This visual representation of happiness and icon of Renaissance art is the best known, most visited and most highly acclaimed work of art in the entire world.  What is less well known about it is that, unlike similar portraits from the same period, it is a portrait of a real person and in fact is not even a finished painting. It is actually only an underpainting of a work da Vinci never completed. What a loss to the world it would have been if he had ever actually “finished” his work.

2. Nike Winged Goddess of Victory 

It’s easy to see why this amazing piece of art rates so highly. For one, it’s the first important object one sees when you enter the Louvre pyramid and its dramatic presence is sure to leave a lasting first impression.  But Americans can more easily identify with this piece as they already know and have viewed a rendering of it thousands of times when they see the most famous “logo” in the world--the Nike sportswear “swoosh” which symbolizes the sound of speed, movement, and the power of the Goddess’s wings on which the Nike design is clearly based. 

3. The Venus de Milo

Immediately recognizable by its missing arms, the sculpture is thought to represent Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, known to the Romans as Venus. Considered by the ages to be the quintessential symbol of female love and beauty, which is still powerfully obvious despite the form’s physical imperfections.

4. Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

This extraordinary piece depicts a moment in a powerful love story that makes the love between Romeo and Juliet seem trite. Cupid, the God of Love, rushing to his beloved Psyche and awakening her with a tender kiss. Aside from the emotional content of this incredible love story, which is too long to even summarize here, many of our students thought that this portrayal was visually the most beautiful object they saw during their visit to Le Louvre.  The grace of their embrace and sheer physical beauty of the two lovers is simply stunning, many felt.