This work spanning the Seine from the Institut de France to the Palais du Louvre owes its name to the fact that the Louvre was called the Palais des Arts at the time the bridge was built. The initial footbridge was built, at its current location between 1801 and 1804; exclusively for pedestrians, it had nine arches in cast iron. It was the first iron bridge to be built in Paris. In the course of its existence, it has been restored several times, notably after aerial bombardments in 1918 and 1944. Another collapse in 1979 led to its reconstruction.
Finally, the decision to rebuild the bridge with seven arches was taken thus enlarging the passages for navigation which were thus aligned with those of the Pont Neuf.
The new footbridge was inaugurated in 1984 by Jacques Chirac, mayor of Paris at that time.