The Louvre was originally a royal palace. in 1516,leonardo da vinci came to france as a painter for the royal court, and brought with him the painting of mona lisa. the king acquired it,and it became part of the royal collection. today the painting stands in the louvre in a climate-controlled enclosure behine bulletproof glass. in the 1600s, the louvre was a palace that contained art and rich decorations, and it only opened as a museum in 1793. the renovation of the museum in 1793. the renovation of the museum in 1981 made it even more beautiful, and a pyramid was built as an entrance. today, the louvre is the world's largest museum and possesses the world's largest and richest collection of art and antiques from around the world.