...
Begin by understanding distinctly that this court is the real and original
Louvre; the rest is mere excresence, intended to unite the main building
with the Tuileries, which lay some hundreds of yards to the west of it.
Notice, first, that the Palace as a whole, seen from the point where you
now stand, is constructed on the old principle of relatively blank
external walls, like a castle, with an interior courtyard, on which all
the apartments open, and almost all the decoration is lavished.
Reminiscences of defense lurk about the Louvre. It can best be understood
by comparison with such ornate, yet fortress-like, Italian palaces as the
Strozzi at Florence. Notice the four opposite portals, facing the cardinal
points, which can be readily shut by means of great doors; while the
actual doorways of the various suites of apartments open only into the
protected courtyard. This is the origin of the familiar French porte-
cochere.
Again, the portion of the building that directly faces you as you enter
the court from St. Germain is the oldest part, and represents the early
Renaissance spirit.
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