French Sculpture
The marble horses of Louis XIV under glass, one of the most spectacular interior spaces in any museum.
Most visitors spend their time in the painting galleries and walk straight through the sculpture courtyards without stopping. It is one of the great missed opportunities of any visit. The Cour Marly, a vast glass-roofed courtyard of marble horses that once stood in the gardens of Louis XIV, is breathtaking in scale and ambition, and it is only the final chapter.
This tour follows the full sweep of French sculpture, from the carved stone of Romanesque churches to the grand commissions of the royal court, by way of Gothic figures, medieval tombs, and the first masters of the Renaissance. It tends to surprise even visitors who thought they knew the Louvre well.
What you will see
The visit follows the full story of French sculpture. It begins in the Middle Ages, with Romanesque work, religious and funerary sculpture, then turns to the Renaissance and Jean Goujon, and to the reception pieces of the Académie royale. It ends in the two great glass-roofed courtyards, the Cour Marly and the Cour Puget.
It is a wonderful choice for anyone drawn to sculpture, architecture or the decorative arts of the French court, and for those who want a side of the Louvre most people walk past. If a particular sculptor or period draws you, mention it when you enquire.
Romanesque France · to the nineteenth century
Pépin's advice
Look up. The Cour Marly is as much about its light and glass roof as its statues. The space itself is one of the most beautiful in Paris.
Walk a full circle. Sculpture is made to be seen from every side. The best detail is often on the face you would never see from the doorway.
Good to know
The Louvre does not open every gallery every day. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, and the rooms for this tour also rest on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Any other day works well, which is why we steer your visit there. Very occasionally a room opens late, or not at all, for operational reasons the museum does not announce in advance. If that happens it is beyond anyone's control, and we simply turn to another part of the collection so your time is never lost. With more than thirty-five thousand works on display, the Louvre is never short of something remarkable, and a private guide can reshape the visit on the spot in a way a fixed group tour never could.
