The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum, home to thousands of years of human history and some of the most celebrated creative achievements on earth.
This quiz looks at the museum’s beginnings as a medieval fortress, the secrets of its legendary portraits, and the controversial modern redesign of its main courtyard.
After finishing, you can test your luck with other quizzes covering museums and galleries, world-famous masterpieces, or historic famous buildings around the globe.
Before becoming a national museum, the grand palace of the Louvre served as a residence for which of the following?
Military generals
Military generals
French monarchs
French monarchs
Foreign ambassadors
Foreign ambassadors
Catholic bishops
Catholic bishops
Which world-famous portrait by Leonardo da Vinci is the most visited artwork in the museum?
The Last Supper
The Last Supper
The Starry Night
The Starry Night
The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
In what year did the Louvre officially open its doors to the public as a national museum?
1793
1793
1789
1789
1801
1801
1797
1797
What iconic, controversial architectural feature did I.M. Pei design for the museum’s main courtyard?
Glass and metal pyramid
Glass and metal pyramid
Marble dome structure
Marble dome structure
Steel suspension bridge
Steel suspension bridge
Modern brick tower
Modern brick tower
The ‘Venus de Milo’ is famous for the missing arms, but what type of object is it?
Ancient Egyptian artifact
Ancient Egyptian artifact
Ancient Greek statue
Ancient Greek statue
Renaissance painting
Renaissance painting
Ancient Roman statue
Ancient Roman statue
Which French king originally built the Louvre as a fortress in the late 12th century?
Louis XIV
Louis XIV
Charles V
Charles V
Philippe Auguste
Philippe Auguste
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte
What is ‘The Winged Victory of Samothrace’?
A gold sarcophagus of a pharaoh
A gold sarcophagus of a pharaoh
A marble statue of a winged goddess
A marble statue of a winged goddess
A painting of the French Revolution
A painting of the French Revolution
A large bronze Renaissance fountain
A large bronze Renaissance fountain
Approximately how many artworks are currently on permanent display in the halls of the museum?
75 thousand
75 thousand
35 thousand
35 thousand
55 thousand
55 thousand
15 thousand
15 thousand
In which year was the glass pyramid inaugurated to the public?
1997
1997
1993
1993
1985
1985
1989
1989
What specific attribute of the ‘Mona Lisa’ is most frequently cited as its defining mystery?
The painting style
The painting style
The artist’s wife
The artist’s wife
The mysterious landscape background
The mysterious landscape background
The subject’s enigmatic smile
The subject’s enigmatic smile
Underneath the modern courtyard, visitors can still see the remains of the original defensive structure from which period?
Renaissance design
Renaissance design
Neo-Classical expansion
Neo-Classical expansion
Medieval architecture
Medieval architecture
Modernist structure
Modernist structure
Which historic legal artifact, inscribed on a black basalt stele, is housed within the museum’s antiquities collection?
The mask of Tutankhamun
The mask of Tutankhamun
Great Sphinx of Tanis
Great Sphinx of Tanis
The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone
Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi
The museum is divided into three primary wings. What are they called?
North Wing, South Wing, West Wing
North Wing, South Wing, West Wing
Art Wing, History Wing, Palace Wing
Art Wing, History Wing, Palace Wing
Richelieu Wing, Sully Wing, Denon Wing
Richelieu Wing, Sully Wing, Denon Wing
Royal Wing, Treasury Wing, Gallery Wing
Royal Wing, Treasury Wing, Gallery Wing
Who painted the iconic artwork ‘Liberty Leading the People’?
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Théodore Géricault
Théodore Géricault
For a brief period in the early 19th century, the museum was renamed after which French leader?
Louis XVI
Louis XVI
Henri IV
Henri IV
Charles X
Charles X
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte
In peak years prior to the pandemic, approximately how many visitors did the museum receive annually?
6 million
6 million
8 million
8 million
12 million
12 million
10 million
10 million
What do the ‘Venus de Milo’ and ‘Liberty Leading the People’ have in common?
They were both created during the Renaissance.
They were both created during the Renaissance.
They are both part of the museum’s core permanent collection.
They are both part of the museum’s core permanent collection.
They both depict historical figures from ancient Rome.
They both depict historical figures from ancient Rome.
They were both sculpted by the same artist.
They were both sculpted by the same artist.
Why did the design of the glass pyramid initially face significant public opposition in France?
It blocked the entrance to the metro.
It blocked the entrance to the metro.
It was considered too expensive.
It was considered too expensive.
It was deemed too small.
It was deemed too small.
It disrupted the traditional French aesthetic.
It disrupted the traditional French aesthetic.
Which 17th-century French painter has a vast body of classical work prominently featured in the museum?
Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Antoine Watteau
Antoine Watteau
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Roughly how large is the exhibition space of the museum in square feet?
680,000 square feet
680,000 square feet
880,000 square feet
880,000 square feet
780,000 square feet
780,000 square feet
580,000 square feet
580,000 square feet
The Louvre’s grounds open up into which famous historical public garden?
The Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde
The Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars
The Luxembourg Gardens
The Luxembourg Gardens
The Tuileries Garden
The Tuileries Garden
What is true about ‘The Raft of the Medusa’ and ‘The Coronation of Napoleon’?
They are both examples of Orientalist art.
They are both examples of Orientalist art.
They are both masterpieces of French Romanticism.
They are both masterpieces of French Romanticism.
They are both massive, large-scale canvases.
They are both massive, large-scale canvases.
They were both painted by the same artist.
They were both painted by the same artist.
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