shutterstock-2604873621

This year, the Louvre is showcasing photos… at the Louvre!

undefined undefined undefined 17h00

The Editor

© Sergii Figurnyi / Shutterstock

Starting from November 4, 2026, the most famous museum in France invites you to rediscover its history through photos. With over 300 snapshots, the Louvre, a true temple of Parisian art, transforms into a muse, serving both as a welcoming place and as a work of art in itself. A total immersion into the secrets of this unique monument.

In 1793, the Louvre Museum opens its doors. A few decades later (just over three to be exact), Nicolas Niépce invented a revolutionary concept: photography. Very quickly, the former royal residence became a source of inspiration for artists who embraced this new medium. For the first time, the museum invites us to discover a collection of images highlighting this fascination exerted by the institution.


The Louvre from Every Angle

For over 200 years, the most famous museum in France has inspired generation after generation of photographers. Whether professionals or amateurs, artists or enthusiasts, it's a place that captures the imagination!

Tourists, (very) many have captured its works, its façade, its pyramid, its gardens, its grand halls, but also its backstage, its archives, and its secret corners, gradually giving it a prominent place in the history of photography. It’s this unique position that the museum will highlight next autumn, through a magnificent and unprecedented exhibition to be presented in the Napoleon mezzanine. A major retrospective that will cover over two centuries, blending the history of the Museum with that of the country, allowing us to see the face of the institution through significant periods like the Second Empire or the world wars.


A Journey Through the History of the Louvre

Through over 300 snapshots, the museum invites you on a journey through time, combining all photographic techniques, from daguerreotypes to digital images. Throughout a thematic pathway, the exhibition will multiply angles and viewpoints to give us the most complete image possible. And here’s the good news, during the entire run of the retrospective, you too can add your contribution to the project by using the hashtag #LouvrePhoto on social media. Selected photos shared by those who wish to participate will be integrated into the exhibition pathway!

Louvre Photo
Louvre Museum
Rue de Rivoli – 1st
From November 4, 2026 to May 3, 2027
More info