Atlanta museum gets Louvre loan

More than 30 works from the venerable Musee du Louvre -- including two of the Paris institution’s masterpieces, Raphael’s “Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione” and Nicolas Poussin’s “Et in Arcadia Ego” -- can be seen Oct. 14 through Sept. 7, 2007, at the High Museum of Atlanta.

The long-term loan launches a partnership, announced earlier this year, that will bring hundreds of works owned by the Louvre to the High in return for an undisclosed sum. The Louvre is one of a growing number of museums to raise funds by renting out works to a cash-rich, art-poor institution.

Most of the works have never traveled to the United States. The inaugural exhibition, “Kings as Collectors,” features works assembled during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI.