NEW YORK, NY.- The Musée du Louvre today announced that it will launch an English version of its online collections database, Atlas, on July 30, 2009. This interactive research tool will allow visitors to access information on 22,000 artworks from the Louvre, view high-resolution images of masterpieces, and locate exhibited works and galleries throughout the Museum. Currently available only in French, Atlas is accessible free-of-charge via the Louvre’s website, www.louvre.fr, which receives more than 10 millions visitors a year.

The launch of the English version of Atlas was initiated by and funded with a €300,000 ($380,000) grant in 2004 from American Friends of the Louvre (AFL), which was founded in 2002 to strengthen ties between the Museum and its American public. The new version of the site will provide the Museum’s two million English-speaking visitors as well as educators, students, researchers, and scholars with in-depth information on the Louvre’s extensive collection.

Launched in 2003, Atlas provides quick and easy access to an exceptionally rich database of 26,000 of the 35,000 works on permanent display at the Louvre. Currently, 5,500 artists in a variety of media are represented on its site. In addition to gallery views, Atlas also provides online visitors with a virtual “Album” through which they can gather a selection of artworks and create and navigate their own personalized tour of the Louvre.

The English version of Atlas will launch with entries on 22,000 works of art, or approximately 80% of the original Atlas database, showcasing works most representative of the depth and scope of the Louvre’s collections.