Paris today is known as an acclaimed and original artistic and cultural center. Famous moments emerge throughout French art history, such as Monet's impressionistic works, the teachings of classicism at the École des Beaux-Arts, and Stephen Sauvestre's iconic Eiffel Tower. Paris is enriched with numerous museums to catalog countless masterpieces and sculptures of the lasting, but sometimes crude, history of France. Overall, Paris includes a blend between historic architectural themes such as ashlar brick siding, mansard roofs, striated columns, and modern architectural themes such as metalwork and exterior program support machinery. The notion of classical French architecture, juxtaposed with modern French architecture, creates unstable opinions on the urban fabric. Among controversial architecture, the Louvre stands as a testament to the evolution of art and architecture from the structure's foundational roots built several centuries ago to the modernist geometric surfaces of steel and glass of today. Visiting the building today offers views of blue mansard roofs, ornate pacing in the facade, exorbitant stone detailing and an intrusive glass pyramid. The Louvre was not founded as a museum, but rather as a defense fortress whose program changed over the centuries. The history of the building's program, as well as the architectural styles fabricated over the centuries, convey the Louvre as a work of art still being created by an artist. Indeed, much like IM Pei's controversial installation of a glass pyramid in the courtyard, a new, out-of-place architectural element has settled into the Louvre's domain over the past 18 months as a new stretch on the...... of paper installations, changing functions and programs, and a deeper analysis not to move away from the old, but rather to nod to the ever-evolving definition of art and architecture. Works Cited Connelly, James L. "The Louvre Grand Gallery and Museum Design: Architectural Issues." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historian 31.2 (1972): 120-32. JSTOR. University of Kansas. Network. February 28, 2014. Deitz, Paula. "The Grand Gallery of the Louvre." Proquest. The Magazine Antiques, September 1991. Web.Goldberger, Paul. "Pei Pyramid and New Louvre open today." New York Times March 29, 1989. Business Insights: Essentials. Network. February 23, 2014. Ingersoll, Kostof. . World architecture, an intercultural history. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2013. print."Islam in Paris; Islamic Culture". The economist. The Economist, 29 September 2012. Web. 28 February. 2014.