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Louvre. The long and complex history of the Louvre extends over eight centuries of planning, building, destruction and reconstruction. Successive kings of France, from François I to Louis XIV, enlarged the medieval fortified castle into a sumptuous palace, until the establishment of absolutist rule led to the sudden transfer of the court to Versailles. The Louvre was then abandoned, half completed. Thereafter it provided homes and studios for such renowned painters as Fragonard and Chardin; Louis XVI returned briefly to his city palace; and finally in 1793 the Louvre became the prototype of the modern art museum.

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