"Louvre is not an official text commissioned by the museum's trustees. Rather it reflects the passions and idiosyncrasies of one frequent visitor who happens to be an extraordinary observer: Nicholas d'Archimbaud spent three years conceiving, researching, and photographing this book. The chapters were written not by curators of the deparments, but by a team of experts: Bruno de Cessole, Annie Forgeau, Frederic Valloire, Anne Chene, and Yves Saint-Hilaire." "Louvre features 650 original photographs, never-before-reproduced archival plans and documents, essays on the museum's history, and architecture and overviews of its seven departments."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes index.