The Louvre is the most famous museum in the world, attracting millions of visitors every year to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and other magnificent works of human achievement.  But the museum — once a forbidding fortress built to house and protect French Kings — can seem more intimidating than inviting.

Join us as Elaine Sciolino, author of Adventures in the Louvre, guides us on a virtual visit to this magical space, making it her mission to show us how anyone can forge an intimate connection with the museum. She demystifies the Louvre, introducing us to her favorite artworks, both legendary and overlooked, and to the people who are the museum’s lifeblood: the curators selecting and arranging the works, the artisans producing frames and engravings, the builders overseeing restorations, the firefighters protecting the aging structure.

An irrepressible and charming travel companion, Sciolino takes us beyond the building’s imposing walls and behind the scenes to reveal a Louvre filled with unexpected mysteries, untold stories, and delights.

This event is brought to you by the Federation of Alliances Françaises.  You must register for this free event here, or at the following URL:  https://www.afusa.org/community/event-rsvp/?event_id=73.  It is not necessary to register on the Alliance Française Richmond site.

Advance Praise for Adventures in the Louvre

“Nothing escapes 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 wayin 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

“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

"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, the ones that are easy to miss but that can be revelations even to those who know the museum well.” ― Dorie Greenspan, New York Times bestselling author

“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 A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America

About the Author

Elaine Sciolino, author of the New York Times bestseller The Only Street in Paris, as well as The Seine, La Seduction, and Adventures in the Louvre (on sale April 1, 2025), is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Paris.  In 2010 she was decorated chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest honor of the French state, for her “special contribution” to the friendship between France and the United States.

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