The Louvre | Alexandra Bonfante-Warren
In this stunning book, Alexandra Bonfante-Warren has chosen representative masterpieces from each of the Louvre's seven departments -- Egyptian Antiquities, Oriental Antiquities, Greek and Roman Antiquities, Decorative Arts, Sculpture, Paintings, and Drawings -- and made them available to armchair visitors in 300 color plate reproductions. Here are tomb paintings and sarcophagi from the Valley of the Kings, devotional altarpieces expressing the religious fervor of the Middle Ages, and masterpieces by Giotto, Raphael, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Delacroix, David, Vermeer, and Ingres. The Louvre also contains photos and historical drawings of the architectural development of the fortress-turned-palace-turned-museum, as well as an engaging account of French history that helped form one of the most spectacular collections in the world.