The clock between two periods

Find the clock on the central pavilion, then look at its high roof. From this distance, the pavilion divides two stretches of façade that seem to answer one another. Windows and stone lines continue on both sides. Compare their heights before looking at the figures above. Jacques Lemercier, a French architect, worked on this extension during the reign of Louis XIII in the seventeenth century. He continued Lescot’s wing with the pavilion and a new stretch of building. The project enlarged the palace while relating it to the existing façade. That decision created the continuity we can see across the courtyard. Look again at the meeting of pavilion and Lescot wing. The Louvre grew in parts, and every extension had to meet something older. Here a central feature orders those encounters. The clock also gives you an easy reference for finding your way within the courtyard. On the other side lies the Cour Napoléon. The passage beneath this section connects two palace spaces with different sizes and uses. In the Cour Carrée, façades surround you. In the next courtyard, the glass Pyramid and the opening towards the west change the way you see the whole building. Before moving on, choose a window near the pavilion and compare it with one further away. Continuous lines connect them across the distance. You can recognise the rhythm without remembering every architect’s name. The clock remains the simplest sign for finding this place again.