The early 19th century was not an easy time to gain knowledge of art. Illustrated works dedicated to an artist or a collection remained rare and expensive, while guides and travel accounts certainly praised Raphael and Michelangelo but hardly mentioned their works, still less described them. Photography was in its infancy: the daguerreotype, based on Nicéphore Niepce’s invention, was presented to the Academy of Sciences in 1839, but it was not until the second half of the century that the commercial distribution of images began. While magazines often published engravings, these were reproductions of monuments or paintings presented at the Salon or, less frequently, works kept in churches or museums. Knowledge of art could therefore only be acquired through direct contact, in museums, exhibitions or among people wealthy enough to have a gallery of works of art.
Moved by the extent of revolutionary vandalism, connoisseurs ensured that a place would conserve the remaining sculptures of historical or artistic value. Located opposite the Louvre, on the left bank, this Museum of French Monuments offered a chronological presentation without any explanation, yet meticulously staged and intended for a very broad audience. It showed great men, monumental art and the evolution of styles over the centuries, mixing individual works and monuments sometimes created from nothing, such as the tomb of Abelard and Heloise. The presentation highlighted the revolutionary ideal of a new man, which was met with strong opposition, thus works were returned or dispersed when the Restoration began. Although lacking in historical rigour, this museum played a major role in popularising the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The Louvre Museum long housed the Royal collections, accessible to the public on request since the reign of Louis XIV. Both Louis XV and Louis XVI were in favour of the idea of a permanent museum, and this project was transformed into law by the National Assembly in 1793, creating the Louvre Museum. Its aim was to support the training of artists, for whom the rooms were reserved throughout the first half of the 19th century. The public was admitted only on Sundays, but free of charge.