Page "Musée du Louvre" Paragraph 47

The sculpture department comprises work created before 1850 that does not belong in the Etruscan, Greek, and Roman department.

The Louvre has been a repository of sculpted material since its time as a palace ; however, only ancient architecture was displayed until 1824, except for Michelangelo's Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave.

Initially the collection included only 100 pieces, the rest of the royal sculpture collection being at Versailles.

It remained small until 1847, when Léon Laborde was given control of the department.

Laborde developed the medieval section and purchased the first such statues and sculptures in the collection, King Childebert and stanga door, respectively.

The collection was part of the Department of Antiquities but was given autonomy in 1871 under Louis Courajod, a director who organized a wider representation of French works.

In 1986, all post-1850 works were relocated to the new Musée d ' Orsay.

The Grand Louvre project separated the department into two exhibition spaces ; the French collection is displayed in the Richelieu wing, and foreign works in the Denon wing.