PARIS (AP) – The 518-year-old Mona Lisa has seen many things in her life on a wall, but rarely that: almost four months without visitors to the Louvre.
As he looks through bulletproof glasses at the silent Hall of States, which was the most visited museum in the world, his famous smile could almost denote relief. A little further on, Milo’s Venus, in white marble, is once again free from the belt of visitors who capture photographs.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post in Paris on October 30, according to French government virus measures. But those lucky enough to reap the benefits of a rare private look at collections spanning 9,000 years of human history, with plenty of room to breathe.
This is usually lacking in a museum affected by its own success: before the pandemic, staff came out complaining that they could not stand the overcrowding, with up to 30,000-40,000 visitors a day.
The forced closure has also given museum officials a golden opportunity to carry out reforms that had long been impossible, with nearly 10 million visitors a year.
Unlike the first closure, which stopped all activities at the Louvre, the second has seen some 250 museum employees remain fully operational.
An army of curators, restorers and workers is cleaning sculptures, rearranging artifacts, reviewing inventories, rearranging entries and making restorations, including the Egyptian wing and the Grande Galerie, the museum’s largest room that is completely renovated.
“We take advantage of the museum’s closure to carry out several major works, speed up maintenance operations and start repair works that are difficult to schedule when the museum is operating normally,” Laurent le Guedart, Louvre Architectural Heritage and Gardens The director told him to AP from inside the Grand Gallery.
As Le Guedart spoke, the restorers stood on scaffolding taking scientific probes from the walls in preparation for a planned restoration, traveling through the 18th century through layer after layer of paint.
In the corner, the sound of carpenters occupying floorboards was faintly audible. They were laying the wires for a new security system.
Previously, this work could only be done on a Tuesday, the only closed day of the Louvre a week. Now the hammers are ringing, drilling machines and rubbing brushes until a full weekly schedule, slowed down only slightly by measures of social distancing.
In all, ten large-scale projects that have been on hold since last March are underway, and are progressing rapidly.
This includes works at the Etruscan and Italian salons and the Golden Carre Salon. An important restoration of the ancient Egyptian chapel of the tomb of Akhethotep from 2400 BC is also underway.
“When the museum reopens, everything will be perfect for its visitors; this sleeping beauty will have had time to get her nose out,” said Elisabeth Antoine-Konig, curator of the Artifacts department. “Visitors will be delighted to see these well-lit rooms again with polished floors and remodeled display cases.”
Initially, visitors will only be allowed to enter with reservations previously booked in accordance with virus security precautions.
Those who can’t wait can still see the Louvre’s art treasure on online virtual tours.
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Adamson reported from Leeds, England
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