The Louvre Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
2 min
The Louvre Quiz
Image: Pawel Libera/LightRocket via Getty Images

About This Quiz

The Louvre is arguably the most famous museum in the world. How much do you know about the home of the "Mona Lisa"? Take this quiz to test your knowledge.
Where is the Louvre?
London
Berlin
Paris
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Just checking if you were awake. Paris it is.

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Where exactly in Paris is the Louvre?
Right Bank
Left Bank
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Louvre is on the right bank of the Seine, in the 1st arrondissement.

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What was the original purpose of the Louvre building?
castle
cathedral
fortress
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

King Philip II constructed the Louvre as a fortress in the late 12th century. In the 16th century, Francis I had most of it demolished to make way for a residential palace.

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Francis I had a close relationship with this artist.
Donatello
Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The king was a patron of da Vinci and persuaded him to move to France.

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Which king basically abandoned the Louvre in favor of the newly constructed palace at Versailles?
Louis XIV
Louis XVI
Charles III
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louis XIV moved to Versailles in 1682, and the Louvre fell into disuse.

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When did the Louvre open to the public?
1709
1757
1793
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

With the French Revolution under way, the National Assembly decided that the Louvre should become a public art museum. It opened on Aug. 10, 1793, the first anniversary of the monarchy's fall.

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What's the official name of the "Mona Lisa"?
"La Gioconda"
"Nessuna della Sopracciglia"
"Misteriosa Donna"i
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Da Vinci's model for the painting was Lisa del Giocondo.

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When Napoleon came to power, the Louvre's name changed to …
la Musee Napoleon
la Grande Musee de Paris
la Musee de la Republique
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Napoleon, never one for humility, named the museum for himself.

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What did Napoleon do with the "Mona Lisa"?
hid her in the basement of the Louvre
put her in his bedroom
gave her back to the Italians
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Napoleon had the painting in his bedroom.

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How many stolen/seized works of art did France return after Napoleon fell from power?
500
5,000
50,000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Napoleon greatly expanded the museum's collection, but his methods were far from above-board. Five thousand pieces went back to their rightful countries.

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Who stole the "Mona Lisa" in 1911?
a Louvre employee
the Mafia
a Russian immigrant
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louvre worker Vincenzo Peruggia was arrested after trying to sell the "Mona Lisa" to an art dealer in Florence.

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For how long was it gone?
a few days
seven months
two years
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The "Mona Lisa" took a tour of Italy before being returned to the Louvre in 1913.

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About how many people visit the Louvre every year?
6 million
9 million
12 million
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In 2014, 9.3 million people visited the Louvre.

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And that places the Louvre ____ on the list of most-visited museums in the world.
first
third
fifth
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Louvre tops the list, with Beijing's Museum of China in second place.

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What percentage of Louvre visitors are from France?
10 percent
25 percent
65 percent
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sixty-five percent of Louvre visitors are foreign tourists.

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How much does it cost to get into the Louvre?
nothing
$16
$'27
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Admission to the Louvre is 15 euros, or about $16.50.

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How many people work at the Louvre?
500
2,000
5,000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are about 2,000 people on the Louvre staff.

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What's the newest department at the Louvre?
Near Eastern antiquities
decorative arts
Islamic art
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Islamic art is the eighth and newest department, created in 2003 and housed in a new addition since 2012.

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Is the Louvre the biggest museum in the world?
yes
no
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Yes, the Louvre holds the largest-museum title.

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How many works of art does the Louvre own?
210,000
380,000
540,000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The museum has 380,000 artifacts and works of art.

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How long would it take you to see every work of art in the Louvre if you looked at each one for 30 seconds?
10 days
100 days
1,000 days
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It would take 100 days of around-the-clock perusing to see it all.

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To which country did the Louvre loan the "Mona Lisa" for its first foreign tour?
United States
Italy
Great Britain
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jackie Kennedy persuaded Charles de Gaulle's cultural minister to loan the "Mona Lisa" to the National Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a short time in 1963.

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How big is the "Mona Lisa"?
21-by-30 inches (53-by-76 centimeters)
25-by-41 inches
31-by-53 inches
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louvre visitors often comment on how small the "Mona Lisa" is — just 21-by-30 inches.

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What fraction of the paintings in the Louvre are by French artists?
one-third
two-thirds
four-fifths
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Two-thirds of the paintings are by French artists.

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What's the Louvre's square footage in acres?
7 acres (3 hectares)
15 acres
22 acres
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Louvre encompasses 15 acres.

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What shape is the (formerly) controversial addition to the Louvre that was completed in 1989?
sphere
cube
pyramid
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Traditionalists clutched their pearls at architect I.M. Pei's glass pyramids, but the addition is now considered iconic.

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Where's the second Louvre?
Singapore
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Abu Dhabi made a roughly $1.3 billion deal with the Louvre to open a second location.

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What's the most famous sculpture on display at the Louvre?
the Thinker
David
Venus de Milo
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The armless Venus de Milo is thought to have been carved in the 2nd century B.C.E. by Greek sculptor Alexandros of Antioch.

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Why did the Louvre shut down briefly in spring 2013?
pickpockets
electrical storm
terrorist threat
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louvre staff went on strike in 2013 because bands of young pickpockets were creating a security nightmare.

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Why did the Louvre shut down briefly in spring 2016?
power outage
floods
bomb scare
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In June 2016, the Seine reached its highest levels in 30 years.

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You Got:
/30
Pawel Libera/LightRocket via Getty Images