The Louvre in Paris sells out for restricted reopening

July 06, 2020

Since its opening in 1793, the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris has probably never been emptier than during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. For almost four months, Mona Lisa offered her mysterious smile only to the museum guards. Normally, visitors from all over the world crowd in front of La Joconde, as Leonardo da Vinci’s painting is called in French. On March 13, the Louvre was closed by order of the Ministry of Culture due to the rampantly spreading virus.

Now, as the museum reopens on July 6, nothing will be like it once was.

Overcrowded museum: A thing of the past

Those who want to get to the Mona Lisa have to make their way through a zigzag course set up like the check-in lines at airports. Orange dots light up on the floor and mark the distance visitors have to keep from the person in front of them.

But it should not become too crowded. The Louvre is now only allowed to admit 30% of its usual number of visitors to view its treasures during the pandemic. This is just one of the security precautions that have been taken for the reopening.

For the most visited museum in the world, this presents a major challenge, says Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez. Last year, around 10.2 million people still thronged through the huge art palace — some 30,000 to 40,000 people a day. According to the museum, most came to see the Mona Lisa. Long lines were part of the program, and sometimes the Louvre even had to turn away art lovers due to overcrowding.

Around 75% of the visitors come from abroad, with a majority from the US, followed by the Chinese and Europeans. “Only two million come from France,” Martinez told German press agency dpa.

The number of visitors expected to be modest

The coronavirus-related closure resulted in a loss of around €40 million, according to the museum director. The Louvre finances over 50% of its costs itself, mainly through the sale of tickets. The rest of its budget is covered by public subsidies — with the French state as the main patron.

Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez (picture-alliance/dpa/C. Ena)

Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez

It is fortunate that the subsidies exist, says the director, because after the reopening, the number of visitors will probably remain modest for the time being, given the travel warnings still in effect worldwide. Jean-Luc Martinez is hoping for 3,000 to 4,000 visitors a day, maybe even 5,000, so those who want to come now will almost certainly get a ticket, which can be reserved or purchased online.

Strict security precautions in the museum

The main entrance of the museum with the futuristic glass pyramid opened at 9 a.m. sharp on July 6. The 7,400 tickets on offer for Monday were all snapped up, the museum confirmed.

Only card payment is currently possible at the door; cash is not to be accepted for hygienic reasons. Names, addresses and contact details are noted before visitors are allowed in. Visitors will also be required to wear face masks in the exhibition rooms; masks may only be removed in the Tuileries Garden.

Touring the halls follows a prescribed course to prevent people from getting too close to one another. Measuring 60,000 square meters (645,835 square feet) in size, the Louvre is the third largest museum in the world: 35,000 works of art are exhibited there, and storage spaces hold countless other treasures — from paintings and sculptures to small vases and jewelry. The main attractions, apart from the Mona Lisa, include the marble Venus de Milo statue and the famous painting Liberty Leading the People by the Frenchman Eugène Delacroix.

Finally, viewing art ‘in real life’ again

During the museum’s closure, many of the Louvre’s works could be admired online. However, museum director Jean-Luc Martinez is appealing to all art lovers: “Although we made it possible for visitors to view our collection during the lockdown, nothing can replace the feeling of seeing a work of art in real life. This is what gives museums their reason for existing in the first place.” He hopes that not just the French, but that Europeans and other visitors from around the world will soon find their way back to the museum. “We all need that special experience of a real encounter with art and beauty. It can heal our souls.”

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

Mona Lisa

The best known, most photographed, most valuable: Leonardo da Vinci’s Renaissance work is the painting of superlatives. While Louvre visitors have to elbow their way through rows of tourists to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa hidden behind a bulletproof glass, in the “Apes**t” video, the Carters pose as top icons of world culture in front of the uncovered work — as if it belonged to them.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

The Galerie d’Apollon

The vaulted ceilings of the Galerie d’Apollon, one of the halls of the Louvre, were reconstructed after being destroyed in 1661 by a fire. At the beginning of the “Apes**t” video, the dramatic space leads us into the Paris museum. As a young author, Henry James once described the glory of this hall as embodying “not only beauty and art and supreme design, but history and fame and power.”

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

Also called the Nike of Samothrace, this statue represents the Greek goddess of Victory. Created around the 2nd century B.C., it was damaged by an earthquake. Its mutilated body remains a timeless icon of art. It thrones over an impressive staircase at the Louvre, which in the clip provides a stage for dancers in bodysuits, and for Beyoncé, draped in white like the victorious goddess herself.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

The Raft of the Medusa

This larger-than-life-sized painting by Theodore Gericault is an icon of French Romanticism. It depicts an actual event from 1810: A French frigate called the Méduse was wrecked, and some 150 men tried to survive together on a raft. All but 15 died before being rescued; survivors had to resort to cannibalism. This tragic tale of survival echoes in some ways the fate of African-American slaves.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

The Coronation of Napoleon

This imposing work of 10 x 6 meters (33 x 20 feet) was created by Napoleon’s official painter, Jacques-Louis David. It took him three years to complete the detailed scene, in which the emperor crowns himself, facing the congregation instead of the authorities of the Church. Beyoncé and her voluptuous dancers add an impressive layer of discourse to Napoleon’s own glorification.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

Portrait of a Negress

“Portrait of a Negress” was painted six years after revolutionary France had abolished slavery in its Caribbean colonies in 1794 — Napoleon however reinstated it two years later. The painter, Marie-Guillemine Benoist, one of David’s students, painted this portrait that’s become not only a symbol of black people’s rights but also of women’s emancipation.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

Madame Récamier

Juliette Récamier was one of the most famous socialites and one of the most admired women in Paris in the early 19th century. The chair she is reclining on in this unfinished portrait by David is named after her. In the video clip, models dressed just like the woman in “Portrait of a Negress” pose in front of the painting.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil

Featuring a scene from Dante’s Inferno, Francesca embraces her wounded lover Paolo. During a suspenseful moment of silence in the video clip, this painting from 1835 is juxtaposed with images of a modern-day African-American couple kissing on a bed.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

Great Sphinx of Tanis

One of the largest sphinxes outside of Egypt, this monumental sculpture of a lion with the head of a king is at least 4,000 years old. As the guardian of temples, the figure of the sphinx was believed to protect against hostile forces. Experts believe that the term sphinx derives from “living image”; the Carters also contribute to reviving the iconography of the artwork acquired in colonial times.

A guided tour through 10 artworks in the Carters’ ‘Apes**t’ video

Venus de Milo

This Greek representation of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and pleasure, is another one of the most famous statues of the Louvre, and its missing arms have certainly contributed to its fame. In the video, Beyoncé shows us how the Venus’ body might groove if it had all of its limbs — and if it weren’t a marble sculpture.

Author: Elizabeth Grenier