The Louvre, the most-visited art museum in the world, recently announced the hiring of its first female director, Laurence des Cars, in its 228-year history. The Onion looks back at the most important events in the history of the Paris art museum.
1793: France’s revolutionary government opens Musée Central des Arts in the Grande Galerie of the Louvre to manage spillover crowds from the Hard Rock Café Paris.
1814-1832: Bourbon Restoration period sees collections grow thanks to generous donations of artwork by plundered nations.
1886: Museum makes history by acquiring its first female statue.
1940: Nazi soldier pretty underwhelmed by remaining collection.
1957: Mona Lisa placed behind bulletproof glass after unsuccessful assassination attempt.
1980: Following expensive restoration of hundreds of paintings, Louvre begins forbidding visitors from touching or licking the art.
1993: Museum celebrates 200 years of French art and culture with two-for-one beers and specialty nachos.
2014: Fireworks ban lifted in effort to compete with the heart-stopping post-Impressionist thrill ride at the Musée d’Orsay.
2015: Billion-dollar renovation to expand the Starbucks Wing.
2018: Visitors finally given chance to lose themselves in the beauty of the Mona Lisa bi-fold wallet, now available in the gift shop.
