After the director of the most visited museum in the world expressed concern about the poor conditions for visitors and collections, French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to visit the Louvre on Tuesday and make a statement regarding its future.
“There will be announcements concerning the Louvre and its future,” the French presidency said on the eve of the visit without providing further details.
The seat of French kings until Louis XIV abandoned it for Versailles in the late 1600s, the Louvre is regularly listed as the world’s most visited museum and houses masterpieces including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting and the Greek marble sculpture of Venus de Milo.
The Paris landmark has become a subject of national concern after the revelation last week of a confidential memo written by Louvre director Laurence des Cars to Culture Minister Rachida Dati warning about the “proliferation of damage in museum spaces”.
She also stated that the preservation of artworks is at risk since some places “are no longer watertight, while others experience significant temperature variations.”
She claimed that the historic structure was experiencing “physical strain” as a result of the Louvre’s popularity.
According to Des Cars, the Louvre needed a makeover that would probably be expensive and technically challenging.
Des Cars has voiced concerns regarding the quality of the user experience after 8.7 million people visited its renowned galleries last year, which is roughly twice as many as it was intended for.
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