The hidden life of the Louvre. Insights from the world's main museum

An exhibition of masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci opened at the Louvre on October 24, 2019. The museum has already sold more than 180 tickets online. The article contains all the insider information about the most famous museum in the world.

My first professional experience was associated with the Louvre. It was at the Louvre that I began working as an art critic. My French university has agreed with the museum to have students practice as cultural mediators. While in one of the halls, students told visitors about the exhibits, building a direct dialogue between the institution and the viewer, and conducted educational tours. For several weeks beforehand, we underwent additional theoretical training in the museum itself, where we were told about its history and prepared for working with visitors.

jeunes ont la parole — Copyright to the owner

How is the Louvre organized?

The Louvre is a former royal palace from which Louis XIV moved to Versailles as his new residence. Until 1993, the French Ministry of Finance was located in the Richelieu wing, in the apartments of Napoleon III. The museum consists of 8 departments, covering the main milestones of art history, which makes it “universal”: painting, sculpture, graphics, decorative and applied arts, Egyptian antiquities, Oriental art, Greco-Roman art and Islamic art. The part of the Louvre open to the public consists of 3 wings located on 3 floors: Richelieu, Sully and Denon. Nowadays, a tour of the museum begins from the foundation of the towers of the medieval fortress, because the Louvre was originally a fortification structure.

Louvre plan — Copyright to the Louvre museum

But a museum is not only about exhibiting art objects, but also about educational programs, studying, storing and restoring masterpieces. For example, in the Denon wing there are bureaus of curators and art historians. When I was there, the office reminded me of a medical facility. Each department was separated from the other with electronic keys and cards, as well as extra-strong, often glass doors, and employees wore scrubs. The museum even accepts art objects for study and examination. Parisian students, art historians and experts actively use the Louvre's documentation department dedicated to art. There are only a few such documentation offices in Paris, including the documentation department assembled by Eric Turcan.

At the upcoming exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci at the Louvre, visitors will see his paintings studied using modern art historical technical and technological analysis: infrared radiation and ultraviolet. Meanwhile, Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” has long been visible in IR and UV rays on the museum’s website. Thus, the museum’s modern laboratories make it possible to study preparatory drawings and restoration interventions in paintings and more.

At the end of October 2019, despite protests from part of the professional community, a new huge Louvre storage facility opened in the city Lievant in Pas de Calais. It has already collected 250 items. Prior to the creation of this repository, art objects in the Louvre's storage were dispersed across 000 storage bases in the Paris region. In complete secrecy, the vans with the masterpieces arrived at the new base. Some items have not been unpacked for over 63 years! In storage, items are stored at a constant temperature of 60-18 degrees and a humidity level of 20-45%. The repository can be inspected in person during Heritage Days (La Journées du Patrimoine).

CENTER CONSERV LOUVRE INTERIEUR — Credits to Ministère de la Culture (France). Copyright

Louvre franchise: Louvre-Lens and Abu Dhabi

It’s sad to know and understand that not all even museum professionals in Russia know about the existence of two “branches” (not quite the exact word) Louvre in Lens и Abu Dhabi. The capital's museum opened its branch in the depressed northern region of Pas-de-Calais. Art transforms people and, as a result, territories. A new tourist attraction has been erected in a hitherto unremarkable location in the north of the country. Since its opening (2012), the new Louvre has been visited by more than 1,5 million people.

louvre lens by sanaa 19 — Copyright to Julien Lanoo

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a cultural “brand” and franchise purchased by the UAE sheikhs from the French government. For 30 years of art consulting and rental of art objects, the Arabs will pay the French 1 billion euros. Culture and art must be sold profitably.

praise abu dhabi — Copyright to the owner

Study at the Louvre?

Yes! It is possible and necessary. In addition to traditional group tours and audio guides, the Louvre hosts lectures and conferences, which are often free to attend. In addition, the museum organizes courses on art history of varying lengths for lovers of beauty.

Louvre School (Ecole du Louvre is the name of the university), along with the Sorbonne (Paris 4), the universities of Paris 1 and Paris 10, is considered one of the most prestigious educational institutions where art history is taught. There is even an eternal competition between art critics who studied at the Sorbonne and those who graduated from the Louvre School. Meanwhile, the fact of graduating from the School does not provide privileges when passing a competitive selection to work in a museum. Even caretakers undergo state examinations to work in the main national museum.

Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Will.i.am и Nicole Scherzinger at the Louvre

The Louvre invited American stars for the most daring youth collaboration. French youth are delighted; Americans are already among the top most important visitors to the museum.