First, an honest note about crowds
No room at the Louvre can be guaranteed quiet: attendance changes by day, time, groups and room openings. This page does not promise an empty gallery.
Instead, it suggests stepping away from the direct Mona Lisa route for three painting rooms in the Richelieu and Sully wings. Check the map on the day: these stops are not all next door to one another.
1. Room 826, Richelieu — Poussin
Room 826 on Richelieu level 2 is dedicated to Nicolas Poussin. Start with The Plague at Ashdod (1630–31), also known as The Philistines Struck by Plague.
Its first known buyer, Fabrizio Valguarnera, was implicated in a diamond-theft case. The work later entered Louis XIV’s collection and was at the Louvre before the museum opened in 1793.
2. Room 837, Richelieu — Vermeer
In room 837, find Vermeer’s The Lacemaker, an oil on canvas mounted on wood measuring only 24 × 21 cm. After Denon’s monumental canvases, its scale changes the rhythm of looking.
The Louvre cautions against automatically reading her as a professional lacemaker or the painter’s wife. Its record describes a high-status domestic woman and notes the book, probably a small Bible or prayer book.
3. Room 912, Sully — La Tour and the Le Nains
Room 912 on Sully level 2 brings together Georges de La Tour and the Le Nain brothers. The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds dates from 1636–40: gestures and glances expose the carefully staged deception of the richly dressed young dupe.
Make time for Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene, around 1649. Rediscovered in a Norman church in 1945, it was given to the Louvre in 1979 by the Société des Amis du Louvre.
Sources and verification
The locations and stories were checked against official Louvre collection records.
- Louvre Collections: The Plague at Ashdod, room 826
- Louvre Collections: The Lacemaker, room 837
- Louvre Collections: The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds, room 912
- Louvre Collections: Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene
Displays and room openings can change. Check the Louvre website on the day of your visit before following a route.
Listen to the commentary in the gallery
This route gives you a thread to follow. In front of an artwork, CulturAll adds the audio commentary: photograph the work or its label, listen, then ask your questions.
