Kirkus Starred Review
A grand tour of a museum like no other.
Deftly weaving history and memoir, former New York Times Paris bureau chief Sciolino offers a spirited journey through France’s most storied museum, the Louvre. At various times a fortress, a public inn, an arsenal, a prison, a mint, and a workplace for artisans, the king’s palace became a “people’s museum” as a result of the French Revolution, open to all. Its original royal collection quickly grew, augmented with art from the homes of guillotined aristocrats, Versailles and other palaces, churches, and monasteries. Added to and remodeled as it expanded, with artworks gained through conquest and plunder, it became a sprawling edifice, with over 400 rooms in an assortment of architectural and decorative styles. The galleries, stretching half a mile, exhibit some 30,000 of its half million holdings; it employs more than 2,300 people, including curators, restorers, guards, and guides, working on 25 different levels. Sciolino reports on her conversations with many of them as she encountered specific pieces of art (the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, to name a few), or she follows themes such as food, animals, jewels, and even shoes. The Louvre has so many shoes in its paintings that it published a coffee-table book on footwear. Sciolino takes unexpected paths to find quiet corners: a small collection of Impressionists (the bulk being at the Musée d’Orsay), tribal art, and one of the world’s largest collections of frames. Although the Louvre does not offer a queer-themed tour, unlike other major museums, Sciolino notes its extensive queer art collection. Her celebration of a beloved venue also highlights outposts in the French city of Lens, in Abu Dhabi, and in Métro stations featuring a host of reproductions. Illustrated with 53 black-and-white photos.
An intimate visit with a generous, genial guide.
The Economist Starred Review
A colorful history of the world’s most popular museum.
If you were to walk through each of the Louvre’s 400 galleries, you would cover about 14.5km (enough to burn off even the most calorific of Parisian indulgences). Stop to look at each artwork for 15 seconds, and you would be there for about 145 hours. As a result, few of the nearly 9m people who visit the Louvre each year leave feeling as if they have truly mastered it. Elaine Sciolino, formerly the Paris bureau chief for the New York Times, has volunteered herself as a chatty, amiable tour guide. In “Adventures in the Louvre” she does not try to take readers through every room or compile the museum’s definitive history. Instead she focuses on themes and small details that will interest them. The author has a journalist’s knack for posing a good question. Of all the faces in the Louvre, “Who is the fairest one of all?” she asks Sébastien Allard, director of paintings, who offers five suggestions (by Jacques-Louis David, Rembrandt, Pisanello, Titian and Johannes Vermeer). Many Louvre employees find Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, the most famous work of art in the world, overrated. Yet around four-fifths of visitors come mainly to see it, bypassing other treasures. Even those who are attuned to the collection’s subtleties have something to learn. For example, “MNR” (for Musées Nationaux Récupération, or National Museums Recovery) is marked on the placards of around 1,700 works. The acronym denotes “orphan” works, probably seized from Jews in the second world war, which are in the Louvre’s care but not part of its collection. For the Louvre, history ended in 1848—later masterpieces are in France’s other national museums—but its transformation continues. Recently Emmanuel Macron, the country’s president, announced a renovation costing €700m-800m ($800m-900m), which would, among other things, give the “Mona Lisa” her own gallery. Visitors will have even more need of a discerning guide.
Library Journal Starred Review
Most readers who want a book about a museum will pick the one with the most pictures. This often recreates the closest feeling to being there in person and makes a great souvenir. However, former New York Times Paris bureau chief Sciolino (The Seine: The River That Made Paris) uses mostly text and minimal pictures to create a book that feels like a personal, one-on-one tour through the Louvre. Tales from current and former staff of the museum, as well as Sciolino’s own tips, add to the allure for those who have already visited and will inspire others to do so. Current social themes, such as depictions of women and LGBTQIA+ representation, are covered in individual chapters, with Sciolino offering meaningful discussions rather than fully criticizing one side or the other. No previous knowledge of the Louvre is necessary for this read, and the history of the museum is thoroughly and enjoyably discussed. Chapters can be read as stand-alones for readers researching a specific subject.
VERDICT A spiritual, relevant, and historical literary visit to the Louvre when it is impossible to go in person.
Additional Reviews and Praise
As the former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times and a longtime resident of the city, Elaine Sciolino was well-positioned to write Adventures in the Louvre. Her experience as a war correspondent also proved useful in navigating the fortress turned palace turned museum.... Mixing history and memoir, Sciolino leads readers through the landmark’s many galleries, shares favorite artworks both famed and lesser-known, and gets to know the staff responsible for the museum and its treasures. — Publisher’s Weekly
Sciolino takes readers on an affectionate and expressive tour through the labyrinthine halls of the “best-known and yet least understood museum in the world.” Combining history, interviews, and firsthand experience, she discusses famous artworks… explores how the Mona Lisa—which became a “global superstar” after being stolen in 1911— “enslaves and empowers” the museum… and delves into the sometimes-exclusionary nature of art history…. The result is a charmingly effusive love letter sure to delight. — Publisher’s Weekly
“Delightful” — Scott Simon, NPR
“The book is part journalism, part memoir, part art history. All kinds of tips for visiting the Louvre.” ― Mary Louise Kelly, NPR - All Things Considered
“[Sciolino] cracked the Louvre’s armor — and fell in love with the museum in the process…. Shared moments of discovery connected to art happen over and over again in this book.” ― Vogue
“Elaine Sciolino is Buffalo's gift to Paris − and now, too, to the Louvre…[she] taught herself how to see, and to trust what she saw. Now, with this book, she lets us see − really see — the many treasures of the Louvre.” — Erik Brady, Buffalo News
“She cracked the museum’s polished, secretive surface to find something far deeply human and intimate beneath. In her relatable, passionate, and colorful telling, she describes the history of the palace-turned-museum—which is also the story of France. And she tells it as a journalist would, rather than an art historian or guide….She leaves no hall, corridor, or secret backroom unopened. Instead, she approaches the museum’s treasures with fresh curiosity and emotional connection, painting sympathetic portraits of the many key people who are the keepers of the massive institution, from the fire brigade to the guards and its curators.” ― Art Net News
“People are always asking the best way to ‘do’ the Louvre, and I’ve finally found it: with Elaine Sciolino’s Adventures in the Louvre by your side. An indispensable, enchanting companion reminding us that the art world’s most intimidating institution is also a lot of fun.” — Lauren Collins, Paris correspondent, The New Yorker, and author of When in French: Love in a Second Language
“In its manifold splendors, the Louvre gave Henry James something of a panic attack. He did not have Elaine Sciolino, but we do: She has written a rich, rewarding introduction to the greatest collection of art in the world… A spirited, sumptuous book that makes the Louvre feel welcoming — even if you arrive on a Tuesday, when it’s closed.” — Stacy Schiff, author of The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams and A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America
“I have read many books about museums, but Elaine Sciolino’s stands out. This is essential reading for anyone visiting the Louvre — for those who already know it inside out and for those who have never been... Illuminating, thought-provoking, surprising, amusing. A marvel of observation and insight.” — Xavier Salomon, chief curator of the Frick Collection and coauthor of Cocktails with a Curator
“Nothing escape Elaine Sciolino in the immensity of the largest museum in the world; she writes with the curiosity of a journalist, the humanity of a storyteller, and the joyful disrespect of an American… With her book, we will find our way in a grand museum whose meanderings reflect the strange and glorious history of France.” — Gérard Araud, former French ambassador to the United States and president of the Société des Amis du Louvre
“Sciolino is the Louvre whisperer. With wit, charm and a scholar’s bent, she walks us through the galleries, shining her light on beloved masterpieces as well as on treasures tucked deep into gallery corners… Habitués will make discoveries in these pages and first-timers will count themselves lucky to have this book as a companion. And if food is your passion – it’s mine! – you’ll revel in Sciolino’s tour of the Louvre as a sumptuous feast.” — Dorie Greenspan, New York Times bestselling author
Like me, Elaine Sciolino doesn’t remember much from her first visit [to the Louvre], but living in Paris since 2002, she’s had countless hours to lean into its magnitude and to learn about how it operates by talking with curators, guards, and fellow museum-goers. Elaine brings her journalist’s perspective for making sense of it all in her latest book…helping us find new ways to enjoy the massive Louvre….She writes about its allure, romance, and even its secrets. — Travel with Rick Steves
“An institution and collection that has been a quiet witness to so much history and change is bound to have stories to tell. Elaine Sciolino... has captured many of these stories in her newest book.... At the Louvre, she spoke to everyone, from the guards to the lead curators, and received unprecedented access to rooms I didn’t even know existed.” — The Art Angle Podcast
“Unprecedented access to the Louvre….Some of the most striking insights come from Sciolino’s exploration of overlooked sectors of the museum, including Persian and Islamic art, as well as women and women artists and queer subjects.” ― Hyperallergic
“Visiting the Louvre is something everyone should do. But to do it well is another matter. Here, [Sciolino] passes along her own hard-earned advice …. to make [visitors’] time there truly unforgettable.” ― Town and Country
“Extremely entertaining. The author, a former New York Times journalist, has interviewed everyone from the firemen to the curators and… takes us through every corridor of the Louvre.” — Paris Diary by Laure
"Brilliant….This woman visited 200 times, read every sign, looked at every painting, interviewed every person. If you want to take a deep deep dive into this museum, that is the book you need to buy" — Oliver Gee, The Earthful Tower
“It sounds like an escorted tour in North Korea …. And yet [Sciolino] was able to penetrate it. That’s why this book is so amazing”. —Peter Greenberg - Eye on Travel
“Sciolino lives in Paris and knows this museum – well as much as anyone can as there are always nooks and crannies waiting to reveal unexpected wonders. As a journalist, she’s used to talking and connecting to people and getting them to open up. This is one of the joys of the book. She’s got the inside track to people of all levels who work there.” — Jayne, Dear Author